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Royal Gardens
The lowest section inside the Sigiriya complex is a beautifully landscaped area dotted with water gardens, then as you approach the rock its foothills contain boulder gardens (home to numerous Buddhist shrines) and terraced gardens. It’s a beautiful place to explore away from the c
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Coral Sanctuary
Hikkaduwa’s overexploited ‘coral sanctuary’ stretches out from the string of ‘Coral’ hotels at the north end of the strip to a group of rocks a couple of hundred metres offshore. You can swim out to the rocks from the Coral Gardens Hotel, where the reef runs straight out from the s
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Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil
This huge Hindu temple, crowned by a towering god-encrusted, golden-ochre gopuram, is one of the most significant Hindu religious complexes in Sri Lanka. Its sacred deity is Murugan (or Skanda), and at cacophonic puja – at 5am, 10am, noon, 4.15pm (small puja ), 4.30pm (‘special’ pu
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Our Lady of Madhu Church
This church is Sri Lanka’s most hallowed Christian monument (though its thought to be have been constructed over an ancient Hindu shrine). Its walls shelter Our Lady of Madhu, a diminutive but revered Madonna-and-child statue brought here in 1670 by Catholics fleeing Protestant Dut
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Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage
Initially created to protect abandoned or orphaned elephants, this government-run elephant orphanage near Kegalle is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular attractions, but today some people think it seems to have largely lost sight of its original aims and is more a zoo than anything els
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Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba
This magnificent white dagoba is guarded by a wall with a frieze of hundreds of elephants standing shoulder to shoulder. Apart from a few beside the western entrance, most are modern replacements for the originals from 140 BC.Today, after incurring much damage from invading Indian
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Wildlife
As an important watershed and catchment for several year-round rivers and streams, the Horton Plains hosts a wide range of wildlife. The last few elephants departed the area in the first half of the 20th century, but there are still a few leopards, and sambar deer and wild boar are
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Minneriya National Park
This national park is one of the best places in the country to see wild elephants, which are often present in huge numbers, and wading birds. Dominated by the ancient Minneriya Tank, the park has plenty of scrub, forest and wetlands in its 88.9 sq km to also provide shelter for toq
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Ratnaprasada
Most of the 8th-century Ratnaprasada or Gem Palace lies in ruins today, though it was originally five stories high with a graceful, tiered roof. At its entrance, however, youll find a beautifully carved mura gala (guardstone), which depicts the Cobra King holding a vase with a flow
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Maligawila
Two inscrutable ancient statues (admission free; dawn-dusk) stand in an appealingly shady forest glade at Maligawila (mali-ga-wila). The site is delightful and the surrounding village so diffuse that it’s virtually invisible. Ferreted away among the trees lie the extensive 7th-cent
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Ridi Vihara
Literally the ‘Silver Temple’, Ridi Vihara is so named because it was here that silver ore was discovered in the 2nd century BC. It makes for an interesting detour to see its wonderful frescoes and the unusual Dutch tiles from Neduntivu (Delft).The primary attraction is the golden
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Uda Walawe National Park
With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and leopards, this Sri Lankan national park rivals the savannah reserves of Africa. In fact, for elephant-watching, Uda Walawe often surpasses many of the most famous East African national parks. The park, which centres on the 308.
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Bundala National Park
Bundala National Park is a fantastic maze of waterways, lagoons and dunes that glitter like gold in the dying evening sun. This wonderland provides a home to thousands of colourful birds ranging from diminutive little bee-eaters to grotesque open-billed stalks. It is a wetland sanc
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Mulkirigala
Dangling off a rocky crag 16km northwest of Tangalla and nestled away among a green forest of coconut trees are the peaceful rock temples of Mulkirigala. Clamber in a sweat up the many steps and you’ll encounter a series of seven cleft-like caves on five different terraced levels.
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Ritigala
Deep inside the Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve, off the Anuradhapura–Habarana road, are the partially restored ruinsof an extensive monastic and cave complex. The ruins lie on a hill, which at 766m isn’t exactly high, but is nevertheless a striking feature in the flat, dry landscap
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Old Batti
Wandering around Old Batti is particularly atmospheric late at night: cicadas call and water drips, but not a soul stirs on the eerily empty streets. Dim street lamps give lugubrious form to shadows around the various colonial edifices like the pompous sky-blue St Joseph’s Convent
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The Fort Walls
One of the most pleasant strolls you can take in town is the circuit of the Fort walls at dusk. As the daytime heat fades away, you can walk almost the complete circuit of the Fort along the top of the wall in an easy hour or two. You’ll be in the company of lots of locals, shyly c
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World’s End
The walk to World’s End is 4km, but the trail loops back to Baker’s Falls (2km) and continues back to the entrance (another 3.5km). The 9.5km round trip takes a leisurely three hours. Unless you get there early the view from World’s End is often obscured by mist, particularly durin
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Aluvihara
Set in a chasm in the hills, surrounded by giant boulders, this monastery is an intriguing site. Theres a unique series of monastic caves, some spectacular religious paintings and a stupa or two. Its easily accessible (just off the road, 3km north of Matale).Legend has it that a gi
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Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Just north of the lake, the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha.During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists. However, you don’t actually
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