
The hill-country capital of Kandy lies on a plain amidst towering hills and looped by Sri Lanka’s largest river: the Mahaweli. The town’s pleasant temperate climate, its scenic location and its rich history has made it a favourite haunt for travellers. It is also the natural gateway to the stirring peaks of Sri Lanka’s hill country. For almost two centuries Kandy provided a safe haven for the proud Kandyan Kingdom, until it finally fell to the British in 1815. Now a tiny but bustling city, Kandy still regards itself as the bastion of Buddhist philosophy.
Horton Plains is an undulating 2000m high plateau 28km south of Nuwara Eliya. The grassy plains, which are interspersed with small patches of forest, are home to leopards, sambur, deer, bear, monkeys and a rich array of birds, including some endemic species. The most dramatic feature of the national park is “World’s End” where the […]
Sri Lanka’s first capital, Anuradhapura, was the greatest monastic city of the ancient world. It was royal capital for more than 100 Sri Lankan kings and at its heights was home to thousands of monks from dozens of monasteries. Originally founded by a minister called Anuradha, in the 4th century BC, it became the capital […]
The magnificent Sinharaja rainforest and the village of Kitulgala, which is popular for white water rafting, are situated in the western foothills, sandwiched between the west coast and the central highlands. This is an area of rolling hills, tropical rain forests and winding rivers. The Sinharaja tropical rainforest is renowned as a hotspot for birdlife. […]
Kumana, also known as Yala East National Park covers an area of about 18,000 hectares and can only be accessed from Okanda which is south of Arugam Bay on the South East Coast. The villus (swamp lakes) of Kumana is nesting sites for water birds. During the nesting season which begins towards June, large colonies […]