Sri Lanka Solo

Ancient capital with massive stupas, sacred Bo tree, and sprawling ruins.

Ruined medieval capital with palace, temples, and monuments scattered across a vast park.

Sri Lanka's energetic capital - colonial quarters, temple treasures, seafront promenades, and the island's best food.

The proud capital of Tamil Sri Lanka - grand kovils, a star fort, palmyrah groves, and legendary crab curry.

A UNESCO-listed Dutch fort town with cobblestone streets, boutiques, and ocean views.

One of the world's finest natural harbours with pristine beaches and diving sites.

A ridge-top tea town with edge-of-the-world views, misty monasteries, and the gateway to Lipton's country.

Sri Lanka's great multi-faith pilgrimage town, sacred to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Veddas alike.

A riot of sacred colour on the Kandy–Dambulla road - one of Sri Lanka's most spectacular Hindu gopurams.

A famous banana-shaped bay minutes from Galle, with calm swimming, reef snorkelling, and a jungle-clad headland.

Colombo's most famous Buddhist temple, with the serene Seema Malaka pavilion floating on Beira Lake.

Beach town famous for coral reefs, diving, and a lively backpacker scene.

A tiny, palm-fringed crescent bay - the definition of a hidden gem.

King Dutugemunu's great white dagoba - the most beloved stupa in Sri Lanka and a wonder of the ancient world.

An ancient lake-side temple town of great white dagobas - the classic base for Yala and Kataragama.

A perfect crescent bay with fishing stilt boats, gentle surf, and a vibrant village atmosphere.

Anuradhapura's great northern monastery - once home to 5,000 monks and a stupa that rivalled the pyramids.

A Ramsar wetland of lagoons and dunes where greater flamingos winter alongside crocodiles and elephants.

Polonnaruwa's supreme masterpiece - four colossal Buddhas carved from a single wall of granite.

Anuradhapura's rock temple of famous carvings - home of the celebrated 'Isurumuniya Lovers'.

A historic Dutch fort city at the island's southern tip - star fort, island temple, and the end of the coastal railway.

A lively fishing city near the airport, famous for its lagoon, Dutch canals, and fiery seafood.

Ella's iconic colonial railway viaduct - nine stone arches curving through jungle and tea, best seen as a train crosses.

The oldest historically documented tree on Earth - grown from the very Bo tree beneath which the Buddha awoke.

Trincomalee's laid-back village beach - golden sand, calm seas, and beach-shack dinners under the stars.

Sri Lanka's tallest waterfall - a 263-metre thread of white falling through pine forest near Kalupahana.

One of Sri Lanka's oldest ports - a golden beach, a busy fish harbour, and the historic Ketchimalai Mosque on the headland.

A river-mouth town crowned by the great white Kalutara Chaitya - the rare stupa you can walk inside.

A medieval capital ringed by giant animal-shaped rocks - climb Elephant Rock for sunset over the city and its lake.

The stupa marking the Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka - the island's oldest place of Buddhist worship.

Colombo's classic beach suburb, built around a grand colonial hotel and famous golden-hour views.

A seven-terraced rock monastery with painted caves and a giant reclining Buddha - the 'little Sigiriya' of the south.

The 'Sea of Parakrama' - a 12th-century reservoir so vast it made a king's boast literal, lapping at Polonnaruwa's ruins.

Arugam Bay's wild backyard - dawn canoe safaris among mangroves, elephants, and crocodiles.

Visit the indigenous Veddha people and learn about traditional forest knowledge.

A majestic 12-metre standing Buddha carved from a single granite cliff in the 5th century.

The hill country's mildest address - a planters' town of orchards, colonial hotels, and perfect walking weather.

A laid-back lagoon city of Dutch forts, singing fish, and untouched east-coast beaches.

Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse marks the island's southernmost point - next stop, Antarctica.

A 14th-century shrine whose carved wooden pillars are counted among the finest woodwork in the world.

Remote peninsula famous for dolphin and whale watching in pristine lagoons.

The finest bathing architecture of the ancient world - twin stone ponds that served Abhayagiri's monks.

A majestic 14th-century temple rising from bare rock, blending Buddhist shrine and Hindu devales under one soaring roof.

A pristine, sheltered bay near Trincomalee whose glittering sand gave it its name - run by the Air Force and spotlessly kept.

A calm, shallow lagoon beach favored by families - rarely crowded.

The highest railway station in Sri Lanka - a misty 1,898-metre platform at the gateway to Horton Plains.

One of Sri Lanka's two marine national parks - snorkel with blacktip reef sharks and sea turtles.

