I recently listed my 5 top reasons why you should consider adding Sri Lanka to your list of Asian countries to visit. To convince you further, I thought I would share some of my favourite places from there. Some are famous and would likely make it into your itinerary, but there are few less known ones that I think are worth incorporating into your trip. Plus I have a few other handy tips to share that you might find useful if you plan on visiting any of them yourself.
I present to you my favourite places in Sri Lanka! 5 of them are actually UNESCO World Heritage sites—even cooler is that Sri Lanka actually has 8 world heritage sites in total. No shortage of interesting places to explore!
If you prefer to watch instead, check out my Youtube video!
1. The Ancient City of Anuradhapura
This is a pretty obvious one. Most people visiting Sri Lanka will hear about, or have heard about it online somewhere, and it’s the first of the UNESCO World Heritage sites I’ll list. There’s good reason for this. According to historical records Anuradhpura dates back to the 5th century BC, but archeological data dates back to the 10th century BC. It’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world! Although the ancient city itself is not inhabited (it is a protected area), the modern city lies just outside of it.
The ancient city is composed are 8 major sites, and a few handfuls of other sites. Personally I found the massive stupas, like Abhayagiri Dagaba and Jetavanarama. These are quite literally the biggest stupas I’ve ever seen and pretty impressive when you’re standing next to it.
My next favourite thing about Anuradhpura was the ancient pools, like at Kuttam Pokuna. There are several pools like this around the ancient city. I don’t know what it is about ancient structures like this that amaze me so much. I start imagining what the people back then looked like as they visited the pool. What people went in the pool to swim? Did they like to do canon balls and dives like we do? I digress… Here’s some cool shots I have from the pools—check out the beautiful stone carving!
You can go about Anuradhapura in two ways—either by vehicle, or by bicycle. I spent the day on my bicycle and I quite enjoyed it that way. I didn’t stop at every ancient structure I saw (that would take several days…) and so going by slowly on my bicycle gave me a little extra time to stare.
The complicated thing about visiting this ancient city is the ticket prices…
Essentially you can either buy a tourist ticket which gives you access to the whole city, or, you can buy tickets to the individual sites. NOTE: there are some sites that are actually free to visit. I know some people online will argue that you can get by only visiting those, and in some way I agree that will still provide you with a cool experience. I’m a budget traveller myself, but to be honest, I do like to contribute to where I feel money is warranted to be received—in this case to preserve the ancient city.
My advice: check out the various sites in the city before hand to figure out which ones you are keen on seeing. Then once you get to the ticket office at the city, get a map and ask which ones have entrance fees and which are included in their price. Figure out what makes the most sense for you and your budget, and lets you see the sites that appeal to you most.
I say check at the time you go directly with the ticket office about prices because this is something that will likely change over time, and I visited in 2018, so I don’t think the prices I paid would be so accurate to the present.
Dambulla Cave Temple
Asking someone who has backpacked around Asia extensively how many temples they’ve seen is like asking a coral how many fish it’s seen. Uncountable.
The Dambulla Cave Temple gets thrown onto my list of things to see in Sri Lanka, because it is one of the coolest temples I have been in. It’s not the biggest, and it may not have the biggest Buddhas inside, but it’s a definitely a cool one. There’s something super special about the mysterious vibe inside the place.
Of all of the temples I’ve been in throughout my travels in Asia, just know that this is one of the most memorable—and I’ve probably seen hundreds of temples (I honestly have no clue how many).
It’s also very easy to get to. You can access it by bus stopping along either Kandy Rd or Colombo Rd. You can drive in, or get a taxi to the temple entrance, but I walked in from the main road just fine.
Another thing to note about the cave temple is that there are over 300 steps up to get to it. If you’re an avid hiker who thrives off of climbing up, then this is not a problem, but maybe not as accessible to everyone.
If you’re going to Sri Lanka (which I hope you do), and plan on visiting some temples I strongly suggest you visit this one. Honestly like no other. The aura of being inside a cave, and the intricate murals on the walls is something you shouldn’t miss. Don’t just take my word for it though. Boom! You may have guessed, it’s another World Heritage Site.
