Sri Lanka Travel Guide and Places to Visit in Sri Lanka
Top 10 Places to Visit in Sri Lanka!
When we say Sri Lanka, many things come to mind. Hills to climb, waterfalls to swim, tea fields, magnificent train journeys, temples, sea vacation, sun vacation all in one! As such, it is essential to research well and prepare a good list for yourself before you go.
We studied our lesson before we went and made a list of the 10 most beautiful places to visit in Sri Lanka!
Our previous articleSri Lanka travel guide and preparation for Sri Lankawe talked about how we prepared. Now it’s time to write our list of things to do in Sri Lanka and things to see in Sri Lanka.
Tested and approved, On the Road bi’ Blog proudly presents !
(We wrote the list in the order we did it according to our route)
Then the List of Things to Do in Sri Lanka for a Blog on the Road
1. Lion’s Rock (aka Sigiriya)
If you’ve looked at photos of Sri Lanka online, you’ll see a green-covered rock standing in the middle of nowhere, which is Lion’s Rock! It is the most popular spot in Sri Lanka.
Lion’s Rock 200 meters high, 5. It’s a huge rock dating back to the 19th century, with the ruins of a palace on it.. You can watch it from afar, or you can climb to the top if you want.. When you say climbing, don’t be intimidated, you can go up in a maximum of 30 minutes as it is completely a step.. You may have guessed that the rock is on the ‘World Cultural Heritage’ list.. We think it’s the best time of Lion’s Rock sunrise.
Very good so far, but; The entrance of the rock is 30 USD and it is very crowded! You have to go up the stairs with a mob. If you’re the type who gets nervous in crowds like us, we have a great alternative for you, just opposite Pidurangula Rock!
How to Get to Lion’s Rock?
Lion’s Rock from Dambulla in approximately 25-30 minutes by tuk-tuk, we paid about 10 USD one way.
2. Pidurangala Rock
Pidurangala Rock is about 1 km ahead of Lion’s Rock and you can easily walk between the two.
It is much less touristic and less touristy than Lion’s Rock. The entrance is much more convenient (around 3 Usd). Also, the view of Lion’s Rock from here is incredible.
We went around 3 pm and we were the only ones at the top.. Then, close to sunset, tourists flocked here! After watching the sunset here, we saw that people are not wrong, the cheap “Pidurangala Rock” is much more beautiful than Lion’s Rock.
If you have to choose between the two, we think you can choose Pidurangala without hesitation.
How to Get to Pidurangala Rock?
Lion’s Rock in 20-30 minutes and climb in half an hour.. The easiest way to reach Dambulla on the way back is by tuktuk.
3. Kandy – Nuwara Eliya – Ella train journey
Sri Lanka Trains(Sri Lanka’s famous blue trains)
Every journey has a ‘best’. Every journey has the most beautiful second, happiest memory, even the most peaceful second.. For us (and for thousands of other travelers visiting this geography) the best hour of the Sri Lanka journey was this train ride!
To be so happy in the hustle and bustle of that train is to get away from a departing train. 8 people take turns sharing a train door in order to hang towards the endless greenery and take more beautiful photos! It was really beautiful, both the view, the romance of being in that train, and that mess. It’s a strange feeling.
First of all, the part of the blue train that you see in those photos, with the door and window open, is the second and third class platforms, because the windows in the first class platforms do not open because they are air-conditioned..
How to Buy Tickets to Sri Lanka Trains?
You do not need to book a second class ticket in advance, you can go and buy it from the box office on the day you board the train. However, if you buy a ticket this way, you are guaranteed to go standing, you have very little chance of sitting and the train journey takes at least 5 hours.. If you don’t want to stand up for 5 hours, you can call ahead and reserve a seat.. In the third grade, there is no such thing as a reserve anyway.. You get involved in the chaos inside the train. Third-class tickets are always available.
If you want a first-class ticket, the situation is a little different.. You have to book in advance and it’s not guaranteed either.. Sometimes first class tickets can run out months in advance.. Let me remind you that the windows are not opened here.. So those beautiful photos can be dreams.
You can buy tickets for Sri Lanka trains from this site. Or you can call and make a reservation.
Where can you go by train to Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka train routes and times
If Nuwara Eliya is not on your route, you can take the train directly from Kandy to Ella. This journey takes about 7 hours. If you have Nuwara Eliya on your route, you can split the journey into two days like us. Nuwara Eliya is just between Ella and Kandy and you are bisecting the road. Since we set our minds to see the tea plantations in Nuwara Eliya, we divided the trip into two days.
