Ritigala Forest Monastery
This one takes a little effort to reach, and that’s precisely why it’s worth it. Ritigala is an ancient Buddhist forest monastery built by ascetic monks in the 1st century BCE on an isolated granite mountain deep in the dry zone interior – its stone pathways, meditation platforms, and bathing ponds gradually reclaimed by the […]
Madu River
Somewhere on the southwest coast, tucked behind the coastal resort strip near Balapitiya, a network of mangrove-lined channels and small islands spreads across 900 hectares of calm, biodiverse inland water. The Madu River boat safari through these channels – cinnamon island, Buddhist temple island, kingfisher-haunted mangrove tunnels – is one of Sri Lanka’s most genuinely […]
Kitulgala
Kitulgala’s main claim to international fame is as the filming location for the Bridge on the River Kwai – but the river itself is the real attraction. The Kelani Ganga runs through a landscape of dense lowland rainforest that supports outstanding endemic birdlife, and the white-water rafting through its Grade 2 and 3 rapids is […]
Knuckles Mountain Range
A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve named for the way its jagged peaks resemble a clenched fist when viewed from the lowlands below – the Knuckles is a landscape of cloud forests, traditional mountain villages, seasonal waterfalls, and hiking trails that range from a comfortable half-day walk to multi-day treks across remote ridgelines. The endemic wildlife here […]
Sinharaja Rainforest
Sri Lanka’s last viable primary tropical rainforest is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most biodiverse patches of forest on the planet – over 60 percent of its trees are endemic, and the wildlife that lives among them includes dozens of species found nowhere else on earth. Walking through Sinharaja with a […]