Oh and P.S.
Watch out for the monkeys here… God one of these days I should really write a post about monkey safety.
Sigiriya & Pidurangala
Boom again! Another World Heritage site that’s making my list. Although this one technically has two parts.
Sigiriya is another ancient city, though not as expansive like Anuradhapura. The selling point of this location is the massive granite peak which appears to be jutting out of the plains surrounding it very randomly. It’s also home to a few ancient pools like the ones I highlighted about Anuradhapura.
The one thing that stops people from going here is the relatively high price point (about 30 USD). Admittedly, this was was also a very high price point for me to when I was there in 2018 (I do have a big of regret not going). It’s one of the most popular places to visit in the country so the price is high.
So what I’m here to do for you is provide a cheaper, alternative—Pidurangala. The entrance to the temple and top of this site is only around 3 USD. A lot easier on the daily budget for the average backpacker, and this is what I did myself. There are few interesting statues on the way up too!
The last bit of the climb is a little tricky, as you find yourself balancing awkwardly between the spaces between the rocks to get up to the top. But the view from the top is stellar.
The good thing about visiting Pidurangala rock is that is gives you an amazing view of Sigiriya’s Lion’s Rock, which for me was essentially my desire to head to this area in the first place.
The view of the surrounding plains are equally as good from here too. There’s just something about looking down onto the vast horizon that just feels amazing…
The Sinharaja Rainforest & Patna Viewpoint
You know I like to hike. What do I like more than a hike? A hike that involves wildlife gazing. And a rainforest does just the trick for that desire.
BOOM AGAIN! Another UNESCO World Heritage Site that is close to my heart. The area is pretty vulnerable due to mining, logging and animal trapping, however the protection that being a World Heritage site provides is not cutting it. I volunteered for a man who runs his own campaign to help preserve the rainforest. If you want to learn more about his campaign, or stay at one of his guesthouses, you’d be supporting the rainforest! Check out this website!
The rainforest, like any other forest is beautiful, and home to unique plants and creatures. There are also a few waterfalls to check out too! Visits to the rainforest during the day or over night make for a great adventure!
Fun thing to note which I didn’t think about before I got there was the lack of mosquitoes. I had came from the South coast before arriving there, and I was amazed to realize there was no buzzing or no itchy bites surfacing on my skin. Cool! Not cool was how the trails seemed to be inhabited by what appeared to be thousands of leeches. They squiggled in and around my shoe laces as I pried them off with a small stick.
In the end though, the leeches got me…
Pro-tip I learned months after this leech incident: salt your socks before you head out on your hike.
So other than checking out cool trails and wildlife, there’s one other thing about this location I want to mention—Patna Viewpoint.
This is definitely a spot that is more under the radar in terms of sites to see in Sri Lanka. But I’m here to give it a special spotlight.
Close by to Deniyaya (the town closest to the rainforest) is Patna viewpoint, and a small temple nearby. Although this area is not accessible by bus (so it’s going to require a little extra money for the lift), but I think it’s worth it.
As you bend along the hillside driving up this road, you’ll be surrounded by the beautiful hilly countryside. When I think of Sri Lanka, I think of rolling green hills. This was one of my favourite things about Sri Lanka, which I’ll talk more about in my next point.
But actually the most amazing moment about going to the Patna viewpoint was going here—Patna Devision Deniyaya Sliding Rock. This large rock mound appears to be a place where local people go to hang out and take advantage of this natural waterslide. As far as unique moments go, the one I had here goes down as most memorable. Maybe because it made me feel like I was more of a local, or maybe because I loved seeing people gathering outside this unique natural waterpark. Either way it was super cool. And I would say if you make your way to Deniyaya and the Sinharaja, try and make it up here too.
The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka
AND BOOM! Just like that we’ve reached number 5 on my list—the last of the UNESCO World Heritage sites I’ll be mentioning in this blog (there are more so feel free to research them all!).
