Ampara Tourist Places to Visit in Ampara, Sri Lanka, Asia

Ampara Tourist Places to Visit in Ampara, Sri Lanka, Asia

Ampara is a town situated in Ampara District in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. It is placed about 360 kms away from Colombo, the capital city of the country and located between 7°17′0″ N latitude and 81°40′0″ E longitude. Ampara District occupies an area of 4,415 sq. km.

History of Ampara:

Ampara was earlier known as ‘Ambaragama’ during the rule of Ruhana Kingdom and was renamed Ambara to Ampara in recent years. Ampara was formed as a separate district by carving out from Batticaloa District in the year 1958.

Connectivity to Ampara:

Ampara has its own airport located 21 kms away from the city centre with regular flights to Colombo. There are frequent buses accessible at Ampara Town Bus Stand and other public bus stands. Tourists can also board luxury buses to Colombo City from Ampara Private Bus Station.

Ampara is not well served by railways and at this point nearest railway head to Ampara is Batticaloa Railway Station (76 kms) and Ella Railway Station (147 kms). Jeeps and Minibuses are the good options to travel within the city.

Culture, Food and Shopping in Ampara:

Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Ampara same as country and both these languages are also widely spoken all around the districts of Ampara. Compared to other regions of the country, Ampara houses the little higher percentage of Sri Lankan Moor people with a population of 43% ( as of 2012 census) and the remaining population include 38.73% Sinhalese, 17.40% of Sri Lankan Tamil and 0.03% of Indian Tamil.

The natives of Ampara are the lovers of spicy vegetarian dishes and the popular dishes of Ampara include Lamprais, Koola’ya, Pittu, Roti, Hoppers, Pol Sambola, Kalu Dodol, Weli Thalapa, Undu Walalu and Bibikkan. The food available in the hotels of Ampara is slightly similar to south Indian dish and in recent years some hotels added western dish in their menu cards along with traditional desi dish.

The handicraft products of wool, wood, metal and jewelry available at affordable prices at the shops of Ampara and also the city houses modern retail outlets, branded clothes showrooms, shoe centres, electronic and electronic showrooms along with traditional handicraft product shops.

Places to see in Ampara:

Kumana National Park:

Kumana National Park is one of the best tourist attractions of Ampara located few kms away from the city. It is home to tigers, lions, elephants and variety of beautiful birds and there are several resorts located near the park.

Gal Oya National Park:

Gal Oya National Park is the favorite place of bird lovers and visited by most numbers of college students and researchers during weekend.

Buddhangala Monastery:

Buddhangala Monastery is an ancient monastery situated in Ampara and is one of the must visit places in Ampara.

Other tourist attractions in Ampara is:

Muhudu Maha Viharaya

Ideal time to visit Ampara:

From March to July is the best time to visit Ampara to enjoy the beauty of historical temples and parks.

Accommodation Options in Ampara:

The facilities available in the hotels of Ampara include hot water bath, laundry and dry cleaning. The major hotels, resorts and cottage in Ampara are as follows: