Sigiriya Rock Fortress
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best known landmark in the country. The fifth-century fortress on top of the rock is reached by a climb past the old frescoes, with the water gardens laid out below.
Read our Sigiriya guideWhere to go
Places to visit in Sri Lanka
Thirty places we take people to, from the rock fortresses of the Cultural Triangle to the surf towns on the coast. Use it to work out what you want to see, then we build the route around it.
- 30 places worth the detour
- Six regions, one small island
- All reachable by road in a day or two
- Excellent, 73 Google reviews
- 10 years of guiding Sri Lanka
- Private your own driver-guide and vehicle
- Registered Sri Lankan company, fully insured
- 24/7 support while you travel
How it fits together
A small island with a lot in it
You can drive across Sri Lanka in a long day, which is why a single trip can take in ancient cities, a hill country train, a leopard safari and a beach without feeling rushed. The roads are slower than the map suggests, so the order of the stops matters more than the distance between them.
The list below is grouped the way we actually plan a route: the Cultural Triangle first, then Kandy and the hills, Ella and the waterfalls, the parks, the coast and Colombo. Pick the places that matter to you and we will join them up.
5 places
The Cultural Triangle
The ancient heart of the island, north of Kandy. Three or four days covers it comfortably.
Pidurangala Rock
The hill just north of Sigiriya, quieter and with the better view, because you are looking at Sigiriya rather than standing on it. Popular for sunrise. The last section is a scramble over boulders.
Dambulla Cave Temple
Five caves cut into the rock, painted and filled with more than 150 Buddha statues, and a place of pilgrimage for over two thousand years. Shoulders and knees covered, shoes off at the door.
A village morning near Dambulla
A bullock cart, a canoe across the tank and lunch cooked over a wood fire. It is the easiest half day to add to the temples, and usually the one people talk about afterwards.
Nalanda Gedige
A small stone temple near Matale that mixes Hindu and Buddhist architecture, and sits at the geographical centre of the island. Almost nobody stops here, which is the point.
6 places
Kandy and the hill country
The cool middle of the island, where the tea grows and the temperature drops.
Temple of the Tooth, Kandy
The temple beside Kandy lake that holds the tooth relic of the Buddha, and the most important Buddhist site in the country. Time your visit for one of the daily ceremonies.
See the Kandy day tour
Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
One hundred and forty seven acres of gardens outside Kandy, with an orchid house, an avenue of palms, giant bamboo and a suspension bridge over the river.
Ambuluwawa Tower
A white spiral tower on a hilltop at Gampola, shared by four religions. The staircase narrows as it climbs and the view runs for miles. Not one for anybody uneasy with heights.
Nuwara Eliya
Tea country at 1,800 metres, with colonial houses, a racecourse and mornings cold enough for a jacket. Gregory Lake and Victoria Park are both in the middle of town.
Ramboda Falls
A waterfall on the road up to Nuwara Eliya, surrounded by tea estates and usually wrapped in mist. An easy stop rather than a hike.
Seetha Amman Kovil
A brightly painted Hindu temple outside Nuwara Eliya, said in the Ramayana to be where Sita was held. It sits by a river with the forest behind it.
5 places
Ella and the waterfalls
Where the hill country falls away to the south. Walks, viaducts and water.
Nine Arch Bridge
A stone railway viaduct built without steel, set in the jungle outside Ella. Check the train times before you walk down, because the bridge is worth seeing with a train on it.
Read our Ella guide
Little Adam's Peak
A short walk out of Ella to a ridge above the tea, about an hour each way and manageable with children. The best of the views for the least of the effort.
Ella Rock
The harder walk of the two, partly along the railway line, taking three to four hours there and back. Go early, and take a guide unless you are happy navigating.
Diyaluma Falls
At 220 metres, the second tallest waterfall in the country. The climb to the pools at the top takes about an hour and is worth doing in the morning.