Remember how I just said that when I think of Sri Lanka, I think of rolling green hills. This goes hand in hand with why I love this area of Sri Lanka. I’m not going to list one specific site to see here, instead I am going to list a few that you might want to consider, and some that are popular. This is because, if you were to ask me what my favourite part about this area was, my answer would be, “Taking the bus between each place and watching the landscape past by me.” And I realize how strange and vague of an answer that is.
One of the most popular sites to visit is Adam’s peak, which is actually a pilgrim site. Most people hike up this steep climb (steep but all stairs so not so challenging), to see the sunrise. I did this myself while I was there. What I suggest is two things: one, don’t go there on a holiday where you won’t have space to breathe, and two, bring some blankets or extra layers for when you arrive at the dark. I ended up hiking up way to fast (a 3 hour hike to Sri Lankan standard I suppose is a 1.5 hour hike for me), and since it was still dark, the wind rushing past nearly froze me. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pry off my butt from the stone I was sitting on.
The view was great though for sure! Worth the frozen butt.
Another thing I would suggest you check out is the train to Nuwara Eliya and visit Horton’s Plains National Park. A great option to see this area of the country is by train (the famous train to Ella I’m sure you can find out lots about online). But travelling by bus is also pleasing—maybe just a little more nauseating for those that get motion sickness, since you’ll be taking sharp curves and bends for hours.
Go on a Safari at a National Park
If I had endless time and money I would have liked to go to all the national parks in the country. But that’s life—you have to pick what you want to do most in life because you won’t have the time to do it all.
What I’m going to do is quickly list a few national parks for seeing wildlife, and that way you might be able to choose which one (or more!) you’d like to schedule into your adventure. In Sri Lanka, you have the chance to spot many many Asian elephants, countless birds, monitors, crocodiles, and if you’re very lucky a leopard. There are so many parks in Sri Lanka for such a small country. If neither of the ones I list seem to interest you I would suggest looking up more to see what might. I feel like it would be a shame not to visit at least one.
Yala National Park: one of the most visited and popular national parks in the country. This means you’ll have an easy time arranging a safari there and getting there. This is located in the southern area of the country.
Kaudulla National Park: this is one of the national parks in the central region of the country, which is also very accessible. This is what I choose to visit while I was exploring the Dambulla and Anuradhapura area. I loved it. We saw crocodiles, many birds I can’t name and what felt like over a hundred elephants. It was amazing.
Wilpattu National Park: this one has a bit of a broken history (being closed off due to the civil war), as it is located in the Northern West side. It’s Sri Lanka’s largest park, and currently only 25% of it is available for tourists to visit. If you’re looking for a more off the beaten path experience (contrary to Yala) then I would suggest this one. I was also told by a local here that my chances of seeing a leopard here were higher compared to some of the other parks.
Visit any of the Beautiful Beaches
I mentioned in my other blog about Sri Lanka, that the beaches in the country are stunning. And that’s the truth. There not much NOT to love about the beaches in Sri Lanka. The coast of Sri Lanka brings you the opportunity to do many things: surfing, diving, whale watching, and my personal favourite—lazing about with a coconut.
Since it would take too long to list them all or list my favourite I will list a few.
I stayed in the South, near Mirissa, and fell in love with the two smaller beaches by Polhena. In the morning I would sit by the rocky shore outside my guest house and keep an eye out for sea turtles—pretty nice yeah?
You can also get some surfing done at many beaches along the South Coast as well. I went to Weligama to do this, but another popular surf spot nearby is Unawatuna, or Arugam Bay if you are on the East coast. Fun fact: Sri Lanka is the first and only place I’ve surfed before (though I’ve been to many other popular surf spots), I just prefer to be lazy sun bathe I guess…
As far as dive spots go, I did not do any diving here but maybe you can get a good idea of where you might be able to go here.
Well folks, that’s a wrap! I could have listed some more places, but I feel like this is already enough information to get you started on planning a trip to Sri Lanka.
I hope that you found some of the information useful and interesting, and if you did, don’t forget to comment or share with a friend!
Thanks for reading and happy adventures everyone!