Lonely Planet Sri Lanka , livre ebook

Sri Lanka

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's Top 20
Need to Know
First Time Sri Lanka
What's New
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Eat & Drink Like a Local
Beaches & Activities
National Parks & Safaris
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Colombo
Colombo Highlights
Sights
Activities
Tours
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Historic Sri Lanka
The West Coast
West Coast Highlights
North of Colombo
Negombo
Waikkal
Negombo to Kalpitiya
Kalpitiya Peninsula
Wilpattu National Park
South of Colombo
Bentota, Aluthgama & Induruwa
Hikkaduwa & Around
The South
The South Highlights
Galle
Town Walk
Unawatuna & Around
Thalpe & Koggala
Ahangama & Midigama
Weligama
Mirissa
Matara
Dondra
Talalla
Dikwella
Hiriketiya
Goyambokka
Tangalla & Around
Bundala National Park
Tissamaharama
Kirinda
Yala National Park
Kataragama
Galle & the South Coast in Colour
The Hill Country
The Hill Country Highlights
Colombo to Kandy
Kandy
Around Kandy
Knuckles Range
Kitulgala
Adam's Peak (Sri Pada)
Kandy to Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya
Horton Plains National Park & World's End
Belihul Oya
Haputale
Bandarawela
Ella
Around Ella
Wellawaya
Uda Walawe National Park
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Ratnapura
The Hill Country in Colour
The Ancient Cities
Matale
Nalanda Gedige
Dambulla
Sigiriya
Habarana
Polonnaruwa
Giritale
Minneriya & Kaudulla National Parks
Ritigala
Anuradhapura
Mihintale
Yapahuwa Rock Fortress
Panduwasnuwara
Ridi Vihara
Kurunegala
The Ancient Cities in Colour
The East
Monaragala
Yudaganawa
Maligawila
Arugam Bay
Pottuvil & Around
Arugam Bay to Panama
Panama to Okanda
Ampara
Batticaloa
Kalkudah & Passekudah
Trincomalee
Uppuveli
Nilaveli
Jaffna & the North
Jaffna
Jaffna Peninsula
Jaffna's Islands
Kilinochchi & Around
Vavuniya
Mannar Island & Around

Understand

Understand Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Today
History
Environmental Issues
The People of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Tea

Survive

Directory AZ
Accommodation
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food & Drink
Gay & Lesbian Travellers
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Health
Before You Go
In Sri Lanka
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Sri Lanka

Endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming people, oodles of elephants, rolling surf, cheap prices, fun trains, famous tea and flavourful food make Sri Lanka irresistible.


The Undiscovered Country
You might say Sri Lanka has been hiding in plain sight. Countless scores of travellers have passed overhead on their way to someplace else, but years of uncertainty kept Sri Lanka off many itineraries.
Now, however, all that has changed.The country is moving forward quickly as more and more people discover its myriad charms. Lying between the more trodden parts of India and Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka's history, culture and natural beauty are undeniably alluring. It's the place you haven't been to yet, that you should.

So Much in So Little
Few places have as many Unesco World Heritage Sites (eight) packed into such a small area. Sri Lanka's 2000-plus years of culture can be discovered at ancient sites where legendary temples boast beautiful details even as they shelter in caves or perch on prominent peaks. More recent are evocative colonial fortresses, from Galle to Trincomalee.
Across the island, that thing that goes bump in the night might be an elephant heading to a favourite waterhole. Safari tours of Sri Lanka’s pleasantly relaxed national parks encounter leopards, water buffaloes, all manner of birds and a passel of primates.

Rainforests & Beaches
When you’re ready to escape the tropical climate of the coast and lowlands, head for the hills, with their temperate, achingly green charms. Verdant tea plantations and rainforested peaks beckon walkers, trekkers and those who just want to see them from a spectacular train ride. And then there are the beaches. Dazzlingly white and often untrodden, they ring the island so that no matter where you go, you’ll be near a sandy gem. Should you beat the inevitable languor, you can surf and dive world-class sites without world-class crowds. And you're always just a short hop from something utterly new.

It's So Easy
Distances are short: see the sacred home of the world’s oldest living human-planted tree in the morning (Anuradhapura) and stand awestruck by the sight of hundreds of elephants gathering in the afternoon (Minneriya). Discover a favourite beach, meditate in a 2000-year-old temple, exchange smiles while strolling a mellow village, marvel at birds and wildflowers, try to keep count of the little dishes that come with your rice and curry. Wander past colonial gems in Colombo, then hit some epic surf. Sri Lanka is spectacular, affordable and still often uncrowded. Now is the best time to discover it.