And a little reminder, not every train is blue! Some trains are in burgundy color. So if you want the blue train, be sure to ask when buying your ticket.. Our train on the second day is the burgundy trend.
We do not enter the train ticket prices at all, because it is too cheap to enter! We paid 2 USD for the train on the first day and 80 Cent for the train on the second day.. We won’t know if there is a cheaper one… You can check the times of the trains here. If you are going to get off at Nuwara Eliya, you need to choose Nanu Oya station.
P.S: Watch out for the heads when your window is hanging down!
4. Nuwara Eliya – Tea Fields (a little England story)
We who come from the ‘country of teas’, grew up with illegal tea, we went all the way to another tea country, we said we need to see the famous tea fields on the spot and breathed in. We got it at Nuwara Eliya. Already Sri Lanka’s original and first name was once ‘Ceylon’-. In other words, its name comes from the smuggled ceylon tea, which we also know.
Nuwara Eliya It is referred to as the ‘Little England’ of Sri Lanka.. For two reasons; first of all, it’s really green and everywhere is a tea plantation.. Secondly, it is a full colonial zone.. The British loved this place very much in their time and they built an autonomous city of extreme wealth in this extremely poor city.. With everything from 5-star luxury hotels to golf courses and helipads.
As we said, the thing that attracted us in Nuwara Eliya was the tea plantations.. The front of the city is full of tea fields.. You can go and tour the factories inside and try the teas.. If you want, there is also a safari to the hills into the fields, but we found it easy.. A tuktuk takes you out for a fifth of the money you pay for a safari! We were just about to take a safari tour, when our driver said I’ll take you out with my tuktuk, we said okay.. We paid the tuktuk player 4 USD for a 1-hour tour.
The most famous tea plantations of Nuwara Eliya
The two most famous tea plantations in Nuwara Pedro Tea Factory and Dambro Tea Factory (formerly Mackwood Tea Factory). We did the safari in Dambro and we loved it. If you are going on a safari and diving into the greenery, beware of leeches.. After the safari, we spent half an hour at the hotel to remove the leeches..
There is also ‘Victoria Park‘ in Nuwara Eliya that you can reach by bus, but we did not go. Its entrance is 2 USD and there are walking tracks inside.. We don’t call it Little London for nothing.
The next stop after Nuwara Eliya was Ella. Of course, the journey was again by the nostalgic train.
5. Ella
The city we said ‘Wow, there are tourists in Sri Lanka, and there are even touristic places’ became Ella. It is both like Bali and so undeveloped that it remains very developed next to Bali.
Touristic cafes, beautiful streets, tiny boutiques… On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s friendly people and unbelievably beautiful when you step outside the center. a nature. I think Ella was the place we couldn’t get enough of in Sri Lanka and wished we had stayed longer.
Things we said must do while we were in Ella;
Ella Travel Guide and Things to Do in Ella
* Walking on the road next to the train tracks at Ella train station (you have to enter next to the strictly no walking sign, but don’t worry, everyone does this).
* One night must go to Chill Restaurant Bar .
* Climbing one of Little Adam’s Peak or Ella Rock. You can climb both without a guide.
There are two other things to do near Ella, but we’re writing them in a separate title, they were so beautiful we thought they deserved a separate title! The first one is Nine Arch Bridge.
6. Nine Arch Bridge:
One of the things we looked at and sighed before we left for Sri Lanka was Nine Arch Bridge. We were thinking how, why and when and how did they build that bridge there so beautifully?. When we left, we saw that we were right, really, why is that bridge so beautiful!?
To get to the bridge, you either have to take a half-hour walk from the Ella train station (you have to walk from the train tracks) or take a tuk-tuk. If you choose to go, you have to descend somewhere in the hills and walk down through the forest.
The bridge is 30 meters high and was built entirely of stone and brick.. Walking on it, hanging down and everything is free! When a train will pass over the bridge every 2-3 hours, the only officer who is always there notifies you 1 minute before and empties the bridge.. Everyone else is responsible for themselves.. We especially waited for the train to pass, we don’t know what we can do with these trains, but it’s definitely worth the 20-25 seconds view while that train is passing!
Nine Arch Bridge if Sri Lanka is not for us among the must-haves. The next stop from here was another ‘must have’ Dialuma Waterfalls.
