Sri Lanka had been on our travel list for some time, and in January 2026 we finally undertook a seven-day journey through the island, primarily following the Ramayana Trail. Along the way, we also visited some of Sri Lanka’s important heritage and cultural attractions and spent time on two safari drives in Yala National Park.

Our journey took us from Colombo and Chilaw in the west to Trincomalee in the east, and then through Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Tissamaharama and Galle before returning to Colombo. We travelled by private car with a driver, which gave us the flexibility to cover many sites that are located away from the main tourist routes.

Other Posts from Our Sri Lanka Journey

This itinerary is the overall summary of our trip. We have also written separate posts focusing on the three major themes of our journey:

• [Sri Lanka Ramayana Trail – Following the Footsteps of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita & Hanuman] – the Ramayana traditions and our experiences at the various sites.
• [Sri Lanka Heritage Sites – Our Journey Through History and Culture] – the historical, cultural and religious attractions we visited.
• [Yala National Park – Our Safari Experience] – our experience on two safari drives and the wildlife we encountered.

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Day 1 – Colombo → Chilaw → Sigiriya

Munneswaram Temple → Manavari Temple → Sigiriya

We arrived in Colombo and began our journey north towards Chilaw, where we visited two important Ramayana-related temples.

Munneswaram Temple

Our first stop was Munneswaram Temple, traditionally associated with Lord Rama’s worship of Lord Shiva after his battle with Ravana.

Manavari Temple

We then continued to Manavari Temple, traditionally believed to be the first place where Rama installed and worshipped a Shiva Lingam after the war. The Lingam is known as Ramalingam.

From Chilaw, we continued towards Sigiriya, where we spent the night at Ekho Sigiriya.

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Day 2 – Sigiriya → Trincomalee → Sigiriya

Ritigala → Kanniya Hot Springs → Thirukoneswaram → Sigiriya Rock Fortress

Day 2 was a long but interesting day trip towards Trincomalee, with several important Ramayana sites along the way.

Ritigala

Our first stop was Ritigala, traditionally associated with the Sanjeevani mountain carried by Hanuman. We initially followed Google Maps and ended up at a closed dirt road, so we had to retrace our route to the A11 highway and find the correct access road.

The visitor centre is reached by an approximately 8-km forest road, which our car was able to negotiate. The entrance ticket for the hike to the ancient Buddhist monastery ruins was USD 6 per person. Unfortunately, because of our time constraints, we could not undertake the hike. We spent some time photographing the Sanjeevani rock formations before continuing.

Kanniya Hot Springs

We next visited Kanniya Hot Water Springs, where seven hot-water wells are traditionally associated with King Ravana. We took a ritual bath in all seven wells, and the water was pleasantly warm. Changing rooms were available, although we felt that the toilet facilities needed better maintenance.

Thirukoneswaram Temple

Our next stop was Thirukoneswaram Temple, situated overlooking the sea. The location and views were beautiful.

However, we were disappointed with the temple timings. The signboard indicated that the temple would remain open until 1:00 pm, but when we arrived at around 12:45 pm on January 3, the sannidhis had already been closed.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress

On our return to Sigiriya, we visited the famous Sigiriya Rock Fortress, the 5th-century royal citadel built by King Kashyapa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We climbed partway up the rock and reached the area of the famous Sigiriya frescoes, but did not continue to the summit.

At USD 35 per foreign visitor, we felt the entrance fee was rather high, although the fee is lower for visitors holding an Indian passport.

We spent our second night at Ekho Sigiriya.

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Day 3 – Sigiriya → Kandy

Dambulla → Sita Kotuwa → Dunuwila → Temple of the Tooth

We left Sigiriya and headed towards Kandy, with several interesting stops along the way.

Dambulla Cave Temple & Golden Temple

The Dambulla Cave Temple was one of the highlights of the day. The complex consists of five caves, each containing Buddha statues and beautiful paintings. We felt that all five caves were worth visiting.

The adjoining Golden Temple, with its enormous golden Buddha statue, is another prominent landmark of the complex.

Sita Kotuwa

We then travelled to Sita Kotuwa, a remote Ramayana-related site traditionally associated with the place where Sita was first held captive by Ravana.

The site was quite challenging for us. The signboard at the trailhead indicated a distance of 3 km, while security staff at a nearby restaurant told us it was only about 1 km. The trail was also poorly marked, with steep gradients and slippery boulders.

Because we felt that continuing would be unsafe, particularly for senior visitors, we turned back halfway. We also felt that the site was poorly maintained, which may explain the very small number of visitors we encountered.

Dunuwila

Our next stop was Dunuwila, traditionally believed to be the place from where Rama fired the Brahmastra at Ravana.

Interestingly, our experience here was quite different from what we had expected. We could not find a lake near the town or any clear reference to the Ramayana at the site itself. The location we found was a Buddhist temple, and apart from a statue resembling Rama, there was little visible information connecting the site with the Ramayana.

This was one of the more difficult Ramayana sites on our journey to identify and understand from what we saw on the ground.

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

We continued to Kandy and visited the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, one of Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist temples. It is a huge temple complex and houses what Buddhists believe to be a relic of the Buddha’s tooth.

We spent the night at Cinnamon Citadel, Kandy.

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Day 4 – Kandy → Nuwara Eliya

Bhakta Hanuman Temple → Ramboda Falls → Gayathri Peedam → Seetha Amman Temple → Hakgala

We continued into Sri Lanka’s beautiful hill country on our way to Nuwara Eliya.

Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple

Our first stop was the Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple, traditionally associated with Hanuman’s search for Sita. The temple has an impressive 16-foot Hanuman idol and a beautiful setting overlooking the Kotmale Valley.

Ramboda Falls

We then stopped at Ramboda Falls, surrounded by lush green hills and tea plantations. The waterfall has several sections, and visitors can walk down to obtain closer views.

Gayathri Peedam

Our next stop was Gayathri Peedam, traditionally associated with Meghanada, also known as Indrajit, the son of Ravana.

Seetha Amman Temple & Hakgala

We then visited the Seetha Amman Temple, traditionally identified with the area of Ashok Vatika where Sita was held captive by Ravana.

We also visited Hakgala, whose surrounding area is traditionally associated with Ashok Vatika. The beautiful hill-country landscape made this one of the more scenic portions of our journey, although the rain during our visit prevented us from enjoying it as much as we would have liked.

We spent the night at Aravali Red, Nuwara Eliya.

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Day 5 – Nuwara Eliya → Tissamaharama

Divurumpola → Ravana Falls → Kataragama → Yala Evening Safari

We left the hill country and headed towards Tissamaharama, with several stops along the way.

Divurumpola

We visited Divurumpola, traditionally believed to be the place where Sita underwent the Agni Pariksha after being rescued by Rama.

Ravana Falls

We stopped at Ravana Falls, one of the well-known waterfalls along this route. The waterfall is named after King Ravana and is traditionally associated with the Ramayana trail.

Kataragama Murugan Temple

We then visited the Kataragama Murugan Temple, an important pilgrimage centre revered by Hindus, Buddhists and the indigenous Vedda community. The main deity is Lord Murugan, also known as Skanda or Kartikeya.

Yala National Park – Evening Safari

In the evening, we had our first safari at Yala National Park. We arranged our Jeep safari through our cab rental company, Less Taxi Sri Lanka.

The safari lasted approximately four hours. We were fortunate to see elephants, deer, buffaloes and several species of birds, although we had no luck spotting a leopard.

We spent the night at Ekho Safari, Tissamaharama.

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Day 6 – Tissamaharama → Galle

Yala Morning Safari → Ussangoda → Rumassala

We started the day with our second Yala safari, this time in the morning.

Yala National Park – Morning Safari

Again, we saw elephants, deer, buffaloes and various birds but unfortunately did not see a leopard.

One aspect of the safari that we did not expect was the large number of jeeps operated by private safari companies. At times, the number of vehicles seemed excessive for a wildlife area and somewhat diminished the feeling of being in a natural environment.

During the approximately four-hour safari, we stopped at a crowded rest area with restrooms and cafés. There was also a beach nearby.

Ussangoda

We continued to Ussangoda, a striking coastal landscape traditionally associated with Ravana’s Pushpaka Vimana and Hanuman’s burning tail. The unusual red and blackened soil makes the area particularly distinctive.

Rumassala

Our final major stop of the day was Rumassala Hill near Galle, traditionally believed to be another fragment of the Sanjeevani mountain carried by Hanuman. The area is also known for its natural beauty and views of the Indian Ocean.

We spent the night at the Sheraton.

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Day 7 – Galle → Colombo → Chennai

Kelaniya Vibhishana Temple → Panchamuga Anjaneyar Temple → Shopping → Chennai

Our final day took us back towards Colombo, where we visited two important Hindu/Ramayana-related sites.

Kelaniya – Vibhishana Temple

We visited Kelaniya, traditionally associated with Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, who according to the Ramayana tradition became King of Lanka after Ravana’s death.

Panchamuga Anjaneyar Temple

We then visited the Panchamuga Anjaneyar Temple, dedicated to Lord Hanuman in his five-faced form. It is regarded as an important Ramayana-related Hindu temple in Colombo.

We also stopped at a gift shop before heading to the airport for our flight to Chennai.

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Our Travel Logistics

We travelled throughout the journey by private car with a driver, which was particularly convenient because many of the Ramayana sites are located away from Sri Lanka’s major tourist routes.

We used Less Taxi Sri Lanka for the entire trip. The car was well maintained and their pricing was competitive. Apart from a minor communication issue regarding the Yala National Park ticket booking, we were generally satisfied with their service. We would have preferred a driver who understood Tamil, but the driver assigned to us was professional throughout most of the journey.

Overall, travelling by private car gave us the flexibility to follow this fairly ambitious itinerary and make stops at places that would have been difficult to cover using public transportation.

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Our Seven-Day Journey – In Retrospect

Our seven days in Sri Lanka were packed with temples, ancient sites, mountains, waterfalls, forests, wildlife and spectacular landscapes. The journey was primarily planned around the Ramayana Trail, but the opportunity to experience Sri Lanka’s rich Buddhist heritage and its wildlife made the trip much more varied.

Some sites were major tourist attractions, while others were remote and surprisingly difficult to find.

For us, this was not simply a sightseeing trip. It was an opportunity to explore the many stories, traditions, cultures and landscapes that make Sri Lanka such a fascinating destination.

Explore Our Other Sri Lanka Posts

Ramayana Trail: [Sri Lanka Ramayana Trail – Following the Footsteps of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita & Hanuman]

Heritage: [Sri Lanka Heritage Sites – Our Journey Through History and Culture]

Wildlife: [Yala National Park – Our Safari Experience]