What Is Sri Lanka Famous For? Check Off These Beautiful Places in Sri Lanka!

Having been on a quick one-week trip to Sri Lanka, I’ve discovered some interesting facts about Sri Lanka.

Sure, I knew that they were big on tea and cinnamon, but did you know that they are one of the largest exporters to cinnamon? Or that there is a rich British, Portuguese and Dutch history behind this teardrop nation?

Along with uncovering what Sri Lanka is famous for, these are also some of the best places to visit in Sri Lanka. So get ready to bookmark these top tourist destinations in Sri Lanka!

What is Sri Lanka Famous For?

1. Tea plantation

There are many tea plantations in Sri Lanka worth a visit. On my last trip there, we went to a few.

Nuwara Eliya lies between Kandy and Ella. Known as the little England of Sri Lanka, it has different climatic conditions compared to the rest of the island.

The cooler climate also makes it an important area for tea production. The area is home to a number of natural sights such as hills, tea plantations, waterfalls and Pidurutalagala, the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. This is a must visit destination for tourists, especially tea lovers!

You can easily get there through Sri Lanka’s beautiful and famous train ride. The ride takes 4 hours from Kandy and costs around USD 2.50.

North of it is Damro Labookellie Tea Centre and Tea Garden which offers excellent tea tasting and a tour around their premises. The centre looks out to a wide expanses of tea plantation that would make your tea tasting visit a memorable one.

South of Nuwara Eliya, between Haputale and Bandarawela, is the famed Lipton’s Seat. A hike to Lipton’s Seat allows you to get up close and personal with tea pickers and admire the views from a vantage point.

2. Heritage sites

There are many historical places in Sri Lanka that tells the tale of when the British, Dutch and Portuguese used to rule the nation. Some of these have turned into heritage sites dotted all around the country where you can take a history lesson from. This includes:

Kandy

While you’re in Kandy visiting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the city itself is also worth checking out.

Kandy is the second largest city and one of the best places to visit in Sri Lanka.

Located in the heart of the island, it is home to a number of sacred Buddhist temples in the world including the famous Temple of the Tooth.

There are many day trips and tours available from Colombo to visit and explore Kandy and its wonderful festivals!

The Festival of the Tooth is hosted between July and August showcasing the religious process along with the beautifully adorned elephants, energetic dances and fire eaters.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress

Heritage sites like the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, also known as Lion’s Rock, is an ancient fortress located at the top of a rock in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka.

Commonly known as the world’s Eighth Wonder of the World, it is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The rock fortress was built by the illegitimate son of the King Kashyapa who killed him. He chose the site of the fortress out of fear of the return of the throne’s rightful owner.

Sigiriya Rock fortress boasts an amazing architecture and lush green gardens, making it a must visit destination for every traveller.

There are different ways to reach Sigiriya Rock Fortress, the easiest being by car.

However, you can also get there via bus from any major city to Habarana or Dambulla. From these cities, you can take another bus to reach the Lion Rock.

Dambulla

The Dambulla Royal Cave Temple and Golden Temple is worth a visit, if only to look at their extraordinary paintings on the cave walls and other works of art.

Other sites include Anuradhapura and Galle.

3. Beaches

All along the coastline of this teardrop nation, there are lots of beaches to explore. It’s no wonder why many come here for the best beaches in Sri Lanka.

Mirissa

Mirissa is the best place to spend some time forgetting about the world.

Located on the South coast of Sri Lanka in the Matara District of the Southern Province, It is one of the best beach towns in the country and is a favourite among many tourists.

You can indulge in different activities such as water sports, eat scrumptious food and enjoy nightlife on its beautiful, clean beaches.

Last but not the least, experience the unforgettable sight of watching whales from its beaches.

Clearly, it is a place you mustn’t miss on your tour to Sri Lanka.

You can get to Mirissa by car from Colombo. It will take 3 hours to reach the destination.

As you get up North towards Colombo, the whole coastline stretch offers mesmerising beaches, such as Akurala Beach.

4. Nature

Adam’s Peak

While there are many national parks for hiking, Adam’s Peak is by far the most popular site to hike.

Adam’s Peak, known as Sri Pada by the natives, is a 2,243-metre-high mountain situated in the central part of the country.

This peak is an important pilgrimage site for the last 2000 years. The Buddhists believe it to be a footprint of the Lord Buddha, whereas the Christians consider it as the first step of Adam after he descended onto Earth. Hindus believe this to be the footprint of the Lord Shiva.

The best to start trekking to get to the summit is at night. However, the trekking is quite a journey and requires anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to get up there and 1 to 2 hours to come back down.

This is one of the best places to visit in Sri Lanka.

TIP: Try not to plan your tour to Adam’s Peak during the weekend, full moon or in mid-April (where the Sri Lankan celebrate their new year).

Book a train from Colombo to get to Adam’s peak. You can then take a bus or tuk-tuk to Dalhousie. However, you can also rent a car for the entire tour if you can.

5. Temple visits

Temple visits is something every visitor to Sri Lanka cannot miss. In particular, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy is a must. Containing a tooth of the Buddha, this is the heart and soul of Buddhism. Everything about this temple is quite mesmerizing.

The golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha. During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists for a really limited period of time.

We were there during this ceremony and witness the hordes of devotees waiting patiently for their turn to pay respects to the tooth.

Ironically, you don’t actually get to see the tooth. It is kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (stupa), which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminishing size.

As well as the revered main temple, the complex includes a series of smaller temples, shrines and museums.

From the intricate architecture to the customs and traditions and how Buddhism is so revered here, it was quite an eye-opening experience just watching the locals pay respects.

There was also some history to be gleaned from the paintings that hung from the wall.

6. Cultural show

Speaking of festivals, if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the Sri Lankan local culture, partake in one of their cultural shows. The Kandy Cultural Show is a popular one.

It is a cultural show showcasing the arts and heritage of Sri Lanka through various dances performed by dancers in outlandish costumes and dramatic accessories.

Through the use of drums and costumes, guests are entertained by men doing pirouettes, body flip stunts and plate-spinning abilities.

At the end of the stage performance, you can relish the men walking through fire and spitting fire, all of which would no doubt awe the audience.

7. Elephant safari

Sri Lanka is the only Asian country with the largest elephant density.

Out of the over 26 national parks around Sri Lanka, there are at least 4 national parks in Sri Lanka where you can go on an elephant safari. Elephant-watching is mainly concentrated in two national parks – Kaudulla and Minneriya.

While Minneriya has a higher concentration of animals and is the more popularly visited one, Kaudulla National Park also has their fare share of elephants but in a less populated national park.

Coming from a trip directly from South Africa where the animals roamed free and tourists are few and far between, the number of jeeps and gawking tourists still made me feel uncomfortable that a national park that’s a sanctuary for elephants is now a sanctuary for tourists.

For what seemed like a long time driving, there weren’t any animals, let alone elephants. Our jeep went through a lot of bumpy roads with mud splashes each time the car took a dip that I would have enjoyed the bumpy journey in an open-top jeep even if there weren’t any animals to be seen.

After all, the the vast expanse of this national park along with its grassy plains and large lake is quite a serene view, a nice break from the overpopulated, polluted cities.

TIP: Dress in dark colours because the mud splashes might get onto your shirt.

Alas, we spotted a concentrated group of jeeps, everyone heading in the same direction. When we gazed out into the horizon, there they were, a herd of elephants hanging out together.

The closer we went, the more they seemed to be. Suddenly we were surrounded by countless of elephants of every varying size, and there was just so much more than I could take in!

The best time to see the highest concentration of elephants is during The Gathering in August and September, although anytime between July and November – the period of dry season in Northeast Sri Lanka – will also guarantee elephants.

8. Cinnamon plantation

Did you know, cinnamon is spice native to Sri Lanka? Rumour has it that cinnamon was originated from here, first found by the Egyptians in 2000 BC.

Sri Lanka is one of the four countries which in total, account for 99% of the world’s cinnamon production, the other 3 being Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

It is known for its medicinal properties, such as the treatment of sore throat, arthritis, blocked nose, headache, etc. Other popular uses are as flavouring to food.

We visited a family-run cinnamon production factory near Ratnapura and watched the workers carve out the barks of cinnamon shoots and cure it into the final product. We learned that it takes 3 years for a cinnamon tree to be fully grown.

Thereafter, the whole process of treating the shoots from drying to storing them into bales takes a week and involves very manual labour.

At almost 40-staff-strong, this company produces 40-50 kg of cinnamon per day. To put things into perspective, for every litre of cinnamon oil, it is made up of 800kg of cinnamon.

9. Colonial architecture

Colombo

Witness the footsteps of the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British of time long past The Dutch Hospital at Colombo’s Fort is one of many colonial beauties in Fort. The National Museum at Colombo’s Cinnamon Gardens was also once a British compound; its whole white façade reminiscent of colonial times.

Galle

In Galle, everything from the Galle Dutch Fort to the Fort Clock Tower were all the work of Portuguese and Dutch settlers.

Bandarawela

Go back in time to somewhere between the 1930s and 1950s at Bandarawela Hotel and relish in the British colonial hotel in Bandarawela, a town amidst the clouds at 1200 metres above sea level.

Granted, some of these are pretty tourist places, but they are also pivotal in understanding the culture and tradition of Sri Lanka. Others are unique experiences that you can only find in Sri Lanka.

Now that you have a whole bunch of ideas for places to visit in Sri Lanka, it’s time to start planning! Here’s a sample of a 2-week itinerary in Sri Lanka.

Special thanks to Sri Lanka Tourism for this experience! All opinions remain my own.

1 – 9 November 2019, Fri – Sat