On this page, you will find all tourist attractions in Sri Lanka in one place. The tourist sites on the island are so diverse that international visitors will have hard time choosing from untouched jungle, numerous safari parks, spice gardens, tea plantations, elephant orphanages, forts from the colonial period, picturesque train rides and many others.
Sinharaja is a tropical rainforest, spread over 11187 hectares. Sinharaja is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites which has kept this rain forest untouched for the last century. The forest has unique ecological diversity where visitors may see over 280 bird species (as many as 30 species are endemic), a host of insect species, a plethora of mammals such as the purple faced langur monkey, leopards and elephants (according to the guides there are three elephants living in the forest).
The Galle Dutch Fort was built in the bay of Galle city in 1588, by the Portuguese colonialists. Even if the Portuguese were the ones who initially started the construction of the fort, the fort was later additionally developed by the Dutch and the British. The Dutch fort is a famous historical and architectural monument in Sri Lanka and is well deserving of visitors’ attention. The Fort has also been recognized by UNESCO.
Udawalawe National Park is located 200 km south-east from Colombo. This national park lies on 308 km2 and is home to approximately 400 elephants. This is the best national park in Sri Lanka if visitors are interested in seeing the elephants in a close up view. The safari normally starts early in the morning.
Turtle farm in Hikkaduwa or Sea Turtle Hatchery & Rescue Center is a small and yet a very nice turtle farm and rescue center. Here visitors may see turtle eggs which are safely buried in the sand hatchery. It usually takes two days for eggs to hatch. Turtles are held really gently with great attention to their proper development so that they can later be safely released into the sea where they can live in their natural habitat. This is the reason why here visitors can see turtles in many different sizes; turtles need to grow in order to be released and continue living on their own.
Peraliya Buddha statue represents a tsunami memorial statue that was built near the railway track, where one of the largest tsunami accidents happened in Sri Lanka. Both eastern and southern coast line of Sri Lanka were severely damaged when tsunami hit this island in 2004. More than 30.000 people lost their lives. The train from Colombo to Galle was passing near a small village Pareliya when tsunami hit the coast. The waves managed to derail the train . More than 1500 people died in that train.