The most beautiful building of medieval Sri Lanka - a circular relic shrine of moonstones, guardstones, and perfect geometry.

A 109-metre triple-tier waterfall tumbling beside the Kandy–Nuwara Eliya road at the Ramboda Pass.

Polonnaruwa's greatest stupa - a golden-pinnacled brick mountain in the ancient city's northern quarter.

Pettah's candy-striped marvel - a 1909 mosque so distinctive that sailors used it to recognise Colombo's harbour.

The 'Sea of Bintenna' - an ancient tank with a unique rock-cut sluice, dug by a giant in legend.

A hidden crescent of jungle-backed sand between Matara and Dickwella - one of the south's quietest beaches.

The cave monastery near Matale where the Buddhist scriptures were first written down 2,000 years ago.

Sri Lanka's oldest surviving wooden bridge - a 16th-century roofed crossing built without a single nail.

Seven colossal figures carved into a jungle cliff - including Sri Lanka's tallest standing Buddha.

The ancient port where the sacred Bo sapling landed in 288 BC - a serene seaside temple on the Jaffna coast.

A windswept coral island off Jaffna where wild ponies roam among baobabs and Dutch ruins.

A graceful 97-metre triple cascade named for a coffee planter - St. Clair's elegant neighbour on the tea highway.

A roadside cave temple near Ella hiding a 12-metre unfinished Buddha carved into the cliff.

Claimed as the first Buddhist stupa in the world - built by seafaring merchants on a hill above the north-east coast.

Colombo's stately memorial to 1948 independence - a stone assembly hall on lion-guarded steps, ringed by jogging lawns.

The white phoenix of Jaffna - once among Asia's great libraries, burned in 1981 and rebuilt as a symbol of resilience.

The 'Temple on the Hill' at Aluthgama, crowned by a 48-metre seated Buddha gazing over the west coast.

A hillside of colonial stories behind the Tooth Temple - 195 graves and a caretaker who knows them all.

A vast ancient tank with birdlife, crocodiles, and water buffalo herds.

A lake-and-beach town of literary fame - island temples, cinnamon gardens, and the childhood world of Martin Wickramasinghe.

The cliff-top abode of Shiva above Trincomalee harbour - one of the island's five ancient Ishwarams.

A colossal hilltop stupa raised for the temples drowned by the Kotmale reservoir - with tea-country views to match.

A tiny park with a big spectacle - elephant herds feeding on tank grass beside the Arugam Bay road.

The panoramic viewpoint above Haputale where Sir Thomas Lipton surveyed his tea empire.

A remote park of reservoirs, rock outcrops, and elephants - the wild heartland of the Vedda people.

A far-flung island of baobab trees, wild donkeys, colonial forts, and world-class birdwatching.

A perfect circle of ancient stone pillars crowning a rock - the loveliest vatadage in Sri Lanka, and the least visited.

One of the five ancient abodes of Shiva, tied to the Ramayana's ending - and host to a spectacular festival.

The grandest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka - golden gopurams, thunderous pujas, and a 25-day festival like no other.

The moated 12th-century capital of Parakramabahu the Great before Polonnaruwa - ruins, legends, and a princess's tower.

Sri Lanka's most important sea-turtle nesting beach, where five species come ashore at night.

The cave temple where silver ore funded the great stupas - with golden Buddhas and a shrine floor of Dutch tiles.

The Ramayana's fallen Himalayan hill above Unawatuna - jungle, hidden coves, and a white Japanese Peace Pagoda.

The most serene face in Sri Lankan art - a 4th-century meditation Buddha that consoled Nehru in prison.

The island temple of the god Devol - a shrine on its own rock off Hikkaduwa where justice is sought over the waves.

A relic stupa on the wild Mahaweli floodplain, where pilgrims and wild elephants share the sacred ground.

The 'Little Niagara of Sri Lanka' - twin cascades pouring through tea country near Talawakele.

The holiest shrine in Sri Lanka - home of the Buddha's tooth relic and heart of the Kandyan kingdom.

Colombo's birding secret - an ancient tank and paddy wetland where jacanas and kingfishers commute past the suburbs.

The south coast's coolest surf strip - consistent reef breaks, stilt fishermen, and a booming cafe scene.

The 'rice-sand' beach of the north-east - a remote cove near Pulmoddai where the sand grains look like polished rice.

Sri Lanka's largest natural freshwater lake - boat safaris, birdlife, and lakeside ease an hour from Colombo.

A white-sand cove with a natural swimming lagoon and the south coast's famous palm rope swing.

The southern gateway to Sinharaja - a tea town with rainforest trails, river pools, and none of the crowds.

