ABOUT HERITAGE, BEACHES AND WILDLIFE OF SOUTHERN SRI LANKA

The town of Galle lies on Sri Lanka’s south west tip, with its incomparable Dutch Fort (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The fabulous beaches continue along the south coast, becoming quieter and more remote the further east you go. Towards the south-east in the dry Zone are three of Sri Lanka’s most important national parks, Yala, Bundala and Uda Walawe, a chance to see elephants in the wild, possibly also leopards and sloth bear.

SRI LANKA’S CENTRAL DRY ZONE

The dry central plains reveal a world of wildlife and nature, rice paddies and lilies, wild elephants and reservoirs. This area between kandy and Anuradhapura boasts three ancient capitals and a history spanning 2,500 years, Little wonder there are 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Don’t miss Sigiriya, a 5^th Century fortress built on a 600 feet high granite rock, and the Dambulla Rock Temples. If you have time, visit the ruined medieval city of Polonnaruwa and ancient Anuradhapura, the spiritual home of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, with its Dagobas, Ruins and sacred fig tree, believed to have been brought from India as a sapling in the 03^rd Century BC.