Places to visit in Colombo

Sri Lanka is a small island but discovering region is not easy... specially two or three days tour to Sri Lanka can not do a big thing. If you are coming to explore the country you may at-least need a total month but if you are aiming for one or two places, you will do it within a week. Before coming to Sri Lanka you will have to get a slight idea where to go and what to do. And I would like to give some tips about some of places.

First of all I must clarify one thing that is Colombo airport is not in Colombo.   And Colombo has not much tourist value for the travelers but people gather there for offices, business, jobs shopping or to take trains to different parts of Sri Lanka.

The closest city to the Colombo airport  is - Negombo that is famous for fishing and tourism and after few hours of flight, visitors like to spend their first night in this small city that has a Dutch history still remaining some of ruins of Dutch period like Dutch canal, Dutch church, Dutch fort with clock tour!

Reaching to Northern part of Sri Lanka from Negombo is much easier and nearer than traveling from Colombo but as you are mentioning as “ Colombo”  I would like to give you a slight idea of distance (by time) to some attracted areas from Colombo.

Colombo metropolitan city has main 15 areas. So if we consider the starting point is Colombo 1,
(by a hired vehicle) From Colombo to
Negombo – 35 mnts from highway ( Beaches, Fresh fish market, lagoon tour and Dutch History)
Kelaniya – 45 mnts (Water world for aquarium & birds, Temple)
Dehiwala- 45 mnts (Zoological garden)
Kaluaggala – 50 mnts (Leasure world )
Galle –1 hr & 45 mnts by highway(Light house, Fort, Dutch church, Rumassala-Mountain)
Mirissa – 2 hrs (beach)
Pinnawala-2 hrs (Elephant Orphanage)
Hambantota-2hrs from highway (Mattala airport, Fort, Tropical Garden)
Tissamaharamaya – 2hrs & 30 mnts by highway (Yala Safari, Bundala National park for bird watching)
Kandy- 2hrs & 30 mnts (Temple of Tooth, Botanical Garden, Udawatta Kele for bird watching)
Dambulla  - 2hrs & 30 mnts (Rock Temple, Golden Temple)
Seegiriya - 2hrs & 30 mnts (Lion's rock)
Anuradhapura - 2hrs & 45 mnts (Historical Kingdom)
Nuwaraeliya -3hrs (Tea Plantations, Waterfalls, heavenly mountains, serene views)
Sinharaja Rain Forest – 3 hrs
Polonnaruwa -3hrs & 30 mnts (Historical Kingdom)
Badulla – 3hrs & 30 mnts (Mountains, Botanical Gardens, Water falls)
Pasikuda -6 hrs & 30 mnts (beach)

Tine will be depend due to some-day's traffic. (Traffic is not a very big problem in Sri Lanka!) Above are not all the tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. We have 22 national parks, so many rain forests, so many uncountable water-falls, Mountains,  lakes, ruins of past kingdom-more than 2500 years ago and such things but difficult to be described all in here.

When my friends visit me I do not miss elephant orphanage, Kandy, Nuwaraeliya, Anuradhapura, &  Ella Gap.

"Ella Gap" is a unique place you may not find elsewhere. "World's end" has the same or higher value. Trip to Badulla can be done by train and that may be an amazing trip you will never forget in life. These are natural beauties of Sri Lanka!!

During a week you cannot cover many beautiful parts of Sri Lanka.  Below are some single day tour ideas
Pinnawala – Kandy (1day),Seegiriya-Dambulla (1day),Anuradhapura (1 day),Polonnaruwa (1day)