An ancient pool the size of six Olympic pools - the industrial-scale waterworks of the Abhayagiri monks.

A 64-metre waterfall pouring off the Hunnasgiriya heights above Elkaduwa - Kandy's closest big cascade.

The railway station on the ridge between two climates - walk the tracks where the island's weather splits in two.

A pink quartz mountain rising from Asia's largest ironwood forest - one of Sri Lanka's strangest, loveliest places.

The 'black water pond' - serene monastery ruins around a dark forest pool near Dambulla, with wildlife for company.

A temple on a rock above a wild beach, where Queen Viharamahadevi landed - and the gateway to Yala's coast.

A 116-metre plunge in the gem country near Pelmadulla - among the tallest waterfalls in Sri Lanka.

A vast bird-sanctuary lagoon on the wild north-east coast - flamingos, pelicans, and fishing villages between the waters.

A graceful small stupa ringed by vatadage pillars - the quiet sister among Anuradhapura's giants.

Polonnaruwa's brick cathedral - 17-metre walls funnelling to a colossal headless Buddha.

A serene 11-metre limestone Buddha in the forests of Moneragala - the tallest free-standing ancient statue on the island.

A 2,000-year-old temple in the dunes of Pottuvil - where east-coast tradition says a queen came ashore.

A small sacred island shared by a great Hindu kovil and one of Buddhism's holiest Sri Lankan shrines.

A mysterious stone shrine at the island's very centre, blending Buddhist and Hindu art like nowhere else.

A royal bath carved as a blooming lotus - Polonnaruwa's prettiest small wonder.

Belihuloya's lamp-flame waterfall - a small cascade and natural pool that became one of the island's most loved swims.

The last beach before the wilderness - dunes, lagoons, and empty surf where the east-coast road ends.

Geoffrey Bawa's island parliament floating on the Diyawanna - the modern capital's defining view.

The site of the world's worst rail disaster - memorials to the 2004 tsunami's victims beside the Galle road.

The northernmost tip of Sri Lanka - a lighthouse, a fishing town, and the end-of-the-island marker.

A jungle mountain of a thousand ruins near Ampara - believed to hold the ashes of Mahinda, who brought Buddhism to the island.

The royal pleasure gardens of ancient Anuradhapura - rock pools, bathing pavilions, and the enigmatic 'Stargate' carving.

The seven-storey palace of Polonnaruwa's greatest king - massive brick walls and a carved council chamber.

A brightly painted Hindu temple at Seetha Eliya, held to be the very place Sita was held captive in the Ramayana.

The waterfall you can walk behind - a twin cascade with a hidden cave passage, in the wilds below Riverston.

A 60-metre film-star waterfall beside the Belihuloya road, reached by a short forest amble.

One of the island's five ancient abodes of Shiva, resurrected beside the lost port of Manthai near Mannar.

Home of Polonnaruwa's finest frescoes - and the enigmatic 'thrice-bent' Buddha that names it.

The 'Buddhist kovil' of Trincomalee - a rare ancient temple venerated by Sinhala and Tamil devotees alike.

Sri Lanka's tallest dam - a 122-metre concrete arch flung across the Mahaweli gorge, with a spectacular viewpoint.

A remote riverside park famed for large elephant herds and one of the island's healthiest sloth bear populations.

A 68-metre plunge in the wet hills above Ratnapura - gem country's forest waterfall.

A Ramsar wetland of ancient cascade tanks between Chilaw and Puttalam - heronries, mangroves, and morning bird clouds.

A 26-metre white Buddha overlooking Kandy - an iconic modern shrine.

An 1889 imperial lighthouse on its own islet off Beruwala - boat trips, reef water, and West-coast maritime romance.

The Dutch conquest's first prize in Ceylon - a lagoon-moated fort where cannons still watch the singing waters.

Colombo's beloved suburban temple - a sacred Bo tree of ancient lineage and one of the city's grandest peraheras.

The 'Golden Valley of Ceylon Tea' - a planters' world of estates, bungalows, and mist that time forgot.

The east's forgotten Solosmasthana - a vast brick stupa marking the Buddha's meditation on his final visit.

An 18th-century cave temple across the river from Kandy, holding the finest Kandyan-era murals in existence.

The garrison town in the hills - Boer War history, cadet parades, and the Fox Hill viewpoint's grand sweep.

A lagoon village hiding Buddhist history - the island monastery where Western monasticism in Asia began.

A Shakespeare-named cascade pouring through the Pundaluoya tea estates - tea country's prettiest secret.

The causeway gateway to Jaffna - salt lagoons, war memorials, and the isthmus every army in history had to hold.

