Gal Oya
Gal Oya National Park in eastern Sri Lanka offers one of the country’s most unusual and intimate wildlife experiences – boat safaris on Senanayake Samudra, the largest inland reservoir in the country, where elephants regularly swim between islands. The park sees very few visitors, and the combination of lake scenery, dry-zone forest, and elephant encounters […]
Belihuloya
A quiet valley in the southern foothills of the central highlands, Belihuloya is crossed by the Belihul Oya river and surrounded by forest and farmland. It is a gentle base for walking, swimming in natural pools, and experiencing the transition zone between wet zone forest and highland scenery. Largely undiscovered by mainstream tourism, it rewards […]
Sinharaja
Sri Lanka’s last remaining lowland tropical rainforest and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Sinharaja is extraordinary for birdwatching – the majority of Sri Lanka’s endemic bird species are found here, often in mixed-species feeding flocks that move through the forest canopy at dawn. The forest is dense and humid, best explored on guided walks. Best […]
Madu River
The Madu River and its surrounding lagoon system in southern Sri Lanka constitute one of the most biodiverse wetland ecosystems on the island, home to over 300 plant species and 200 recorded bird species. Boat safaris through the mangroves and past tiny inhabited islands offer a gentle and genuinely memorable experience – and the river […]
Ritigala Forest Monastery
One of Sri Lanka’s most atmospheric ancient sites, Ritigala is a ruined forest monastery complex tucked into a remote ridge of dry-zone forest in the North Central Province. The ruins are connected by a system of raised stone pathways through jungle, and the silence and sense of solitude here are unlike anything else in the […]