Skyplus

The complete guide · checked October 2026

Sri Lanka

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවஇலங்கை

Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, leopards and blue whales, misty tea hills and two monsoons that leave one coast sunny all year. Everything you need, from the visa to the emergency numbers, on one page.

Explore the mapVisa & arrivalEmergency: 119
Capital
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Colombo is the commercial capital
Population
21.8 million
2024 census
Area
65,610 km²
A little smaller than Ireland
Languages
Sinhala · Tamil
English widely used
Currency
Rupee (LKR)
≈ LKR 330 = US$1, mid-2026
Time
UTC +5:30
No daylight saving
Driving
On the left
Permit needed, see below
Power
230 V · D / G
Some type M sockets
Dial code
+94
Emergency: 119

01 · The island

Zoom into Sri Lanka

Every pin is a real place with real coordinates. Filter by what you love, tap a pin for the story and the best time to go, and switch on the monsoon view to see which coast is dry in the month you’re travelling.

HILL COUNTRYSigiriya

Drag · scroll or pinch to zoom · tap a pin

02 · Flying in

Arriving by air

Almost everyone lands at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) at Katunayake, about 35 km north of Colombo. It’s the hub of the national airline, SriLankan Airlines, and the base for Cinnamon Air, whose small amphibious Cessna Caravans hop to lakes, lagoons and airstrips around the island.

The country has three other international airports: Mattala (HRI) in the south, opened in 2013; Jaffna (JAF) in the north; and Ratmalana (RML), Colombo’s original 1934 airport, now used mainly for domestic and light aviation.

  1. STEP 1

    Immigration

    Have your approved ETA ready (printed or on your phone) with your passport.

  2. STEP 2

    Cash & SIM

    ATMs, exchange counters and mobile networks (Dialog, SLT-Mobitel, Hutch) are in arrivals. A SIM needs your passport.

  3. STEP 3

    Into town

    E03 expressway to Colombo: about 40–50 min, longer at rush hour (7–9am, 4–7pm).

  4. STEP 4

    Pick a ride

    Airport taxi counter, PickMe or Uber, or bus 187 to Colombo Fort.

Curious how your flight there works? Start with why jet lag is worse flying east and why bags go missing at transfers.

CMBBandaranaike InternationalKatunayake · main gateway
HRIMattala InternationalSouth · opened 2013
JAFJaffna InternationalNorth · 13 km from Jaffna
RMLRatmalanaColombo · opened 1934

03 · Paperwork

Visa: the ETA

What it is

An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) you get online before you fly. The tourist ETA allows a 30-day stay with a double entry.

Free for 40 countries

Since 25 May 2026 the tourist ETA is free for nationals of 40 countries. Everyone else pays the standard fee shown on the official site. Free still means you must apply.

Apply only here

Use the official site eta.gov.lk. Look-alike agency sites charge extra. Extensions beyond 30 days go through the Department of Immigration.

The 40 countries with a free tourist ETA

Australia · Austria · Bahrain · Belarus · Belgium · Canada · China · Czech Republic · Denmark · Finland · France · Germany · India · Indonesia · Iran · Israel · Italy · Japan · Kazakhstan · Kuwait · Malaysia · Nepal · Netherlands · New Zealand · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Poland · Qatar · Russia · Saudi Arabia · South Korea · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Thailand · Turkey · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom · United States

Source: Department of Immigration and Emigration announcement, May 2026. Check eta.gov.lk before you apply; lists can change.

04 · Transport

Getting around

Trains

Sri Lanka Railways runs the scenic hill-country line through Kandy, Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya) and Ella. Reserved seats, including the first-class observation saloon, open 30 days ahead.

railway.gov.lk ↗

Taxi & tuk-tuk apps

PickMe is the main local app for cars and three-wheelers; Uber also works in Colombo and other cities. For street tuk-tuks, agree the fare first or use a metered one.

pickme.lk ↗

Buses

Cheap and everywhere. Red state buses and private buses link almost every town; air-conditioned intercity buses run on the expressways.

Domestic flights

Cinnamon Air flies small amphibious aircraft and light planes from Colombo to places like Koggala, Batticaloa, Jaffna and the hill country, turning a day’s drive into an hour.

cinnamonair.com ↗

Car with driver

The most popular way for visitors to tour: a driver who knows the roads, booked through hotels or licensed agencies.

