Things to do in Sri Lanka · Heritage
57 guides
Adam's BridgeThe chain of sandbanks between Mannar Island and India: a marine national park on the maritime…
Adisham BungalowA 1931 stone country house near Haputale, modelled on Leeds Castle and now St Benedict's Monastery,…
AluviharaA cave temple among boulders north of Matale, where tradition says monks first wrote down the…
Ambalangoda Mask MuseumThe Ariyapala family's mask museum and carving workshop in Ambalangoda, explaining kolam, sanni and raksha masks,…
ArankeleRuins of an ancient forest monastery near Kurunegala, with stone meditation walkways through the trees; monks…
Avukana BuddhaA standing Buddha carved from a granite rock face beside the Kala Wewa reservoir near Kekirawa,…
Batticaloa FortA small four-bastion fort on Batticaloa's lagoon, where the Dutch and the King of Kandy took…
BuduruwagalaSeven figures carved in relief on one rock face near Wellawaya, dated to the 9th–10th century:…Full ticket USD 3…
Colombo National MuseumSri Lanka's oldest museum, opened in 1877: the throne and crown of the last king of…Foreign visitors: USD 5…
Dambatenne Tea FactorySir Thomas Lipton's 1890 tea factory above Haputale, still at work: what you see inside, how…
Dambulla Cave TempleFive painted cave shrines above Dambulla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with 157 statues and about…
Dedigama Kota VeheraThe flat-topped brick stupa built by Parakramabahu I on his birthplace, with a free archaeology museum,…Museum: no entrance ticket…
DeegavapiOne of Sri Lanka's sixteen great Buddhist shrines, east of Ampara: a vast brick stupa linked…
Dematamal ViharaA small, still-active temple at Okkampitiya near Buttala, built round an ancient brick stupa linked by…
Dimbulagala MonasteryA forest hermitage built into a rock 16 km south-east of Polonnaruwa, with Brahmi-inscribed caves and…
Dondra LighthouseSri Lanka's tallest lighthouse, a 49-metre white tower of 1890 among palms at Dondra Head, the…
Dowa Rock TempleA cave temple near Bandarawela with Kandyan-era murals and a huge standing Buddha carved into the…
Embekke DevalayaA Kataragama shrine in Udunuwara, west of Kandy, known for its carved wooden hall: 514 designs…
Fort FrederickTrincomalee's working army fort on the Swami Rock headland: the 1675 gate, shore walls, deer and…
Gadaladeniya TempleA 14th-century stone temple near Pilimatalawa, west of Kandy, built in South Indian style in the…
Galle FortWalking the walls of Galle's UNESCO-listed old town: gates, bastions, the lighthouse, the powder-store galleries, heat…
IsurumuniyaA rock temple by Tissa Wewa in Anuradhapura, known for its carvings: bathing elephants, a man…
Jaffna FortThe five-sided Dutch fort on Jaffna lagoon: walk its rebuilt ramparts and moat past the war-damaged…
Kalutara BodhiyaA sacred bo tree and a hollow white stupa you can walk inside, on the Galle…
Kande ViharaHilltop temple near Aluthgama, founded in 1734, with a 48.8-metre (160 ft) seated Buddha completed in…
Kelaniya TempleA riverside temple north-east of Colombo, linked to the Buddha's third visit, with a paddy-heap stupa,…
KoneswaramA Hindu temple to Shiva on Swami Rock in Trincomalee, reached through Fort Frederick; destroyed by…1 hour – 2 hours
Lankatilaka TempleA 14th-century Gampola-period temple on a rock in Udunuwara, west of Kandy, with a tall image…
Maha Saman DevalayaRatnapura's great shrine to Saman, god of Sri Pada: a gem-vow origin, a Portuguese victory stone…
MahiyanganaThe stupa where tradition places the Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka, near the Mahaweli River…
Maligawila BuddhaA colossal 7th–8th century limestone Buddha in the Monaragala forest, with the giant Dambegoda bodhisattva at…
Mannar FortThe Portuguese-built, Dutch-strengthened fort at the island end of the Mannar bridge: walk the ramparts and…
MihintaleThe hill near Anuradhapura where, by tradition, Buddhism came to Sri Lanka: stupas, caves, monastery ruins…
MulkirigalaA Buddhist cave temple on terraces up a 205-metre rock inland from Tangalle, with a large…
MunneswaramAn ancient Shiva temple near Chilaw whose Kali shrine draws Buddhists as well as Hindus: the…
Muthiyangana templeBadulla's old temple and one of the 16 sacred places: the pearl-and-hair legend, the gateway, Bo…
Nagadeepa ViharayaBuddhist temple on Nainativu island, one of Sri Lanka's sixteen sacred sites, where tradition says the…
Nagapooshani Amman TempleNainativu's Hindu temple to the goddess Nagapooshani: a tall painted tower by the jetty, a June–July…
Nallur TempleJaffna's Murugan temple, rebuilt in 1734: men enter bare-chested, pujas start on time, and a 25-day…
Nine Arch BridgeA 1919 concrete railway viaduct of nine arches near Ella, on the hill-country line to Badulla,…No entrance fee
PanduwasnuwaraA moated 12th-century palace and monastery ruins near Hettipola, the first capital of King Parakramabahu I…
Peradeniya Botanic GardensBotanic gardens in a loop of the Mahaweli near Kandy, with orchids, palm avenues and over…Foreign visitors: adult (over…
Pidurangala RockA rock with an ancient temple at its foot, just north of Sigiriya; a short, steep…
PolonnaruwaSri Lanka's medieval capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Gal Vihara rock-cut Buddhas,…Full ticket USD 30…
RajagalaA forest monastery over 2,000 years old on a jungle-covered rock north of Ampara, with monks'…
Richmond CastleA faded mansion above the Kalu Ganga near Kalutara, built for a wealthy Mudaliyar with Burma…
RitigalaRuins of an ancient Buddhist forest monastery on the slopes of Ritigala, a mountain protected as…Full ticket USD 6…
Sacred City of AnuradhapuraSri Lanka's ancient capital and UNESCO site: the Sri Maha Bodhi, the great stupas, CCF tickets,…Central Cultural Fund ticket…
SeruwilaAn ancient stupa south of Trincomalee, built by King Kavantissa and revered for the Buddha's forehead…
SigiriyaKing Kassapa I's 5th-century rock fortress and gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the climb, tickets,…Foreign visitors: USD 35…
Star FortA small six-pointed Dutch fort of 1763–65 in central Matara, with a moat, a carved gate,…
Temple of the ToothSri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, home of the Buddha's tooth relic: opening hours, daily rituals, tickets,…Foreign visitors LKR 3,000;…
Tissamaharama stupaThe great white stupa of Tissamaharama, one of Sri Lanka's 16 sacred places: who built it,…
Vavuniya Archaeological MuseumA small Department of Archaeology museum in Vavuniya town, with 5th-8th century stone carvings and statues…Free entry; no ticket…
WewurukannalaA south-coast temple near Dikwella with a giant seated Buddha, an 18th-century image house and a…1 hour
Wickramasinghe Folk MuseumMartin Wickramasinghe's birthplace in Koggala: the writer's ancestral house, his grave and a large folk museum…Non-residents: adult Rs 1,000,…
YapahuwaA 13th-century royal capital on a granite rock near Maho, known for its steep carved stairway…