Top Sri Lanka hotels
Temples Colombo
22 Reviews In the Pettah area of Colombo is the famous Sea Street, home to three important Hindu Temples, the Ganeshan, the Old Kathiresan and the New Kathiresan. All have their intricately-carved and colourful...
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Day Trip Colombo
11 Reviews St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, a branch of the Church of Scotland, earlier known as St. Andrew's Scots Kirk located in Princess Street, Fort, is the only Presbyterian Church in Sri Lanka. It opened...
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Shopping Colombo
6 Reviews This one is for the Gals, OK ! So you guys can take a peek as well. You find some of the best clothes in Sri Lanka at very reasonable prices and of very good quality. Clothes, Bags, Shoes, Travelling...
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Cinnamon Gardens - Viharamahadevi Park Colombo
7 Reviews The green space of Viharamahadevi Park isn't all it could be but it still represents one of the city's largest open recreational areas. There isn't much to do here apart from walk in the shade of the...
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Forts Colombo
11 Reviews Fort area, earlier known as Kolonthota, is the place the Portuguese landed in the early 16th century. They developed it and, to protect their economic interests, built a fort there in 1588. In 1656,...
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Beaches Colombo
4 Reviews On our final day in Colombo, we went to Mount Lavina beach in the morning. This is a ‘Golden Mile’ beach just next to a railway track and is about 12 kms away from the city. The roar of the ocean, the...
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Zoo Colombo
8 Reviews It has been several yrs since I last went to the Zoo, but it seemed better kept, more lush and was certainly well patronized. The restaurant facility had a pretty good rice selection which was tasty,...
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Galle Face Green Colombo
5 Reviews Galle Face Green is a lovely stretch of land almost half a kilometre long by the side of the sea. It is located in the heart of the city in front of the old Parliament building with some of the best...
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Museums Colombo
8 Reviews Just near the exit is a tall glass-covered display unit at the top of which is a stark skeletal statue of the Buddha. This is a startling, compelling image and one that you will not forget in a...
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Buddha Colombo
5 Reviews There are places and places to see in Sri Lanka but just about every place in Asia offers ruins, colonial cities, temples, and natural wonders. This puts a pilgrimage to Sri Pada, AKA Adam's Peak, in...
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This is a nice way to see some wild life. should be fun for people who like to see animals in their natural habitat.I am inputting a number of a jeep driver who will take local and foreign tourist into the park in lndrovers to see the animals.local prices are like 35-40USD per ride, which would be for around 4 hrs. ealry morning and later evening rounds are the best to spot animals.Pics -source KMLS perera. SEP 2008.
I could not have passed through Sri Lanka and skip what may seem to some quite silly and touristy, but which felt very touchy to me….i.e. baby turtle hatchery.The village of Kosgoda a few km north of Galle on the road to Colombo seems to specialise in the “business” of hatching baby turtles to be released in the sea at the expense of tourists. There are many such businesses and/or organisations in the village, some of them are listed in the LP. I came across the “Sea Turtle Farm” or "Sea Turtle Hatchery" near the Saw Mills, at the end of a small track at the 74km marker in a quiet spot right in the beach. The whole “operation” lasted about 90 minutes, and I was the only tourist, probably because of a rainy afternoon. Enthusiastic boys showed me around the water tanks containing the turtles, babies as well as old and rare, decoloured ones. It followed some friendly chat and a cup of tea...
A sizeable town by SriLankan standards (nearly 100.000 inhab.), Galle is the one of the oldest and most famous trading ports in the Indian Ocean. Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country. Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays and Indians were doing business through Galle port. The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1505, when the first Portuguese ship, under Lourenço de Almeida was driven there by a storm. However, the people of the city refused to let the Portuguese enter it, so the Portuguese took it by force.In 1640, the Portuguese had to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present Fort in the year 1663. They built a fortified wall, using solid granite, and built three bastions, known as "sun", "moon" and "star". After the British took over the country from the Dutch in the year 1796, they preserved the Fort unchanged,...
Situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka's South-East coast, Arugam Bay is a world class surfing destination. It’s basically a simple laid back strip of beach accommodation. From April to October it has one of the best surfing waves in the world. During the low season (Nov – April) things get very quiet, but with very few tourists, it’s one of the best places to unwind, eat seafood and enjoy the riches of simple life doing eveything by the sea. Many of the buildings in the village were destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. Due to its popularity among tourists the area has managed a slow recovery by private initiatives only. There is excellent elephant viewing nearby as well as two types of monkeys wandering around the area. The nearby (4 km) Muslim village of Pottuvil is the center of commerce and transportation while tourist accommodations lie along the beach to the south of...
