9 Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Sri Lanka (With Itinerary)

We spent 15 days road-tripping around Sri Lanka: Colombo, the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya, the hill country around Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and the beaches of Mirissa and Galle. It cost our family of four 332,600 LKR (about 1,833 USD at 2019 rates), and it gave us some of the most beautiful landscapes of our round-the-world trip. Here are the 9 places that made our itinerary, and how we planned the route.

Sri Lanka reminded us of a cross between India, for its sense of controlled chaos, and Myanmar, for its untouched beauty and Buddhist traditions. But it stands apart for its green landscapes, its layered history, and a culture that its island position has helped preserve.

The Most Beautiful Places to Visit in Sri Lanka

Colombo

Colombo is the centre of the country’s economic activity, while the political capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. As a highlight, we visited the eclectic Gangaramaya Temple, home to a collection of Buddhas of all origins, relics and artifacts as diverse as they are unusual, drawing from both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. We even spotted an image of Jesus, since some Hindus recognize a link between Christ and Krishna.

We wouldn’t have left Sri Lanka without seeing Nipuna again, a friend I met 18 years ago during my studies in England. We reminisced about the many shifts we spent together cutting lettuce for Tesco and McDonald’s in the United Kingdom, a job that financed my student travels back then. We had the pleasure of meeting him in Colombo, along with his wife and their two children.

Dambulla

In Dambulla, we admired the Golden Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of 5 caves filled with Buddha statues and mural frescoes. It was there that we crossed paths with Drew Brinsky, the well-known travel vlogger who posts a video a day from around the world — he ended up making one about us.

Sigiriya

Sigiriya is a former royal capital of Sri Lanka. It’s home to the lion’s rock, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Climbing the rock itself is expensive, so we chose to admire it from the rock facing it, Pidurangala. The panorama from its top is magical.

Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. We took advantage of being in Sigiriya to go on a jeep safari in Hurulu Eco Park, the most ethical way to observe wild elephants.

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura was also once a capital of Sri Lanka and is known for its many ruins. For several centuries it was the centre of Theravada Buddhism, one of the two major branches of Buddhism that later migrated to Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia. The city was built around the “Bo” tree, the oldest tree in the world with a known planting date. Planted over 2,000 years ago from a cutting of the tree under which Prince Siddhartha is said to have attained enlightenment and become the Buddha, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

12 kilometres from Anuradhapura lies Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. From the heights of its rock there is a magnificent view over the surrounding countryside.

Kandy

We then headed to Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kandy’s number one attraction is undoubtedly the Temple of the Tooth — home to what is believed to be the Buddha’s upper left canine. Among the 84,000 relics believed to exist, it’s the one surrounded by the most stories, to the point that some doubt its authenticity: after the Buddha’s cremation, this tooth is said to have been found among his ashes. Ever since, the city holding this relic has also held the country’s political and religious power, and the faithful travel from everywhere to venerate it.

Nuwara Eliya

The magic kept working in Sri Lanka. The railway between Kandy and Ella via Nuwara Eliya is known as one of the most beautiful in the world, and we had planned to travel it by train — only to learn that tickets need to be booked well in advance. When I tried to book two weeks before arriving in Sri Lanka, there was no space left on that route for at least the next 30 days. By necessity, we rented a car instead. We don’t regret it: the country’s roads are gorgeous.

Between hills and valleys, the 80 km of curves separating Kandy and Nuwara Eliya are usually driven in 2.5 hours. This region is so beautiful that it took us 8! We stopped every 5 minutes to photograph the mountains blanketed in tea plantations, and visited 3 tea factories, where we were graciously offered a tasting each time. Tea-making is no longer a mystery to us — did you know green tea, black tea and white tea all come from the same plant? Only the manufacturing process differs.

Ella

If there was one place we most wanted to visit in Sri Lanka, it was Ella. Surrounded by hills and tea plantations, this town has real charm. You can admire the famous Nine Arches Bridge, one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century: a 9-arch railway bridge built by the British during the colonial era.

