Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and colonial buildings and ruins and a city population of 647,100.
The main shopping center for the locals is Pettah where the markets are busy and bustling. The main branch of Laksala, Sri Lanka’s largest handicrafts shop is at Fort. More up market shopping destinations are towards the south of the city center along the Galle Road. Majestic City, Liberty Plaza and Crescat are popular among the locals where you could find handicrafts, tea and garments. Odel at Lipton Circus offers good quality items such as clothes, shoes, tea, books and leather goods in a fashionable setting.
As the last major capital of the Sinhala kings, Kandy is definitely a place not to be missed if you want your Sri Lanka trip to be complete.
If you have no time for anything else, at least visit the Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Tooth, where the sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha is housed. The tooth was brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th Century A.D., hidden in a princess' hair. Since then it has changed homes several times, and was relocated to Kandy in 1590 where it has stayed to this day.
Other places of interest include the Royal Botanical Gardens, which are flanked by Mahaweli, the longest river of Sri Lanka, and used to be the Royal Pleasure Gardens of the Kandyan Kings. Then there is the King's Palace, an important stronghold of Kandy's last ruler, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, and Ul-Pan-Ge or the Queen's Bath.
Kandy Lake is the setting of Kandy Esala Perahera (the "Festival of the August Moon"), which takes place every July or August and is the most spectacular celebration in the country. It's an event not to be missed!
Nuwara Eliya (City of Lights), also known as 'Little' England', was the favourite hill station of the British who tried to create Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya Post officeinto a typical English Village. The old brick Post office, country house like hill club, with it's hunting pictures, mounted hunting trophies and fish, and it's strict formal dinner attire; the 18 hole golf course, race course etc., all remind you of 'England'.. It is located at an altitude of 1,868 m (6,128 ft) in the central highlands and is considered one of the most important locations for Tea production in Sri Lanka. The town is overlooked by Pidurutalagala, the highest mountain in Sri Lanka.Sri Lankans celebrate their National New Year Aluth Avurudu in mid april after the Harvest is done. The sun moving from the House of Pisces to the Aries signals the dawning of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The New Year begins at the time determined by the astrologers.
Due to the high altitude, Nuwara Eliya has a much cooler climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka, with a mean annual temperature of 16 °C. But the temperature changes and sometimes it can be like 3°C. In the winter months it is quite cold at night, and there can even be frost.
Galle is situated in the Southern part of Sri Lanka, approximately about 116 kilometers to the south from the capital city, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, or in other words, about 108 kilometers to the south of Colombo. Galle is the capital city of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and is the home for nearly a one million population.Today’s town has grown greatly and spreads into the hinterland but the Fort is the slow-beating heart of Galle’s history.
The walled city has stood since the early sixteenth century, through the Colonial periods of the Portuguese, Dutch and British and in our present times is proclaimed as an Archaeological Reserve and been identified as a World Heritage site.
The of the town depends on the gem trade. Gem pits are a common site in the surrounding area. Most of the large-scale gem businessmen of Sri Lanka operate from Ratnapura. There are considerable numbers of foreign gem traders in town too. Among the foreign traders, Thailand traders are in the majority. Every day, large number of traders from suburbs and other towns gather in the town centre to sell or buy gemstones. Large-scale merchants collect gemstones from locals and sell them in the international market. Some traders go out of the city to buy gems.
A Sri Lankan coastal city famous for golden beaches, Bentota is situated on the southern coastal tip of the Galle District of the Southern Province. The town is a popular tourist attraction. It is especially famous among the foreign tourists. The name comes from a mythical story which dates back to kings time saying a demon called Bem ruled this river.
Bentota hosts a handful of world proclaimed hotels. It is the hosting land for the famous Sri Lankan Jeweler Aida. Bentota also delivers an ancient art of healing called Ayurveda. Bentota is also famous for its production in Toddy. An alcoholic beverage made out of cocunut nectar. The city's population is estimated to be between 25,000-50,000. Bentota was heavily damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which devastated the Sri Lankan coastal belt on the morning of the December 26th.
Nilaveli is a coastal resort town located about 20 km North-West of Trincomalee, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. It used to be a popular tourist destination, however due to 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Sri Lankan Civil War tourist numbers have declined.
Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. It is located in the Southern Province, about 20 km north-west of Galle. Hikkaduwa is famous for its beach and corals.
Coral Sanctuary is the main attraction of Hikkaduwa. A lot of tourist come here for enjoying this Natural Beauty. A couple of hundred meters from the shore there is a rocky area, which is also visible from Corel Garden hotel, is a large shallow area enclosed by the reef. To reach the shore from where you can swim to this reef is just a mins walk from the Corel Garden hotel's beach area .
The Jaffna district occupies the land that constituted the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom Important Hindu temples such as Nainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple, Naguleswaram, Nallur Kanthaswamy temple, Maviddapuram kanthaswamy temple, Selvachannithy, Vallipuram and Buddhist Nagadweepa Vihara are located in the Jaffna District. At the time that Sri Lanka gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Parts of the Jaffna District were redistricted with the creation of the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.
Despite its natural beauty, the western peninsular area of KALPITIYA in the Puttalam district of Sri Lanka is remarkably untouched by tourism. For keen scuba divers and snorkellers, the largest coral reef in Sri Lanka ('Bar reef') is only an hour's boat trip from Kalpitiya.This beautiful reef is home to an incredible variety of tropical fish as well as offering sighting of manta rays, reef sharks and the occasional turtle.
Diving and Snorkelling are not possible during the southwest monsoon period (May to November). The best times are therefore between late November and early May. Transportation to dive/Snorkelling sites is by a fibre glass dinghy of 25 horse power engine.
The underwater currents in the seas off Kalpitiya are generally not strong, but are influenced by small tide changes of two high water and two low water tides. The underwater temperature is approximately 75°F so no wetsuits are required.