7. Diyaluma Waterfalls (Dialuma Waterfalls)
Welcome to yet another beauty that tempts us with two photos! After all, we are from the Mediterranean, we have Mediterranean fever in our blood.. If there is a waterfall or a hill in the places we visit and we do not go out, we lose our minds.. This is exactly how Dialuma Waterfall was.
If you like jumping and jumping from waterfalls, Dialuma Waterfalls is the right address.. Just a bit of adrenaline – we have to say that because the distance you jump from the waterfalls to the pool is quite high.. There is no one who guarantees that it is safe, you see, everyone is jumping, you are jumping too! It’s purely herd psychology… The water looks a little dirty, but you can’t see it at that time, it’s completely skip it mode.
It takes 1.5 hours by car to get here from Ella.. We agreed with the driver for 20 Usd round trip.. You have to climb for about 45 minutes from the place where the car drops you.. If you want, there are local guides around, they will take you to the waterfalls for 2 – 3 USD.
8. Southern Beaches, Mirissa and Coconut Trees
Places to Visit in Mirissa
Sri Lanka’s Southern beaches are divided into two according to your travel type. As those who come for yoga & surfing, and those who come to relax and explore the surroundings.. We are in the second group, but if you are into yoga and surfing, Sri Lanka beaches will definitely make you happy! Likewise, there are many “Yoga Retreat” centers.. For accommodation, we chose Mirissa because it is very easy to travel to and from other coastal towns from Mirissa.
White sands, sea holiday and a smooth sea For those who are looking, Sri Lanak beaches are unfortunately a bit of a wrong address because the sea is not suitable for swimming.. In the entire South region, ‘Tangelle‘ is the only place we can call the beach suitable for swimming.. There is also this,
The most beautiful place in Mirissa is ‘Coconut Tree Hill’, covered with coconut trees. The view is incredible! Just be careful, coke may fall from the top with a bang.. After all, it is a heavy object.
Another famous beach of Mirissa ‘Secret Beach’ and Parrot Rock’ on Mirissa beach unfortunately did not impress us much.. It is much more enjoyable to lie on the sun loungers on the main beach and watch those trying to surf until you get here.
The central city of the south is ‘Galle‘ but it did not attract us at all, because unlike all the towns on the coast, this is the ‘city’ you know.. Maybe you can take a day trip, but if you ask us for accommodation, the most beautiful towns are!
9. Sri Lanka’s famous rope swing ‘Sri Swing’ – Dream Cabana
Dream Cabana Hostel in Dalawella, a southern town of Sri Lanka ‘s employees have made a rope swing from a tree for fun, and within a few years this swing has become the most Instagrammed spot in Sri Lanka!
All tuk-tuk players know this spot and it’s not hard to find the hostel.. Also, if you go at sunset, you take really amazing pictures.. Swing ride is about Usd 3 per person. The fun is priceless!
10. Yala National Park (Yala National Park) – Safari
Elephant Safari in Sri Lanka
Elephant safari in Sri Lanka you think of Asia (especially (Thailand) poor elephants should not be on safaris where people are reported and walked on a tiny trail. In Yala National Park, you just watch the animals as you drive in the vehicle.. No riding or tormenting on it! In that respect, it’s more like a real safari.
The only mistake we made in navigating our own route in Sri Lanka was to visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage instead of Yala National Park. was to put it on course because Sri Lanka Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage turned out to be a complete money pit and elephant prison. If we had our minds now, we would definitely choose this place.. Instead we would go on an elephant safari in Yala National Park.
Maybe you can go to Yala National Park instead of us; The website is right here if you want to search.
Sri Lanka Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
These were the best places and moments in Sri Lanka for us! As we said before, the only place we regret is Pinnawala Elephant Jawhouse. We thought that the elephants that were injured or left unattended in the region are brought here, healed here and released back to nature.. However, once those elephants were brought to this orphanage, they spent their entire lives here and were chained during the day so that they would not escape.. We didn’t even stay inside for 15 minutes after seeing this. Also entry is 17 Usd. Avoid with care!
We jumped, we jumped, we laughed, we had fun, then another trip passed like this.. We were amazed by both the nature and the people of the country.
Sri Lanka travel plans for those who are thinking about where to go or where to go in Asia, we fully support their Sri Lanka plans! Have a nice trip already!
For those who missed our other Sri Lanka article: Sri Lanka Travel Guide: How We Planned and Prepared Our Sri Lanka Trip
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