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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:

• Monty Hotel
• Tri Star Beach Hotel
• Mambo’s Hotel
• Ariyawan Hotel
• Rupas Beach Hotel and Restaurant
• Mid Bay Hotel
• Terral Hotel
• Raja Wewa Hotel
• Rio Hotel
• Razak Hotel
• G. A. Ariyawan Rest
• Whiskey Bay Surf Resort
• Living Heritage Koslanda
• Ramboda Falls Hotel
• Kelburne Mountain View Cottages

Places to Visit in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, Asia

Anuradhapura is one of the major cities of Sri Lanka and the capital city of North Central Province, located at a coordinates 8°21′ N 80°23′ E. The city of Anuradhapura is spread over an area of 14 sq. km. and is located about 196 kms from the national capital Colombo. The Postal Code of Anuradhapura begins from 50000.

Anuradhapura is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the country known for its well-protected spoils of traditional Sri Lankan culture. Also it is considered as one of the sacred places of Buddhists.

History of Anuradhapura:

Anuradhapura is one of the continuously colonized regions in the globe and it is believed that, the city was founded between 4^th and 5^th century BC. After Tambapanni and Upatissa Nuwara, it served as the centre of Rajarata Kingdom.

How to reach Anuradhapura?

Anuradhapura has good connectivity with both road and railway and well connected with Colombo, Jaffna, and Kankesanthurai through Northern railway line. Tourists can board trains at Anuradhapura Railway Station located 4 kms away from the city. It takes nearly 4 hours to reach capital city of the country Colombo by bus from Anuradhapura and most of the major cities buses departs from Anuradhapura New Town Bus Stand.

Anuradhapura Airport is located 2.5 kms away from the heart of the city with daily flights to Colombo.

Cuisine, Culture and Shopping in Anuradhapura:

The higher percentage Anuradhapura population covers local Sinhalese (91.42), followed by Sri Lankan Moors (6.75), Sri Lankan Tamils (1.50), Indian Tamils (0.08) and Burgher, Malay (0.24). Sinhala is a widely spoken language in Anuradhapura and some natives speak Tamil as well.     

Anuradhapura is one of the cultural hubs of the country, well known for its historical places of Rajarata Kingdom period. Also the city famous for the handicraft product shops with variety of items like replica relics, carved wooden figures, earrings, masks and pillows. Tourists can pick musical DVDs, sari, photos of gods and colorful ornaments at the shops located in the centre of the city.

Nuwara Wewa Guesthouse and Wewa guesthouse offers Sri Lankan, Indian and Western countries cuisine. Cargills Food City is a small departmental store contains different Western products and fresh meat as well. Anuradhapura houses only 2 alcohol shops and drinking in public places is prohibited.

Tourist Attractions in Anuradhapura:

Bodhi Tree Temple:

After the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Bodhi Tree Temple is considered as the 2^nd most holy place of Sri Lanka. It is visited by higher majority of Buddhists devotees.

Ruwanwelisaya:

Ruwanwelisaya is a historical stupa and a major worship centre of Anuradhapura with four small stupas.

The Archaeology Museum:

The Archaeology Museum exhibits religious and cultural relics of country located in the centre of Anuradhapura City.

Other tourist attractions near Anuradhapura include:

• The Folk Museum
• Jetavana
• The Citadel
• The Moonstone
• The Western Monasteries
• Lovamahapaya
• Abhayagiri Dagaba
• Moonstone
• The Ruwanweli Saya Stupa

Best time to visit Anuradhapura:

The ideal months to holiday Anuradhapura are from April to September.