Traditional fishing, Galle | KUZINA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Why I Love Sri Lanka
By Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Writer
My fascination with Sri Lanka began when I read Paul Theroux's The Great Railway Bazaar as a child. His wonderment at the island's endless contradictions stayed with me. In 2004 I was in the west and south in the weeks after the tsunami. I was struck by the stories of the survivors. In the years since, I have been endlessly amazed by the ability of Sri Lankans to overcome disaster, war and other challenges. And I am slack-jawed at how one small island-nation can embody so much beauty and wonder. It seems so much bigger than it is.
Sri Lanka's Top 20

Stunning Beaches
There are long, golden-specked ones, there are dainty ones with soft white sand, there are wind- and wave-battered ones, and ones without a footstep for miles. Some have a slowly, slowly vibe and some have a lively party vibe, but whichever you choose, the beaches of Sri Lanka really are every bit as gorgeous as you’ve heard. In a land where beaches are simply countless, consider the beaches of Tangalla , each with its own personality, and each beguiling in its own way, yet all easily visited in a day.

FILIP FUXA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Travelling by Train
Sometimes there’s no way to get a seat on the slow but oh-so-popular train to Ella , but with a prime standing-room-only spot looking out at a rolling carpet of tea, who cares? Outside, the colourful silk saris of Tamil tea pickers stand out in the sea of green; inside, you may get a shy welcome via a smile. At stations, vendors hustle treats, including some amazing corn and chilli fritters sold wrapped in somebody’s old homework paper. Munching one of these while the scenery creaks past? Sublime.

STEVEN GREAVES / GETTY IMAGES ©


Top Experiences
Uda Walawe National Park
This huge chunk of savanna grassland centred on the Uda Walawe reservoir is the closest Sri Lanka gets to East Africa. There are herds of buffalo (although some of these are domesticated!), sambar deer, crocodiles, masses of birds, and elephants – and we don’t just mean a few elephants. We mean hundreds of the big-nosed creatures. In fact, we’d go so far to say that for elephants, Uda Walawe is equal to, or even better than, many of the famous East African national parks.

MATYAS REHAK / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Ancient Anuradhapura
At Anuradhapura , big bits of Sri Lanka’s cultural and religious heritage sprawl across 3 sq km. In the centre is one of the world’s oldest trees, the Sri Maha Bodhi (more than two thousand years old). That it has been tended uninterrupted by record-keeping guardians for all those centuries is enough to send shivers down the spine. The surrounding fields of crumbling monasteries and enormous dagobas (stupas) attest to the city’s role as the seat of power in Sri Lanka for a thousand years. Biking through this heady past is a thrilling experience.

Isurumuniya Vihara | EFESENKO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Soaring Sigiriya
The rolling gardens at the base of Sigiriya would themselves be a highlight. Ponds and little man-made rivulets put the water in these water gardens and offer a serene idyll amid the sweltering countryside. But look up and catch your jaw as you ponder this 370m rock that erupts out of the landscape. Etched with art and surmounted by ruins, Sigiriya is an awesome mystery, one that the wonderful museum tries to dissect. The climb to the top is a wearying and worthy endeavour.

DR TRAVEL PHOTO AND VIDEO / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Bundala National Park
With all the crowds heading to nearby Yala National Park, its neighbour to the west, Bundala National Park , often gets overlooked. But with the park’s huge sheets of shimmering waters ringing with the sound of birdsong, skipping it is a big mistake. Bundala has a beauty that other parks can only dream of and is one of the finest birding destinations in the country. Oh, and in case herons and egrets aren’t glam enough for you, the crocodiles and resident elephant herd will put a smile on your face.

DPOYLOCK19 / SHUTTERSTOCK ©


Top Experiences
Adam's Peak Pilgrims
For over a thousand years, pilgrims have trudged by candlelight up Adam’s Peak (Sri Pada) to stand in the footprints of the Buddha, breathe the air where Adam first set foot on earth and see the place where the butterflies go to die. Today tourists join the throngs of local pilgrims and, as you stand in the predawn light atop this perfect pinnacle of rock and watch the sun crawl above waves of mountain