25 km from Ella lies Lipton’s Seat, a lookout at nearly 2,000 m of altitude where Sir Thomas Lipton used to sit and admire his tea empire — where it all started. Google Maps put the drive at 1h20; it took us 3 hours, again stopping every 5 minutes for the views over the tea plantations. One of the most beautiful road trips of our lives, as I keep saying!

Mirissa

Mirissa is a popular destination known for its beach and nightlife. We stayed in a villa set in nature, surrounded by cows, monkeys and peacocks. By day, we walked the beautiful beaches of the south coast, and the kids were introduced to surfing.

Galle

On the way back to Colombo, we visited Galle, a colonial city home to the largest fortress in Asia built by Europeans, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Planning Your Trip to Sri Lanka

Itinerary

We spent 15 days in Sri Lanka. After landing in Colombo, we hit the road in our rental car for what turned out to be one of the most beautiful road trips of our lives, nothing less. Our itinerary and the time spent at each stop were based on the country’s most popular attractions:

• Colombo (2 nights);
• Sigiriya (3 nights);
• Kandy (2 nights);
• Nuwara Eliya (1 night);
• Ella (2 nights);
• Mirissa (3 nights);
• Colombo (2 nights).

1. Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo
2. Dambulla Royal Cave Temple
3. Pidurangala Rock
4. Anuradhapura
5. Mihintale
6. Temple of the Tooth, Kandy
7. Oak Ray Tea Factory
8. Damro Tea Center
9. Ramboda Falls
10. Nuwara Eliya
11. Nine Arches Bridge
12. Lipton's Seat
13. Silent Beach Tangalle
14. Ravana Falls
15. Mirissa Beach
16. Mirissa Coconut Tree Hill
17. Dalawella Beach
18. Galle Lighthouse

Driving in Sri Lanka

A little anecdote about driving in Sri Lanka. To my surprise, I turned out to be one of the very few foreigners driving there, first because driving is known to be dangerous, and also because it’s left-hand traffic. Even Sri Lankans were surprised to learn I was driving. I’ll admit it reminded me of playing Need for Speed as a teenager: I had a blast racing the buses, which are real experts behind the wheel. Like bulls, they tailgate cars and honk nonstop to get them to move aside so they can pass, zigzagging through traffic. While everyone else tops out around 50-60 km/h, the buses go up to 120 km/h. To pick up passengers on the roadside, they only slow down and never fully stop — if you don’t hop on while it’s rolling, you’re left waiting for the next one, and to get off, passengers jump from the moving bus. I’d let them pass when they were on my tail, then overtake them when they slowed to drop off or pick up passengers, all while passing the tuk-tuks and motorcycles crawling along at 30-50 km/h through the winding curves. I had a great time; Jessica had a few more chills.

Accommodation

For lodging, we kept it simple: hotels and apartments booked through Booking.com, for an average of 30 USD per night for the four of us.

Food

Our diet came down mostly to kottu (chopped flatbread stir-fried with vegetables, egg or meat) and roti, because it’s good and cheap.

How Much Does 15 Days in Sri Lanka Cost?

The cost of our 15 days in Sri Lanka for our family of 4:

• 332,600 LKR (1,833 USD);
• 22,175 LKR (122 USD) per day;
• 5,540 LKR (31 USD) per person and per day.

Amounts were paid in Sri Lankan rupees. US-dollar equivalents use the average exchange rate during our trip (January 13 – January 28, 2019): 1 USD = 181.42 LKR.

In detail:

Expense Category	Amount Spent
Flight and Visa	83,700 LKR (461 USD)
Accommodation	81,200 LKR (448 USD)
Transport	78,200 LKR (431 USD)
Food	58,700 LKR (324 USD)
Activities	30,800 LKR (170 USD)
Total	332,600 LKR (1,833 USD)

Conclusion

We had high expectations for Sri Lanka, and they were completely met, and then some. Breathtaking landscapes, striking vegetation, the remnants of an incredibly rich history and a fascinating culture are the hallmarks of our experience in the Pearl of the Orient.

Don’t miss our next adventure in the Philippines!