Welcome to lovely Kandy! A trip to Sri Lanka would be completed without a stop at Kandy, the spiritual city. It is one of the most beautiful towns in the world, surrounded by stunning mountains, Kandy Lake, and Sri Lanka’s longest river. Kandy, currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was formerly the country’s final royal capital and the last royal bastion of the Kandyan Kings. It has a 2500-year-old rich cultural legacy and is home to numerous notable historical sites, traditional buildings, cultural monuments, and the Royal Botanical Gardens. It houses the Sri DaladaMaligawa, Sri Lanka’s most revered Buddhist shrine, as well as the Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic.

You’re treading on holy ground. Come to the site of one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. Anuradhapura was Sri Lanka’s first city, built in the 4th century AD, and is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited towns. With its well-preserved remnants of this ancient civilisation, this UNESCO World Heritage site is a historical marvel. The many towering stupas (Dagobas), wonderful rock carvings, huge stone pillars, and ruins of royal palaces, monasteries, and bathing tanks, as well as some of the most complex irrigation systems in the world, are among the masterpieces of this golden era, demonstrating the architectural, engineering, hydrological, and irrigational skills of this golden era.

Spend a few interesting hours exploring beautiful Galle a coast city situated in the southwestern tip of the island. It boasts of being an important historical landmark with its fortified city, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and later developed in the 17th century, during the Dutch Colonial period. The Dutch Fort in Galle is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Take an exciting walk through this heritage site that boasts of a colourful history. Observe the many sites such as the Old Gate with the British Coat-of-Arms inscribed on it, the Old Dutch Hospital, the ramparts that run around the fortress with its excellent view of the ocean, the clock tower built in 1882, the light house built in 1939,the many bastions – each made for a specific purpose, Dutch colonial style houses with gables and verandahs, the Dutch Reformed Church built in 1640, the New Oriental Hotel, originally built in 1694, the National Maritime Museum and more.

The Golden Temple of Dambulla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the country’s biggest and finest maintained cave temple complex. This majestic overhanging rock temple, 600 feet high and about 2000 feet long, was where King Vattagamini Abaya (King Valagamba) sought sanctuary from enemy invasion in the first century BCE, and in gratitude, he transformed the cave complex into a rock temple. Amble up the slope of the Dambulla Rock; be greeted by troops of wild monkeys as they sit behind the fenced wall and chatter loudly, be mesmerized by the scenic view of the surrounding areas and a glimpse of the Sigiriya Rock – as it rises up to the sky. There are 80 documented Caves in the vicinity of the Golden Temple of which five possess the most appeal with its beautiful archeological features; traditional mural paintings on the ceiling and walls depicting the life of the Buddha along with 157 Buddha statues of varying sizes amongst other interesting artifacts.

A royal invitation to explore a majestic 5th century fortress in the sky, the most visited historical sites in the country. This gigantic column of rock, rising up 200 meters (660ft) into the heavens was once a royal palace and is today acclaimed a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. Step into the past; let your imagination go riot. Walk around the landscaped pleasure gardens with its moats, man-made ponds and fountains, considered a hydraulic marvel of the past. Be enthralled by the frescoes of beautiful ladies painted on the surface of the rock; take in the grandeur of the Mirror Walls with its verses dating back from as early as the eighth century.