Sri Lanka is a tiny tear drop shaped Island of Indian Ocean which has become of the greatest tourist destination now days. Tourism in Sri Lanka can be mainly classified into three categories- the beaches, cities of culture and historical and religious importance and at the last nature reserves which can be explored by booking tour with Simons Holidays. This tiny island is rich of several tourist destinations to visit.
The Colombo city is the largest one in Sri Lanka. It takes only an hour to drive from Bandarnaike international airport. As like other metropolitan cities, Colombo is also a hub of activities. There are several places in Colombo which are worth seeing.
It is a coastal town where you can enjoy amazing views of sea and throngs which head to Galle Face greens at the evening. You can visit National Museum, The National zoological gardens and the independence square which was built as a sign of Sri Lanka’s freedom from British. You can also do shopping at Majestic city, Liberty plaza or Odel. It is quite easy to commut in the city, with buses, radio taxis and auto rickshaws named as tuk-tuks in the local region, are easily available.
Sri Lanka not only contains beaches. If you wish to travel inland, you will find several treasures that can be discovered here. If you love cooler climate, Sri Lanka may lack such places but Nuwara Eliya may be one of them.
Nuwara Eliya is a hill station that is located at the centre of Sri Lanka, towards the south. When Sri Lanka was not free from British rule, it is a place where most of the British gathered for summer getaway. The impact of colonial era can be watched in the city till now, it may be also called as ‘Little England’ or in the architecture and in several activities in which you can immerse yourself like boating, golf or horse riding.
Other essential aspect of Nuwara Eliya is that it is counted among the most important towns and is also popular for tea production. Thus, endless stretches of tea plantation on the both sides can be seen here. You can easily find different variety and flavours of tea here. Nuwara Eiya has several tourist destinations. Here, you can find ‘Sita temple’ or ‘Seetha Kovil’ and Hakgala Botanical Garden.
The city of Kandy is another most important place of Sri Lanka. There are abundant things to do and places to visit. Historically, Kandy is essential as it is counted among the few last kingdoms to remain independent from colonization.
The very first thing you will come to notice is that Kandy is a huge lake in the centre of the town. On one side of this lake are most important pilgrimage places for Buddhists which borders the lake, named as Sri Dalada Maligawa.
It is believed that during many centuries, the holy relic of Lord Buddha’s tooth after travelling several miles from India and then within islands itself for protection from the destructive people. Later on, it was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. You can also watch several rituals which are performed in the temple three times a day, roughly around 5.30 and 9.00 in the morning and 6.30 in the evening.
The annual festival of the Esala Perahera falls on the full moon around July and August and is in honour of this relic. This whole pageant is a sight to watch the traditional Kandyan dancers, well decorated elephants, fire acts and so on. It is also quite interesting to consider that whenever the tooth relic has been taken for public exposition, it is always rained. There are several good hotels situate around the lake on all the sides. In nearby side of temple of tooth, there is a modern Kandy city centre and also the shopping complex. It is a good example of beautiful mix of modern and ancient culture.
A suburb of Kandy is a home to illustrious University of Peradeniya and the Royal Botanical gardens, which are the largest in the island. Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa are the two towns, along with Kandy, called a cultural triangle in Sri Lanka Tour Package. If you are history lover, you should not miss these places at any cost. These both towns are UNESCO world heritage sites and were also once capitals of ancient kingdoms of Sri Lanka.