Accommodation Options in Anuradhapura:

The major hotels of Anuradhapura offers the facilities of restaurant, bar, swimming pool, doctor on call, dry cleaning, laundry, 24 hour electricity and internet connectivity and meditation facility. The best hotels in Anuradhapura are:

• Nuwara Wewa Guest House
• Galway Miridiya Lodge, Anuradhapura
• Milano Tourist Rest
• Hotel Shalini
• Galway Miridiya Lodge
• Hotel Alakamanda
• Miridiya Hotel
• Shanthi Hotel, Anuradhapura
• Randiya Hotel
• Triangle Hotel
• Hotel Water Garden
• Wing’s Hotel
• Ashok Hotel

Tourist Places to Visit in Adams Peak, Sri Lanka, Asia

Adams Peak also called as Sri Pada is a famous mountain placed between 06°48′41″ N latitude and 80°29′59″ E longitude in Ratnapura district of Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. It is the holy place for Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christians and it gained more importance with the presence of 1.8 meters rock formation Sri Pada means ‘sacred footprint’ in the vicinity. Buddhists believe that, it is the footprint of Buddha and Hindu trust that of Shiva and Muslim and Christians considers it is the footprint of Adam or St. Thomas.

The surrounding region of Adams Peak is a wildlife reserve, home to elephants, leopards and numerous endangered species. The mountain is the major water source for Sri Lanka because the main 4 rivers of the country including the longest Mahaveli Ganga River originate here. Other than Sri Pada, Adam’s peak is called by different names like Samantakuta, Samanalakanda, Ratnagiri, Mount Rohana and Svargarohanam.

Geography of Adams Peak:

Adams Peak is a 2,243 meters tall mountain located about 40 km northeast of the district main town Ratnapura.

How to reach Adams Peak?

There are six routes to reach Adams Peak and Nallathanni & Palabaddala is one of the best routes to reach Adams Peak and other routes include Kuruwita-Erathna, Murraywatte, Mookuwatte & Malimboda, Hatton-Nallathanni and Ratnapura-Palabaddala. There are regular buses and tourist vehicles plying near the mountain making easier for the tourists to travel.

The important railway station situated near Adams Peak is Hatton Railway Station and one can board flights at Ratmalana Airport. Tourists can hire Auto-Rickshaws or Jeeps to reach airport and railway station from Adams Peak.

Best time to visit Adams Peak:

From December to May, especially April is the ideal time to visit Adams Peak. During the rainy season, it is hard to climb mountain because of heavy rain.

Places to see near Adams Peak:

The Bhagava Cave:

The Bhagava Cave is situated about 150 meters from the end point of the mountain. The inscriptions on the walls of the cave are the prime attractions of the cave.

The Sama Chatiya:

The Sama Chatiya is a must visit stupa near Adams Peak. It was constructed in the year 1976 by a Japanese monk ‘Ven Nichi Fuji’.

Ratnapura National Museum:

Ratnapura National Museum has the artifacts of Sabaragamuwa Province’s history and culture. Tourists are allowed to see moulds, traditional Kandyan jewellery and ancient instruments. It is open from morning 9 to evening 5 between Tuesday and Saturday. The entrance fee is Rs. 120 per head.

Maha Saman Devale:

Maha Saman Devale is a famous temple situated in Ratnapura. This temple is devoted to God Saman and it is believed that, God Saman resided at Adam’s Peak. It was constructed during 13^th century and later was conquered by Portuguese who shattered and built a church. Later Kandyan Kingdom king demolished the church and rebuilt the temple.

Accommodation options near Adams Peak:

There are numerous guest houses, hotels and home stays located near Adams Peak and Ratnapura City (about 40 kms) to serve tourists. The list of best hotels and guest houses is as follows:

• Wathsala Inn – Adams Peak
• Maskeliya Bungalow
• Yellow House-Adam’s Peak
• Punsisi Rest-Maussakele
• Lake Serenity Boutique Hotel
• Hotel Klawathi
• Mount Gap Hotel
• Kitulgala Rest House
• Langdale by Amaya
• Midky Hotel
• Belihuloya Rest House
• The Rock Hotel Nuwara Eliya
• Tea Bush Hotel Nuwara Eliya
• Alpine Hotel
• Sunhill Hotel
• Oakray Summer Hill Breeze Hotel
• Cocoon Hills Bungalow Nuwara Eliya