Colombo
Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka and has a fascination of its own. Nearly every visitor to Sri Lanka begins or ends his stay in Colombo. More than anywhere else in the country it's a city where the old and new co-exist. There are high rise complexes & colonial mansions, supermarkets & street bazaars, flashy western fashions & traditional sarongs, speedy sports cars & one-man rickshaws. Most of the remnants found in Colombo today is the legacy of the British, Dutch & Portuguese. Horse racing was a regular activity on the seaside Galle Face Green. Today, most of the hotels are gathered around this same Green, now minus the horses.
Galle
The port town of Galle is Sri Lanka's fourth biggest town with 80,000 people. In 1505, a Portuguese fleet bound for Maldives blew off course, forcing them to take shelter in the Galle Harbour. The events which followed, drastically changed the course of Sri Lankan history. In 1598, the Portuguese built a small fort that was later extended. However, when the Dutch took over in 1640, they destroyed all traces of Portuguese presence. In 1663, the Dutch built the 36-hectare Fort, which is now a World Heritage Site.
Matara
It is a lively town with a historic background. Matara has a Dutch Fort called the Star Fort and an 18th century Dutch rampart that was built to protect the Dutch East Trading Company's administrative buildings. This rampart now effectively acts as a boundary to the Old Matara, which is quiet and picturesque.
Ratnapura
'The city of gems' is 101 km (63 miles) from Colombo. It is situated in the low country among tea and rubber estates and paddy fields. The gem museum and the gem mines are a special attraction here. Precious and semi-precious stones found here include Alexandrite, Amethysts, Aquamarines, Blue Sapphires, Cat's Eyes, Crystals, Garnets, Moonstones, Rubies, Star Sapphires, Topaz, Zircons.
Kandy
Kandy - the royal city, nestling amidst the mid-country hills was the last seat of the Sinhalese King, Sri Wickremarajasinghe. Every visit to Sri Lanka should include its second largest city, Kandy; the Sinhalese cultural and spiritual centre - made even more appealing by its comfortable climate. It is the home of the sacred temple in which is enshrined the Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. Kandy is also famous for its art and crafts and ancient dance forms. Visit the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya on the banks of the Sri Lanka's longest river. It's biggest attraction is the annual Kandy Esala Perahera (an elaborate religious procession to honour the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha), a magnificent elephant procession - which fills the town to bursting point with tourists from all over the world. Thousands of dancers and more than 100 elephants make it one of the highlights of the Sri Lankan year. The three 14th century temples of great importance are a short distance from Peradeniya, namely; Gadaladeniya Vihara, Lankathilaka Vihara & Embekke.
Pinnawela
Pinnawela is situated 52 km away from Colombo. It is an orphanage for baby elephants created by the Department of National Zoological Gardens. The orphanage was established to feed, nurse and house young elephants, abandoned by their mothers. Other inmates are those displaced from their natural environs by development projects or those found wounded. It has been recorded that a few baby elephants have been bred here in captivity.
Nuwara Eliya
The British rulers modeled Nuwara Eliya on an English Village in the early 19th century, with homes and buildings in styles from Georgian to Queen Anne. It is based 1890 meters (6199 ft) above sea level. Cool, rugged and picturesque, it is set in the heart of the tea country. Throughout the surroundings, you will come across beautiful waterfalls cascading hundreds of feet down mountainsides. One of the biggest attractions in Nuwara Eliya is the 18-hole golf course, one of Asia's finest. A few miles from Nuwara Eliya is a prominent peak, Hakgala. At its foot lies the "Hakgala Botanical Gardens". The gardens are smaller and less exotic than those at Peradeniya, but at 5600 feet elevation the species of flora are quite different. The sheer rock of Hakgala ("Jaw Rock"), which rises 1500 feet straight up above the gardens, is said to have been carried here from Himalayas in the jaws of Hanuman, the mythical monkey General who helped Prince Rama rescue Princess Sita from the demon king Ravana in the Ramayana epic.
Dambulla
Dating back to the 1st Century BC, this is the most impressive cave temple in Sri Lanka. It has five caves under a vast overhanging rock, carved with a drip line to keep the interiors dry. In 1938 the architecture was embellished with arched colonnades and gabled entrances. Inside the caves, the ceilings are painted with intricate patterns of religious images following the contours of the rock. There are images of the Lord Buddha and bodhisattvas, as well as various gods and goddesses.
Polonnaruwa
Polonnaruwa was the medieval capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th Century AD. In its time, a 6 km (3 ½ mile) rampart protected the city. Even during the Anuradhapura era, this was an important city because it strategically commanded all the crossings over the Mahaveli River and acted as a buffer against the invading armies.
Sigiriya
Sigiriya was created by King Kasyapa who reigned between 477-495 AD. The summit of this almost inaccessible rock is 180 m (600 ft) above the surrounding jungle and was the setting for a courtly paradise of elegant pavilions amid gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into a recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts of which only the paws remain. The rock's natural defences were augmented by broad moats and stone perimeter walls. In the event of an enemy approach, the outer moat was built so as to flood the entire area between the two moats.
Mihintale
Dating back to 247 BC, this is a monastic city of caves, temples and ruins where Buddhism first took a hold on the Island. The then ruling King Devanampiyatissa, was a pen pal of Emperor Asoka of India. The Emperor sent his son, Arahat Mihindu Thera (a Buddhist Priest), to impart the Buddhist philosophy to his friend in Sri Lanka.
Ahungalle
A few miles north of the southern resort of Hikkaduwa, the traditional fishing village of Ahungalle is a small resort situated on the main coastal road. Not far away the fishing village of Kosgoda, it is worth a visit for its turtle hatchery, established in 1981 to protect the island's turtles from extinction. As many as 20,000 eggs can be laid on the beach in a fortnight, but as they are easy prey for predators they are brought to the hatchery and the young turtles are released when they are two or three days old. Another interesting outing is a visit to Ambalangoda, famous for the traditional, garishly-painted dance masks which are made here in profusion. Lovers of bird and wildlife would also enjoy a riverboat safari on the mangrove swamp rivers in the area.
