The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the tooth relic of the Buddha, a tooth, which is venerated by Buddhists.
At the Sri Dalada Maligawa , Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily ritual worship in the inner chamber of the temple, in annual rotation. They conduct these services three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.
The tooth relic at the Sri Dalada Maligawa has played an important role in the local politics since ancient times and it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country, which caused the ancient kings to protect it with great effort.
Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Sigiriya is one of the most valuable historical monuments of Sri Lanka.
Sigiriya frescoes, painted on the rock face, are depicting nude females and are considered to be either the portraits of Kasyapa's wives and concubines or priestess performing religious rituals.
The gardens of Sigiriya are among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. Sigiriya has water gardens, cave and boulder gardens, and also terraced gardens.
Anuradhapura, is the first ancient capital of Sri Lanka which lasted for the longest period as the capital in the country.It is important to locals for religion,history,and the culture and world-famous for its well preserved ruins of the Great Sri Lankan Civilization.
The Civilization which was built upon this city was one of the greatest civilizations of Asia and in the world. The city now a UNESCO heritage site, lies 205km north of the current capital Colombo in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, on the banks of the historic Malwathu Oya.
Founded in the 4th century BC the City was the capital of the Anuradhapura Kingdom till the beginning of the 11th century AC. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia.
The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders to reunite the country once more under a local leader.
While king Vijayabahu's victory and shifting of Kingdoms to the more strategic Polonnaruwa is considered significant, the real Polonnaruwa Hero of the history books is actually his grandson, Parakramabahu I, who advanced the city with agriculture and architecture.
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the kingdom's first rulers.
Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka,was built first in 1588 by the Portugese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards.
Galle is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 423 years maintains a polished appearance, due to extensive reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.
Galle Fort been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its unique exposition of an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a national park in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The hilly virgin rainforest was saved from the worst of commercial logging, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1989.
The Forest reserve is only 21km from east to west and a maximum of 7km from north to south but it is a treasure trove of endemic species including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Central Highlands comprises the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest.
Central Highlands was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2010 and it qualified because of its biodiversity.
Central Highlands of Sri Lanka encompasses the Adam's Peak.
Kumana bird sanctuary is the habitat of many species of birds both local and migrant. Kumana is also home to some of the mammals found in the larger Yala national park on the west, such as elephants and leopards.
The vegetation in Kumana consists mainly of mangrove trees, kumbuk trees and the karan fern, as well as the open marsh area. It is the habitat of birds such as pelicans, painted storks, cormorants, herons, egrets, spoonbills, white ibis, the rare black-necked stork and many mammals.
One of the most significant features of the park is the 'Kumana Villu' - a 200 hectare natural swamp lake, fed by the 'Kumbukkan Oya' through a half mile long narrow channel. It is at this mangrove swamp that many water birds nest in May and June. The very rare black-necked stork has also been spotted at the swamp.
Bundala National Park is located 251km southeast of Colombo, close to the City of Hambantota in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.
Bundala national park is a wetland sanctuary with thorny scrub jungle, brackish lagoons, salt pans and inter-tidal mudflats.
Bundala National Park is famous for diverse aquatic bird life and a small population of elephants, leopards, deer, and sambur.
Udawalawe National Park, the sixth largest animal sanctuary of Sri Lanka is located 180km from Colombo in south central sector of the island.
Several species of mammals and many species of birds are found here in the Udawalawe National Park.
Udawalawe National Park is a National park, next in popularity to Yala, where elephants could be seen even during mid day.
Wilpattu National Park is located 25km north of Puttalam or 30km west of Anurdhapura.
Wilpattu reserve is situated 50km to the west of Anuradhapura on the northwest coast and it spans the border between North Central Province and North Western Province of Sri Lanka.
Wilpattu National Park is the habitat of elephants, leopards, sloth bear, deer and sambur. It has several lakes that attract thousands of water birds
Gal Oya National Park is located 376km northeast from Colombo in Badulla District with part of it stretching into Ampara District.
Gal Oya national park, 25,900 hectares in extent, is rich in flora and fauna and has many tourism attractions such as safari boat rides.
Gal Oya National Park is the habitat of many endemic species including birds and mammals such as wild boar, water buffalo, languor, leopard, deer, sloth bear and elephant.
Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area.
Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life.
Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, near the Dambulla cave complexes.
