Matara
Matara is a busy, booming and sprawling commercial town that owes almost nothing to tourism – which makes it a fascinating window on modern Sri Lankan life. Matara’s main attractions are its ramparts, a well-preserved Dutch fort and, most of all, its street life.
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Hakgala Botanical Gardens
Perched underneath the shadow of the Hakgala or Jaw Tooth rock, at an elevation of 1,670m, the beautifully landscaped Hakgala Botanical Gardens spread over nearly 3 sq kms. With magnificent views of the surrounding hills and the jungles of the Hakgala Nature Reserve, the gardens are filled with roses and orchids, eucalyptus, pine and camphor, […]
Nuwaraliya
Nuwara Eliya is often referred to by the Sri Lankan tourist industry as ‘Little England’. While most British visitors struggle to recognise modern England in Nuwara Eliya, the toy-town ambience does have a rose-tinted English country village feel to it, though it comes with a disorienting surrealist edge. Three-wheelers whiz past red telephone boxes.
Bentota
water sports in Bentota – Take a short boat trip offshore to dive over the coral reefs, grab a snorkel and mask to paddle your way through tropical fish, or take advantage of the lively breezes on the west coast from December to March to windsurf. If speed is more your thing then there are […]
Pasikudah
Located south of Trinco, Pasikudah and Kalkudah are fishing villages that were at one time, popular beach destinations similar to Hikkaduwa in the south. Up until the early 1980s, small beach shack cafes and guesthouses lined the shores of Kalkudah. Now several boutique hotels line the bay and offer a range of watersports from jet […]