Ravana Falls
A wide waterfall right beside the road below Ella, tied to the Ramayana story. Busy, easy to reach, and at its best after rain.
3 places
National parks and rainforest
Game drives start at first light, so these usually sit next to a night nearby.
Yala National Park
The park with the best chance of a leopard anywhere in the country, along with elephant, sloth bear and crocodile. Busy at the gate, so an early start matters.
Read our Yala guide
Udawalawe National Park
The reliable one for elephants, in large herds and at close range, all year. Around 180 bird species as well, and quieter jeep traffic than Yala.
Sinharaja Rainforest
The last stretch of primary rainforest on the island and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Walked with a guide, on foot, for endemic birds, frogs and trees rather than big game.
8 places
The coast
The south and west from November to April, the east from May to September.
Mirissa
The harbour the whale boats leave from, roughly November to April, for blue whales and dolphins. A beach town with bars on the sand and a headland to climb at sunset.
Read our Mirissa guide
Weligama
Our home town, and one of the gentler places in the country to stand up on a surfboard for the first time. A long bay with a sandy bottom and slow waves.
Read our Weligama guide
Unawatuna
A curved bay with a reef across the mouth of it, so the water stays calm enough to swim and snorkel. Cafes along the sand and Galle Fort twenty minutes away.
Read our Unawatuna guide
Hikkaduwa
Coral reef close to shore on the south west coast, with turtles in the shallows and glass bottom boats for anyone who would rather stay dry.
Bentota
Where the Bentota river meets the sea, which is why the water sports are here. Larger resorts, river safaris, and the Geoffrey Bawa estate at Lunuganga nearby.
Ahangama
The quieter neighbour along the south coast, with surf camps, small cafes and a slower pace than Weligama or Mirissa.
Hiriketiya
A small horseshoe bay near Dikwella with a left hand break, a beginner corner and a handful of places to stay around the edge of it.
Arugam Bay
The surf town on the east coast, at its best between May and September when the south is wet. Lagoons, elephants on the road and a long point break.
Read our Arugam Bay guide
3 places
Colombo
Most trips start or end here, and a half day is usually enough.
Colombo city
The commercial capital: the old Fort quarter, the market streets of Pettah, and Galle Face Green in the evening when the whole city walks along the sea wall.
Lotus Tower
At over 350 metres, the tallest self-supported structure in South Asia, with an observation deck over the city and the coast.
Gangaramaya Temple
A working temple by Beira Lake that has collected Sri Lankan, Thai, Indian and Chinese architecture, plus a museum of objects given to it over the years.
Places you can visit as a day trip
Fixed excursions with a driver-guide and a price, bookable on their own or added to a longer route.
- 1 day
Kandy City Tour | Visit Temple of the Tooth, Royal Botanical Gardens & Kandy Lake
Kandy
From $115 View trip 
1 dayOura Travel Ella Day Excursion
Ravana Waterfall, Buduruwagala Temple, Nine arch Bridge, Train Ride, Tea Plantation, Little Adam’s Peak
From $110 View trip
Choosing where to go
Straight answers on fitting these places into a trip. Anything else, ask us.
Full FAQHow many days do I need to see these places?
Ten to fourteen days covers the Cultural Triangle, the hill country, one national park and a stretch of coast without moving hotel every night. A week means choosing two regions rather than four.
Can I visit these on day trips instead of a full tour?
Yes. Several of them work as a day trip from the south coast or from Kandy, and we run those as fixed excursions. Anything further afield is better as part of a route.
Do you book the tickets and the guides?
Site entry, park fees and jeeps are arranged as part of your itinerary, and your driver-guide handles them on the day. At the bigger sites we can add a licensed site guide.
What travellers say
Rated excellent on Google from 73 reviews, shown here as they were written.
Tell us which of these you want to see
Send us a shortlist and your dates. We will put them in a sensible order and send back a day-by-day route with a price.
