Sri Lanka is inexpensive to travel in and surprisingly expensive to sightsee in. Food, transport and guesthouses cost very little; entry to the headline cultural sites is priced in dollars for foreign visitors and has risen repeatedly in recent years. A couple doing the full Cultural Triangle can spend more on tickets in three days than on a fortnight of meals. None of that is a reason to skip them, but it is a reason to plan which ones you actually want.
The headline sites
- ◆Sigiriya - around $35 for non-SAARC adults, about half that for SAARC nationals with a passport. The most expensive ticket in the country and still the one most people would pay twice for.
- ◆Pidurangala - around $7. The rock opposite Sigiriya, with the view *of* Sigiriya. A rugged scramble rather than a staircase, and the best-value ticket in the Cultural Triangle.
- ◆Anuradhapura sacred city - around $30 for the combined archaeological ticket, though several individual temples within the zone, including the Sri Maha Bodhi, are ticketed separately or free to worshippers.
- ◆Polonnaruwa - around $30 for the main archaeological park, which covers the whole ruined city.
- ◆Dambulla Cave Temple - around $10, and worth it for the painted ceilings alone.
- ◆Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy - around 2,000 rupees, roughly $6, which is modest for the most important Buddhist site in the country.
National parks and safaris
Park entry and the jeep are charged separately, and the jeep is usually the larger cost. Budget roughly $40 to $60 per person for a shared half-day safari at Yala or Udawalawe once the park fee, the service charges and the vehicle are combined; a private jeep costs more. Yala is the famous one and by far the busiest, with convoys of vehicles at leopard sightings in peak season. Udawalawe is the better bet for elephants and a calmer morning, Minneriya and Kaudulla for the dry-season gathering, and Wilpattu for scale and solitude.
The best things that cost nothing
A surprising amount of the country's best sightseeing carries no ticket at all, which is worth remembering on the days when the Cultural Triangle has emptied your wallet.
- ◆Galle Fort. The ramparts, the lighthouse, the streets and the sunset are all free. You only pay if you go into a museum.
- ◆Most beaches, including the good ones - Mirissa, Nilaveli, Hiriketiya, Arugam Bay.
- ◆The Nine Arch Bridge at Demodara, and the walk to it through the tea.
- ◆Little Adam's Peak at Ella, one of the best views in the hill country for the price of the walk.
- ◆Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) - the climb itself is free; the pilgrimage season runs roughly December to May.
- ◆Colombo, essentially in its entirety: Galle Face Green, the markets, Pettah, the colonial quarter.
Is a combined ticket worth it?
Combined Cultural Triangle passes have come and gone over the years and their value depends entirely on how many sites you will realistically reach. Most travellers do Sigiriya plus one ancient city rather than all of them, and for that pattern individual tickets work out cheaper. If you genuinely intend to cover Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla and Sigiriya over several days, ask at the first ticket office what combined option is current - the answer changes, which is precisely why it is worth asking in person rather than trusting a blog.
If you are costing out a whole trip rather than a single day, our budget guide breaks down what food, transport and accommodation actually run to, and the trip planner will put a route together around the sites you care about.