Popular places in Sri Lanka
Sigiriya
Sigiriya - The Lion Rock is an ancient palace of a Sinhala King, located in the Central Matale district. It is a UNESCO listed world heritage site. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 meters (660 ft) in height.
According to ancient chronicles, King Kashyapa selected this place as his capital and built the palace on the top of the rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. A gate way was also built in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place derive from this structure – Singhagiri – the LION ROCK, which was abandoned after the king’s death.
Yala National Park
Yala National Parkis the most visited and second largestnational parkinSri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as,Ruhuna National Park(block 1) andKumana National Parkor 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies inSouthern ProvinceandUva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) fromColombo. Yala was designated as awildlife sanctuaryin 1900, and, along withWilpattuwas one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation ofSri Lankan elephants,Sri Lankan leopardsand aquatic birds.
There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Among the largest isLunugamvehera National Park. The park is situated in thedry semi-arid climatic regionand rain is received mainly during thenortheast monsoon. Yala hosts a variety ofecosystemsranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marinewetlands. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas(IBAs) in Sri Lanka. Yala harbours 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka. The number of mammals that has been recorded from the park is 44, and it has one of the highestleoparddensities in the world.
You will get the chance of spending an adventurous night surrounded by the wilderness inside the park.
Worlds End is the place which has the highest gap in Sri Lanka. The greenery environment is surrounded by many waterfalls and rivers. It is one of the best places for a great walk and a great view. World's End viewpoint is very impressive. At times, weather is sunny and clear and the next moment it is chilly and misty.
The rich biodiversity attract many local and foreign visitors to Horton Place. It is surrounded with many species of plants and animals. Some believe the grasslands are naturally grown up and some say they are man-made. Sambar deers with large herds, birds such as Sri Lanka white – eye, dusky blur flycatcher are a common sight at Horton place.