Uda Walawe National Park
With herds of elephants, wild buffalos, sambars and spotted deer, and giant squirrels, this Sri Lankan national park is one of the nation's finest. In…
Must-see attractions in The Hill Country
The Hill Country
The Horton Plains plateau comes to a sudden end at World’s End, a stunning escarpment that plunges 880m. The walk here is 4km, but the trail then loops…
The Hill Country
The beautiful, 1000-year-old, rock-cut Buddha figures of Buduruwagala are the region's biggest attraction. The gigantic standing Buddha (at 15m, it is the…
The Hill Country
These stunning gardens were once reserved exclusively for Kandyan royalty. Today, even commoners are allowed in to enjoy the most impressive and largest …
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Kandy
The golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha. During puja…
Uda Walawe National Park
This complex is a halfway house for orphaned elephants. After rehabilitation, the elephants…
The Hill Country
Horton Plains is a beautiful, stark world with excellent hikes in the shadows of Sri Lanka’s second- and third-highest mountains, Kirigalpotta (2395m) and…
The Hill Country
This impressive 14th-century temple, mounted on a rocky bluff, is the most imposing in the region. It's divided into two halves – one half Buddhist and…
The Hill Country
The Uva Halpewaththa Tea Factory, 5km north of Ella, runs some of the better tea plantation tours in Sri Lanka. After you've enriched yourself with…
The Hill Country
The Sinharaja (Lion King) rainforests occupy a broad ridge at the heart of the island’s wet zone. The only way to get about the reserve is by foot, and…
Kandy
This museum once housed Kandyan royal concubines and now features royal regalia and reminders of pre-European Sinhalese life. One of the most impressive…
Kandy
Dominating the town is Kandy Lake. A leisurely stroll around it, with a few stops on the lakeside seats, is a pleasant way to spend a few hours, although…
Nuwara Eliya
To see where your morning cuppa originates, head to the Pedro Tea Estate, about 3.5km east of Nuwara Eliya on the way to Kandapola. You can take a 20…
Kandy
Hidden away in Kandy's leafy outskirts is the little-visited, but fascinating, Degal Doruwa Raja Maha Vihara cave temple, constructed (with the help of…
Kandy
This museum occupies the upper two floors of the Alut Maligawa building and contains a stunning array of gifts donated by several presidents and Buddhist…
The Hill Country
Dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Mahasen, this beautiful temple, with its finely carved wooden pillars depicting swans, eagles, wrestling men…
The Hill Country
At 240m, the remote Bambarakanda Falls are the highest in Sri Lanka. March and April are the best months for viewing the falls, but any visit after heavy…
Kandy
This museum occupies the 1925-vintage Hantane Tea Factory, 4km south of Kandy on the Hantane road. Abandoned for more than a decade, it was recently…
The Hill Country
Initially created to protect abandoned or orphaned elephants, this is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular attractions. It's a highly commercialised experience…
Kandy
Housed inside the former High Court buildings, the World Buddhism Museum contains lots of photographs, models and displays illustrating Buddhism around…
Kandy
The head monks here also administer the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Inside, there's a large reclining Buddha. It's located 1km northwest of the town…
Kandy
The three-storey Alut Maligawa is a large shrine hall displaying dozens of sitting Buddhas donated by devotees from Thailand. Its design resembles a Thai…
Nuwara Eliya
These attractive gardens, 10km southeast of Nuwara Eliya, are a peaceful retreat. Highlights include a fine rose garden, a Japanese garden, an orchid…
The Hill Country
The highlight of the charming Dowa Temple, 6km east of Bandarawela, is a 4m-high standing Buddha cut into the rock face. The walls of the adjacent cave…
The Hill Country
If you’re a history buff, take a look through St Mark’s Church and peruse the old headstones. Inside is a plaque commemorating the elephant hunter Major…
Nuwara Eliya
From the Pedro Tea Estate, take a very enjoyable 5km (round-trip) walk to Lovers Leap, an impressive waterfall.
The Hill Country
This Buddhist temple with a Hindu annex dates from the 14th century, and the main shrine room contains a stunningly beautiful, gilded seated Buddha. Built…
The Hill Country
This Buddhist temple, 4km northwest of the city, is an architectural treasure well worth visiting. Perched on a small hill, it has a handsome series of…
Nuwara Eliya
This lake is popular with domestic tourists who enjoy strolling the footpaths, taking out a swan-shaped pedal boat (30 minutes Rs 500) or trotting around…
Kandy
To the north of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, but still within the compound, is the 19th-century Audience Hall, an open-air pavilion with stone…
Rakkhiththakanda Len Viharaya Cave Temple
The Hill Country
The rock face around this remote and little-visited cave temple, which is signed off the road to Wellawaya, is covered in faded Kandyan-era paintings…
The Hill Country
The Henerathgoda Botanic Gardens near Gampaha, 32km northwest of Colombo, are where the first rubber trees in Asia were planted (in 1876, after being…
The Hill Country
This cave is associated with the Ramayana story. Located in a cleft in the mountain that rises to Ella Rock, the cave is reputed to be where the king of…
Kandy
This forest on the north side of Kandy Lake has soaring hardwood trees and giant bamboo, good birding and loads of cheeky monkeys. Birdwatchers can…
Kandy
This well-maintained cemetery contains 163 graves from colonial times. Perhaps the most striking aspect of a visit here is learning just how young most…
The Hill Country
The 171m-high Diyaluma Falls is Sri Lanka’s third-highest waterfall. Cascading down an escarpment of the Koslanda Plateau, the falls leap over a cliff…
Nuwara Eliya
This colourful Hindu temple, 7km southeast of Nuwara Eliya, is said to mark the spot where Sita was held captive by the demon king Rawana, and where she…
Millennium Elephant Foundation
The Hill Country
The Millennium Elephant Foundation houses elephants rescued from aggressive mahouts, and elephants retired from working in temples. Be aware that though…
Nuwara Eliya
One of Sri Lanka's newest (2006) and smallest (29 sq hectares) national parks, Galway's Land is a dense patch of montane forest a couple of kilometres…
Kandy
Adjacent to the Audience Hall, the Rajah Tusker Hall displays the stuffed remains of Rajah, the famous Maligawa elephant who died in 1988. Rajah was the…
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