Best Attractions You Must Visit in Sri Lanka

Plan your next journey to an island full of magical landscapes, epic mountains, misty tea estates, sparkling waterfalls, golden beaches, and endless natural beauty. Sri Lanka is a serene and rich cultured island you must add to your travel journal. Sri Lanka offers a lovely experience that makes your journey a memorable one.

Visit this great vacation destination to see mountains, gardens, parks, beaches, inspiring spots, historical and cultural places, peaceful religious sites, adventure activities, fantastic diversity wildlife, and magnificent marine sanctuary. Here are some of the best attractions you must visit in Sri Lanka.

Pigeon Island National Park

Pigeon island national park
is one of the best Marine Sanctuary in Sri Lanka. The national park contains
some of the best remaining coral reefs of Sri Lanka. Many of the 100 species of
corals and 300 coral reef fishes recorded around the Trincomalee area are found
in the national park.

Location: 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli, a coastal town in Trincomalee, Eastern Province

Best Time period to visit: May – October (Best in June) (8:00am – 5:00pm)

Things to do:
Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Speedboat Ride, Swimming, Windsurfing (When there is enough for the waves)

Check out more on: Pigeon Island National Park

Hotels near Trincomalee

Sigiriya

Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (Lion’s
Rock) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District. Sigiriya
was built by King Kashyapa and it is included as a World Heritage site. This
ancient palace and fortress complex has significant archaeological importance
and attracts thousands of tourists every year.

The Sigiriya site contains
the ruins of an upper palace located on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level
terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the
lower palaces clings to the slopes below the rocks. The frescoes are created
during the reign of Kasyapa. Eighteen frescoes have survived to this day. These
unique ancient paintings are celebrating female beauty and have incredible
historical significance. The Mirror wall is painted with inscriptions and poems
written by the visitors of Sigiriya.

Location: Matale
District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province,

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year (7:00am – 5:00pm)

Check out more on: Sigiriya

Hotels near Sigirya

Meemure

Meemure is a small village
in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, located 324m above sea level and hidden
amongst the mountains. The village itself receives abundant water in the form
of waterfalls that have their sources in the evergreen forests of the Knuckles.

Location: located
near the border between Kandy District and Matale District in the Knuckles
Mountain Range.

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year (Not in heavy rainy days)

Things to do: swimming,
stream sliding, confidence in jumping in natural water pools, Jungle trekking
to the hidden waterfall, Hiking, Camping

Check out more on: Meemure

Hotels near Meemure

Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

Royal Botanical Gardens in
Peradeniya is one of the best and the oldest formal gardens in Sri Lanka. It
attracts 2 million visitors annually. The garden includes more than 4000
species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants, and palm trees
within 59 hectares (146 acres).

It is managed by the Division
of National Botanic Gardens of the Department of Agriculture. The most
important specimens of the garden include palms, some of which are planted in
impressive avenues.

Location: Peradeniya
are about 5.5 km to the west of the city of Kandy

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year (8:00am – 5.30pm)

Check out more on: Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya

Hotels near Peradeniya

Flying Ravana Adventures

Flying Ravana is Sri Lanka’s
first-ever mega dual zipline, located amidst the luscious green estates of
Ella. It exclusively designed for adventure enthusiasts who prefer a not so
ordinary hillside experience. Swing through the trees with the greatest of ease
on this adrenaline-charged longest zipline in South Asia.

The two-wire zipline
stretches for more than half a kilometer, slides at 80kmph and offers a bird’ s-eye
view of the beautiful hills of the island. This fantastic experience offers
a bird’ s-eye view of the beautiful mountains of the island, and all combine to
make this experience memorable for life.

Location: Ella
– Passara Road in Ella

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year (9:00am – 5:00pm)

Things to do: Zipline Adventure

Check out more on: Flying Ravana Adventures

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Ravana Falls

Ravana Falls is a popular
sightseeing attraction in Sri Lanka. It is a part of the Ravana Ella Wildlife
Sanctuary. This
waterfall measures approximately 25 m (82 ft) in height and cascades
from an oval-shaped concave rock outcrop.