Located at nearly 2000m altidude, Nuwara Eliya is the summer retreat of the island, the Sinhalese version of Sinaia in Romania: nice colonial villas maintaining their old English-style lawns and gardens, family walks in fresh air, horseriding, fishing and cricket across large parks.Most backpackers use the town as base for visits to Horton Plains National Park and the World's End, a sheer precipice with a 1050 m drop, and for the scenic Baker Falls. We instead used it to stroll around vast tea plantations, overwhelmed by the surreal green leafes, to look for Tamil tea pickers and watch them at work and last but not least to have a nice cup of tea in the collonial mansion of the former owner and pretend we stepped back in time.
Located in the central highlands of the island, surrounded by largely forested hills with no mountain of comparable size nearby, Adam's Peak is 2,243 metres high and is known for the Sri Pada, or "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition held to be the last footprint of Buddha on earth, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva and in Muslim (and Christian) tradition that of Adam.Access to the mountain is generally provided by a bus that travels between Sripada and the nearby town of Maskeliya, to the northeast.The mountain is an important pilgrimage site, especially for Hindus and Buddhists. Pilgrims walk up the mountain, following a variety of routes up thousands of steps. The journey takes several hours at least. The peak pilgrimage season is in April, and the goal is to be on top of the mountain at sunrise, when the distinctive shape of the...
Dambulla is the largest, best preserved and most impressive cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. In an area with over 80 documented caves, some being still used by the monks as meditation locations, Dambulla temple is composed of 5 caves converted into shrine rooms, built at the base of a 150m high rock over the surrounding plains. Access is along the gentle slope of the Dambulla Rock, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding flat lands, which includes the rock fortress Sigiriya, 19kms away. Families of friendly monkeys make the climb even more interesting.Inside the caves, the ceilings are painted with intricate patterns of religious images following the contours of the rock. There are images of the Lord Buddha and bodhisattvas and scenes from Buddha’s life including the temptation by demon Mara and Buddha's first sermon. In addition, the caves house several hundreds statues of Buddha...
Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress and ruins of a castle situated in central Sri Lanka. It is a popular tourist destination and also popular for the ancient paintings (frescos) very similar to the paintings in Ajanta Caves of India. It was built during the reign of King Kasyapa, a patricidal king who, afraid of reprisals led by his half – brother, chose to move the seat of power from Anuradhapura to this 500m rock. It was Kasyapa and his master-builders who were responsible for the complex plan which made Sigiriya the glorious capital it was for 17 years (477 – 495 AD). The frescoes of the "heavenly maidens" halfway up the rock in a sheltered gallery. The "mirror wall", which records the poetic outpourings of early visitors to the rock and the colossal plan of the royal palace, water gardens and fortifications, is entirely fascinating. Following Kasyapa's death, the rock turned again...
With Anuradhapura sacked and abandoned in 1017 AD, the Chola kings chosed the relatively safer Polonnaruwa as their capital, and remained as such for the next 300 years.Although nearly 1000 years old, it is much younger than Anuradhapura and generally in better repair, hence easier to appreciate by the novice tourists in search of history.Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archeological relic sites in the Sri Lanka, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the early kingdoms. The Golden Age of Polonnaruwa was during Parakramabahu's reign, when huge buildings were erected, adorned by beautiful parks and, as a crowning achievement, a 2500 hectare water tank. The following king virtually bankrupted the kingdom in his attempts to match his predecessor’s achievements. By the early 13th century, Polonnaruwa was beginning to prove as susceptible...
One of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization, home to some of the largest & most impressive structures of the ancient world, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Founded in the 4th century BC, it was the capital of the Anuradhapura Kingdom until the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia. The ancient city, considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles (40 km²). Anuradhapura is said to be the capital of the Rakshasa King Ravana in the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to legend, it was burnt down by Lord Hanuman before the epic war. A popular legend among the Hindus says that a layer of ash is still to be found anywhere that you dig in...
Mount Lavina Hotel Colombo
5 Reviews and 395 Opinions This is the closest hotel you can experience the Beach as you come to Colombo. Good food, good rooms...
Earl's Regency Hotel Kandy Kandy
4 Reviews and 235 Opinions Kandy Perahara Starts on Esala Full Moon Poya Day in July & finishes on Nikini Full Moon Poya Day on...
Palm Garden Village Hotel Anuradhapura
3 Reviews and 111 Opinions The Palm Garden Village is like a colonial club, but one with a relaxed and freestyle-air. It was...
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Q: Thinking of traveling to Sri Lanka in the end of March for 3 weeks. I will go with my 6 yr old. Will take Medical precoushns bu...
A: Any special reasons why you want to stay in Colombo for 3 days. Everywhere in Sri Lanka is child friendly, but as you want to end up in Trinco (and spend part of your...
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