The waterfall the trains window-shop - a bridal-veil cascade beside the line near Ambewela.

A Dutch island fortress between Kayts and Karainagar - once a prison, now the north's most unusual dinner reservation.

A 14th-century stone temple on a rock summit - the South Indian-styled jewel of the Kandyan three-temples loop.

The waterfall you reach by railway - a jungle cascade a short walk from a station with no road.

A 7th-century tank with sunset views, toque macaques, and the quiet back door to Polonnaruwa.

The quiet stretch below Bentota - clean golden sand, turtle projects, and low-key beachfront ease.

Once the third-tallest structure on Earth - a mountain of 93 million bricks raised in the 3rd century AD.

Pasikuda's wilder twin - a vast, near-empty arc of east-coast sand backed by palm groves.

Jaffna's old port town - a colonial lighthouse, calm harbour beach, and the north coast reopening to the world.

Legendary freshwater springs beside the northern sea, prized for healing baths and tied to ancient temple lore.

A sacred riverside temple near Colombo, believed to have been visited by the Buddha and adorned with celebrated murals.

The milk-white stupa of the sacred city - where tradition says the Buddha met the king of Kataragama.

Where Ceylon tea began - James Taylor's first field of 1867, his rock seat, and the ruins of his cabin.

South Asia's tallest tower - a 351-metre lotus bud over Beira Lake with the island's highest observation deck.

A forest of 1,600 stone pillars - all that remains of a nine-storey monastery roofed in bronze.

Nuwara Eliya's walk-to waterfall - a 30-metre ribbon above the Pedro tea estate, wrapped in a tragic legend.

The quiet elephant corridor between Yala and Udawalawe - big herds, big reservoir, almost no jeeps.

The manor of the 'Kolonne King' - a labyrinthine 17th-century walawwa of courtyards, carvings, and tall tales.

The chief shrine of the god Saman, guardian of Adam's Peak - Ratnapura's great temple and its September pageant.

A century-old iron giant over the Mahaweli - the two-storey bridge where trains still rumble the top deck.

King Dutugemunu's first great stupa - built, the story says, to repay a forgotten chilli.

Badulla's ancient heart - one of the sixteen holiest shrines, founded on a visit by the Buddha himself.

A golden hilltop temple west of Kandy with 360° mountain views - Sri Lanka's most photogenic modern shrine.

Jaffna's fabled 'bottomless' well - fresh water above, salt below, and a Ramayana arrow-strike origin story.

The pavilion of stone lotus stems - Polonnaruwa's most original architecture, built for a king to hear chanting.

The oldest building in Colombo Fort - a 17th-century hospital reborn as the city's favourite courtyard of restaurants.

A tiny carved masterpiece - the wayside rest hall whose timber beams rival Embekka's fame.

A famous sanctuary for orphaned elephants, best known for the herd's twice-daily river bathing.

The Mahaweli's mightiest reservoir - a vast dam and eagle country on the wild road from Kandy to Mahiyangana.

A 111-metre giant hidden above Hasalaka's paddy terraces - one of the tallest and least-visited falls on the island.

A spice baron's Edwardian fantasy mansion above the Kalu Ganga - teak, stained glass, and a poignant story.

Colombo's stupa on stilts - a harbour-mouth dagoba raised on arches so arriving ships see it first.

The 'unfinished' twin of the Avukana Buddha - a colossal rock-cut statue in deep countryside solitude.

A 2,300-year-old stupa enshrining the Buddha's forehead relic, deep in the paddy country south of Trincomalee.

Sri Lanka's holiest Catholic shrine - 400 years of pilgrimage to a jungle church that sheltered generations.

A 2,200-year-old monastery rising from the wilds of Yala - pilgrims, monks, and leopards share the rock.

Colombo's miracle church - a harbourside national shrine where every faith comes on Tuesdays.

A tiny private island with a 1920s villa, wading distance off Weligama - Sri Lanka's most storied address.

A remote rock temple where the sacred Bo sapling rested on its journey - carved Buddhas on a wilderness outcrop.

The first stupa ever built in Sri Lanka - raised in the 3rd century BC over the Buddha's collarbone relic.

A beautifully kept Commonwealth cemetery near Uppuveli - resting place of the fallen of the 1942 Indian Ocean raid.

Boulder-cave hermitages of Anuradhapura's earliest monks, with inscriptions two thousand years old.

Colombo's grand Dutch survivor - a 1749 church whose floor is paved with the tombstones of colonial governors.

A colossal unfinished stupa mound near Buttala - one of the largest ever attempted, wrapped in a tale of warring brothers.