22 places worth the trip in Sri Lanka, grouped by what they are. Every guide explains what to see, the best time to go and the practical details, checked against official sources. Best time to visit Sri Lanka: Dec–Apr (west & south).
Kandy's royal temple houses the relic of the Buddha's tooth, revered across the Buddhist world, beside the lake at the heart of the last Sinhalese capital.
ExploreA cave monastery of five shrines high on a rock above Dambulla, with about 2,100 square metres of Buddhist murals and well over 150 statues.
ExploreFor well over a thousand years Sri Lanka's royal capital, now a living pilgrimage city of huge stupas, ancient monasteries and the revered Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree.
ExploreA conical 2,243 m peak crowned by a shrine to a sacred footprint, revered by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians and climbed by night so pilgrims reach the summit for dawn.
ExploreA working mosque in the heart of Pettah, famous for red-and-white striped brickwork, pomegranate-shaped domes and a clock tower, built in 1908-09 for the area's Indian Muslim traders.
ExploreSri Lanka's best-known hill station, at around 1,870 m: a cool town of colonial buildings, parks and a lake, ringed by some of the island's most important tea country.
ExploreSri Lanka's biggest city mixes an ocean-front green where families gather at sunset, the crowded trading streets of Pettah and Gangaramaya, a richly decorated Buddhist temple beside Beira Lake.
ExploreA historic port on one of the world's great natural harbours, where Koneswaram Temple crowns Swami Rock inside Fort Frederick and the beaches of Nilaveli face the coral reefs of Pigeon Island.
ExploreCapital of the Northern Province and centre of Sri Lankan Tamil life, known for the gilded towers and grand annual festival of Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, the star-shaped Jaffna Fort and a distinctive cuisine.
ExploreA large protected area of scrub, forest, grassland and lagoons on the south-east coast, renowned for one of the world's highest leopard densities and for elephants.
ExploreA national park around the 3rd-century Minneriya tank, famous for the dry-season Gathering, when large numbers of wild Asian elephants graze the grasslands at the water's edge.
ExploreA windswept plateau at over 2,000 m, part of the UNESCO Central Highlands, where a loop trail crosses grassland and cloud forest to the sheer drop of World's End and Baker's Falls.
ExploreA vast dry-zone wilderness of forest and natural lakes called villus on Sri Lanka's north-west coast, prized for leopard sightings and a calmer safari experience than the busier southern parks.
ExploreA granite column rising about 180 m above the forest, crowned with the ruins of King Kassapa's 5th-century palace and reached through the paws of a giant brick lion.
ExploreThe second capital of ancient Sri Lanka, where 12th-century palaces, image houses and the colossal rock-cut Buddhas of Gal Vihara spread beside the Parakrama Samudra reservoir.
ExploreA walled old town on Sri Lanka's south-west coast, founded by the Portuguese and developed by the Dutch, where ramparts, churches, a mosque and a lighthouse frame lively lanes.
ExploreA crescent of sand on the south coast with a busy fishing harbour, palm-topped headlands and boat trips that head out in season to look for blue whales and dolphins.
ExploreSri Lanka's best-known surf destination, a relaxed bay of fishing boats and beach cafes south of Pottuvil whose main point break works best in the east-coast season from about May to September.
ExploreBentota's long golden beach and river mouth make an easy coastal base south of Colombo, and the nearby Madu Ganga at Balapitiya offers boat trips through mangrove tunnels to temple and cinnamon islands.
Explore
Sri Lanka · 3 nights3★ HotelSri Lanka · 3 nights4★ HotelSri Lanka · 3 nights5★ Hotel
