Visit Sri Lanka for an awesome vacation tour ?Sri Lank wildlife safaris and holiday tours … an incredible travel location that we will focus in this post. Udawalawe National Park on the other hand is smaller, a third of the size of Yala, covering 308 square km (119 square miles). Nonetheless, given its smaller size, Udawalawe has a greater density of animal to size ratio, particularly with Sri Lankan elephants. Being a less popular safari destination than Udawalawe, it is also quieter, which makes it a more enjoyable safari experience in our opinion. Yala National Park: can be visited all year round except in September and October, when the park is closed for maintenance. All animals can be seen throughout the year with your best chances to spot wildlife at Yala during the dry season, which runs from February to September when the water levels are low, and the animals gather around the lagoons to drink.

Wilpattu, Sri Lanka’s largest park, is situated in the dry lowlands of the island’s north-west and comprises a series of lakes – or villus – with varying degrees of freshness and salinity. The park reopened in 2003 after nearly 15 years of closure. Over time, the wildlife should recover to its former abundance and become more habituated to vehicles – at the moment the animals are wary of any human presence. Wilpattu was famous for its leopards, and big-cat enthusiasts are hoping this reputation will return. The park’s fauna is similar to Yala, but visitors also have a chance of seeing barking deer.

History of the tooth relic of Lord Buddha: When the war-torn situation of India threatens the existence of the tooth relic of Lord Buddha, king Guhasiwa decided to take the relic to Sri Lanka for safekeeping. King himself assigns this important job to his son-in-law prince Dantha and his own daughter princess Hemamala. Their ship secretly landed to Lankapattana during the reign of Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura in 4th century BC and handed over the tooth relic to king King himself. The King Sirimeghavanna enshrined it Meghagiri Vihara, now it is called as Isurumuniya Viharaya. Safeguarding the relic became king’s responsibility, overtime custodianship of the relic came to signify the right to rule. Time passed and reigning monarchs used to build tooth relic temples considerably close to their royal palace. Last Sinhalese King of Sri Lanka, Vira Narendra Sinha of Kandy built the present-day temple Meghagiri Vihara, First Tooth relic temple, present-day Isurumuniya Viharaya Famous painting of princess Hemamali and prince Danthaat at Kalani vihara. Present-day tooth relic temple Sri Dalada Maligawa Casket of tooth relic of Lord Buddha.

Hiking in Riverston Sri Lanka was an unexpected highlight of my journey throughout the island. Riverston is a region best defined by the popular term, ‘off the beaten path’. We drove for several hours, parked in the middle of nowhere and then embarked on a hike. We headed across the river and through the rice fields and farmland. There is minimal signage but luckily we had our guide Lukobanda to guide us up. The hike doesn’t have a specific name according to the locals other than the Riverston Hike. The hike looks out over the Knuckles mountain range and the surrounding highlands. It’s one of the short day trip hikes in the area. The end of the hike ends with a sharp 300m drop, which made for some pretty epic photos. From here you can chill and take in the views of the Thelgamuwa Valley, the terraced rice fields, and the Knuckles mountain range. This spot is called ‘The Worlds End’.The hike is 5km long but not incredibly difficult. Find extra info Best tropical vacation destinations.

One of Sri Lanka’s most iconic sights is the Nine Arch Bridge in the small mountain town of Ella. This viewpoint offers spectacular panoramas of the surrounding area, which is made up of verdant greenery and tea fields. Visitors can watch trains roll over the bridge as they make their way along the Demodara Loop. Constructed in the early days of the railway expansion in Sri Lanka, the bridge is particularly impressive because it is made of cement, stone and brick, without the use of any steel. Mihintale is a mountain near the town of Anuradhapura. Its summit has much spiritual significance to the Buddhist community. It’s believed that on this mountain top a Buddhist monk named Mahinda met King Devanampiyatissa and together this meeting introduced Buddhism to the country. Monk Mahinda impressed the King with the peacefulness of the Buddhist doctrine and his contented, serene nature. The King subsequently renounced war, and went on to spread peace throughout the nation. There are several impressive religious and historical structures on and around Mihintale Mountain. Hundreds of pilgrims visit the site each year.