The falls are quite impressive, and you can
climb over some of the rocks to get a closer look. It is a good place for
swimming but be safe as the rocks are slippery. Ravana Falls is a 3-tier
cascading waterfall that gushes down a rock face, creating rock pools along its
path. It currently ranks as one of the widest falls in the island.

Location: Ella
(6 km (3.7 mi) away from the local railway station at Ella)

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year (Not in heavy rainy days)

Things to do:
Enjoy Splash time, Swimming

Check out more on: Ravana Falls

Hotels near Ravana Falls

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is one of
the most visited wildlife sanctuaries and second-largest national park, located
in southeast Sri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now
open to the public. Yala National Park is forming a total area of 1268 sq km of
scrub, light forest, grassy plains, and brackish lagoons and wildlife. Traveling around Sri Lanka, with its amazing sights, can be exciting, but at the same time, given the increased interest in online entertainment, don’t forget about the opportunities that online casinos provide. After a day spent visiting magnificent places like Sigiriya city or Dambulla temple, you can relax by enjoying online casino games at Betbry https://betbryonlinecasino.com right from the comfort of your hotel. This unique combination of cultural enrichment and modern entertainment makes your Sri Lanka vacation even more unforgettable.

It’s home to wildlife such
as leopards, elephants, and crocodiles, as well as hundreds of bird species. A
variety of butterfly species can see in the park. The common bluebottle, common
lime butterfly, crimson rose, common Jezebel, and common Mormon are the common
species.

Location: Palatupana,
12km from Kirinda. The distance from Colombo to the entry point of Palatupana
is 305 km.

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year. (6:00am – 6:00pm)

Things to do:
Wildlife Safari

Check out more on: Yala National Park

Hotels near Yala National Park

Turtle watch Rekawa

Turtle Watch Rekawa is located
in Tangalle, southern coast, Sri Lanka.  Turtle
Watch was founded by the Turtle Conservation Project, which offers
opportunities to watch many species of sea turtles coming on to shore to lay
eggs.

Five out of seven of the
world’s marine turtle species are found in Sri Lanka and come ashore in Rekawa
to lay eggs, including green, loggerhead, hawksbill, olive ridley, and
leatherback turtles’ nest here all year round. Full moon days between January
and April – July are the best time to spot Sea turtle.

Location: Tangalle,
southern coast

Best Time period to visit: January,
April – July (8:00pm – 1:00am)

Things to do:
Turtle Watch

Check out more on: Turtle watch Rekawa

Hotels near Turtle Watch Rekawa

Hikkaduwa Coral Reef and Beach

Hikkaduwa beach is one of
the most beautiful beaches located on the south coast. It is well known as one
of the best-surfing sites and best Coral Sanctuary in Sri Lanka. Hikkaduwa is
also a home to some of the best coral gardens in Asia. The coast extends for
just four kilometers outwards. In terms of size, it covers about 102 hectares.
Among the corals that grow here, there are elkhorn, table, staghorn and brain
corals, all of them being hard coral species which form the very foundations of
the reef.

Location:
Hikkaduwa, Southern Province, about 17 km (11 mi) north-west of Galle and 98 km
(61 mi) south of Colombo.

Best Time period to visit: April
– November

Things to do:
Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Glass-bottomed boat rides

Check out more on: Hikkaduwa Coral Reef, Hikkaduwa beach

Hotels near Hikkaduwa Coral Reef

Madu River Safari

Madu lagoon is a very wide and a beautiful lagoon in Sri
Lanka. It is in the wet zone of Sri Lanka with a high biodiversity. 70 species
of fish, 31 types of reptiles, and 50 kinds of butterflies are just some of the
colorful array of wildlife that inhabits this abundantly bustling eco-system.

Location: located
80 kilometers from Colombo in Balapitiya, along the country’s southern coast,
within the Galle District of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

Best Time period to visit: Any
day of the year. (6:00am – 9:00pm)

Things to do: Madu River Boat Ride, Fish Therapy

Check out more on: Madu River Safari

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