Another ancient site is the port city of Galle which offers a different perspective of the island. Galle is fabled to be the famous ‘Tarshish’, mentioned in various ancient chronicles, where historians speak of the riches and mysticism of the port city. Even today, Galle has significant remains of Ditch and ...

The hill capital of Kandy is another ancient city with a proud history of Kandyan kings who commanded great authority and had the riches of the kingdom at their disposal. About 116 kms from Colombo, it was the seat of the last king before the island fell to colonial powers. The city holds the famous Temple of the Tooth, or ...

The magnificent cave temple of Dambulla dates back to the 1st century BC, when King Valagamabahu took refuge there from invaders from South India. Once he regained power, under his edict the caves were painted with frescoes and a Buddhist temple established in the caves. These frescoes still retain their freshness and the ...

Mihintale is the place where Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Arahant Mahinda, supposedly the son of the Indian Emperor of Asoka. Moreover it is just as an important pilgrimage site. Where Mihintale is different is that it is situated on a mountain, which makes for an archaeological complex with extra character.

As the first capital of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura has an impressive array of ruins of palace complexes, temples, water reservoirs and many more archaeological remains dating back to the 4th century BC.