Book ahead

Observation seats on the Kandy–Ella train sell out fast in high season. Third-party agents sell them too, often at a mark-up.

A train crossing the Nine Arches Bridge near Ella
A train on the Nine Arches Bridge at Demodara, near Ella. Built in 1921, it’s 91 m long and 24 m high. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

05 · Behind the wheel

Driving yourself

1. Your licence

A valid driving licence from your home country.

2. An IDP

An International Driving Permit, which translates your licence. It isn’t enough on its own.

3. A Sri Lankan permit

A recognition permit from the Automobile Association of Ceylon, or a temporary licence from the Department of Motor Traffic (offices at Werahera and a counter at the airport).

Traffic drives on the left. Police have warned that foreigners driving without a valid licence will be prosecuted, and that renting a vehicle to someone without one is an offence too. Roads are narrow, busy and shared with buses, tuk-tuks, dogs and the occasional elephant on rural roads, which is why most visitors hire a driver.

Department of Motor Traffic ↗

06 · Practical

Money, SIM cards and power

Money

The Sri Lankan rupee (LKR). In mid-2026, US$1 bought roughly LKR 330, so LKR 1,000 is about US$3. ATMs are common in towns; carry cash for tuk-tuks, buses and small shops.

SIM & data

Dialog, SLT-Mobitel and Hutch sell tourist SIMs in the airport arrivals hall. Bring your passport.

Power

230 volts. Sockets are mostly type D (round pins) and type G (UK-style), with some type M. Bring a universal adapter.

Water

Drink bottled, filtered or boiled water, not tap water.

07 · Wild Sri Lanka

Safaris, whales and boat rides

A Sri Lankan leopard in Yala National Park
A Sri Lankan leopard in Yala. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Wild Sri Lankan elephants at Minneriya
Wild elephants at Minneriya. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Sinharaja Forest Reserve

The island’s last large stretch of lowland rainforest, rich in birds found nowhere else. UNESCO, 1988.

Yala National Park

Dry scrub, lagoons and rocky outcrops famous for leopards, plus elephants, sloth bears and crocodiles.

Usually closes for part of September–October; check the Department of Wildlife Conservation

Udawalawe National Park

Grassland around a reservoir and the surest place on the island to see wild elephants: a herd of around 250 is thought to live here.

Wilpattu National Park

The largest national park, about 131,693 hectares of forest and natural lakes (villus). Leopards and sloth bears, with far fewer jeeps than Yala.

Minneriya National Park

“The Gathering”: as the reservoir shrinks in the dry season, hundreds of Asian elephants come together on its grassy shores.

June–October, usually best August–September

Gal Oya National Park

The only park in Sri Lanka with boat safaris, on the Senanayake Samudra reservoir, where elephants are sometimes seen swimming between islands.

Blue whales, south

Mirissa, November–April. Deep water lies just offshore.

Whales, east

Trincomalee, March–August, peaking around April–July.

Dolphins

Kalpitiya, mainly November–April, when the sea is calm.

Mangrove boat ride

Madu Ganga near Balapitiya: a protected wetland with more than 60 islands.

Book park safaris with licensed jeep operators and check opening dates with the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Never feed wild elephants, and keep a respectful distance from whales.

08 · 2,000 years of building

Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites

  1. INSCRIBED 1982

    Sacred City of Anuradhapura

    Capital for around 1,400 years.

  2. INSCRIBED 1982

    Ancient City of Polonnaruwa

    Medieval capital and the Gal Vihara Buddhas.

  3. INSCRIBED 1982

    Ancient City of Sigiriya

    King Kashyapa’s 5th-century rock palace.

  4. INSCRIBED 1988

    Sacred City of Kandy

    Home of the Temple of the Tooth.

  5. INSCRIBED 1988

    Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications

    Portuguese, then Dutch, fort town.

  6. INSCRIBED 1988

    Sinharaja Forest Reserve

    Lowland rainforest. Natural site.

  7. INSCRIBED 1991

    Golden Temple of Dambulla

    Five painted cave shrines.

  8. INSCRIBED 2010

    Central Highlands of Sri Lanka

    Horton Plains, Peak Wilderness and the Knuckles. Natural site.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The lighthouse inside Galle Fort
The lighthouse within Galle Fort’s walls. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

09 · