Places to visit in Sri Lanka
12 places most Sri Lanka trips are built around, in the order a first visit usually takes them. Five days covers Kandy with the Pinnawala elephants on the way, two nights on the Bentota coast with a Madu river boat ride, and a Colombo city tour; six days adds a Galle Fort and Mirissa day or a night in Nuwara Eliya's tea country; seven days fits a Sigiriya day, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya or Ella and the south coast; eight days adds a Yala jeep safari or slows the same loop down. Four days is too short for more than Kandy and one beach, which is why the plans here start at five.
- Sigiriya: The rock fortress rising about 200 metres from the plain, climbed past the frescoes and the Lion's Paw to the palace ruins on top; go early before the heat.
- Dambulla Cave Temple: Five painted caves of Buddha statues on a hill, half an hour from Sigiriya and usually seen the same day.
- Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth: The hill capital on its lake, the temple that holds the Buddha's tooth relic, and the evening cultural dance show.
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage: The elephant herd bathing in the river, on the road between Colombo and Kandy.
- Nuwara Eliya and the tea country: The colonial hill town at about 1,870 metres among tea estates, with a factory visit and the Ramboda Falls on the way up.
- Ella: The Nine Arches Bridge with a train crossing it, Little Adam's Peak and Ravana Falls; the scenic train from Kandy or Nuwara Eliya is the way in.
- Yala National Park: A jeep safari for leopards, elephants and crocodiles; the park's Block 1 usually closes for a spell in September or October.
- Bentota and the Madu River: The south-west beach base with water sports, a boat ride through the mangroves and a turtle hatchery.
- Galle Fort: The Dutch-built fort town on the south coast, its ramparts, lighthouse and cafes, a day trip from Bentota.
- Mirissa: The whale-watching boats in season, roughly November to April, and Coconut Tree Hill.
- Colombo: The Gangaramaya temple, Galle Face Green at sunset and the Independence Square walk on the last day.
- Seetha Amman Temple: The temple outside Nuwara Eliya linked by tradition to the Ramayana, on the Ramayana trail with the Ravana caves at Ella.
