Sri Lanka: TOP-15 attractions of the island country

Golden Temple of Dambulla

Of course, we'll start our selection with the country's main tourist attraction - the Golden Temple of Dambulla.

Primarily, it's a unique and unparalleled cave temple complex, founded in the 1st century BC. Many ancient rulers of Sri Lanka participated in its creation and development. The temple is located right inside a rock at an altitude of 350m.

Dambulla is known for the largest collection of Buddha statues - there are 153 of them here and some sculptures are over two thousand years old. The temple got its name "Golden" because about half of the statues are covered with pure gold. The caves also contain statues of Sri Lankan kings, gods and goddesses. The cave walls are densely covered with traditional Buddhist drawings and frescoes. The temple has been a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries.

Sigiriya

In the central part of Sri Lanka, there is an important and extraordinarily beautiful attraction of the country. This is Sigiriya, or "Lion Rock", located on the site of a volcano that fell asleep millions of years ago.

The solidified lava formed a plateau where an ancient castle was built in the first centuries of our era. Its gardens had some of the world's first fountains, still working today. The ruins of this fortress have survived to this day, but even from the ruins one can judge the former grandeur of the structure. The entrance to the castle was once carved in the shape of a huge lion, but nowadays only its paws can be seen - all that remains of the stone giant.

City of Galle

A port city, whose fortification is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, was built by Europeans, which affected its appearance.

The main attraction here is the 17th-century fortress. Once behind the fortress walls were residential quarters with temples, administrative houses, a prison and a lighthouse. Now on the streets, some of which have retained Dutch names, you can find the National Maritime Museum, the Dutch Period Museum, the Dutch church, the Meera Mosque, as well as numerous hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops housed in old buildings. At the southern edge of the fort is Flag Rock - one of the most popular spots for meeting the sunrise.

Adam's Peak

Among the excursion programs in Sri Lanka, climbing Adam's Peak - the second highest peak in the country, known for having a footprint of a left foot - is especially popular. Buddhists believe it's the footprint of Buddha, while Muslims believe Adam stepped here when expelled from paradise.

For ages, believers have been making pilgrimages here. Not only young and healthy, but also old on crutches overcome with unimaginable persistence 5200 steps (about 8 km) leading to the summit. The ascent takes about 2.5 hours, considering stops and rest. During holidays and weekends, there are many more people, and traffic jams can occur on the way, which naturally increases the route time. However, we recommend visiting the shrine to pray for your most cherished wishes and admire the luxurious views from the top.

Kumana National Park

The territory of Kumana National Park is vast, covering almost 36 thousand hectares of land! The park became accessible for visits relatively recently, at the end of January 2010.

The park presents luxurious Sri Lankan nature in all its glory - there are picturesque lagoons, sprawling plains, and the extraordinarily beautiful Lake Kumana Villu. But it's not the flora that's especially striking, but the park's fauna - 255 species of birds alone inhabit here. Their diversity is simply astonishing. In Kumana Park, you can encounter spoonbills, ibises, white herons, pelicans, storks, and many white cormorants. From April to July, Lake Kumana Villu becomes home to tens of thousands of migratory birds whose migration routes pass through this area.

Port of Colombo

Continuing the journey through Sri Lanka, it's worth paying attention to the capital city of Colombo on the western coast of the country. It's the most populous city on the island, and, first and foremost, it's famous for its seaport, the largest and oldest in all of South Asia.

Just think - Colombo became a trading port more than 2 millennia ago, and to this day it remains the busiest on the island. 24 hours a day, without any breaks, the port never ceases its operations. Such high responsibility in work is also explained by the fact that Colombo plays the role of a naval base in Sri Lanka.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala is a small town in the central part of the island, home to the country's most famous elephant nursery. Many tourists visit this place year after year.

The nursery appeared in 1975 and for more than 40 years has been engaged in preserving the population and increasing the number of elephants, which in Sri Lanka in the mid-20th century numbered more than 30,000. This resonates with travelers, and it is believed that the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage should be visited by everyone traveling in Sri Lanka.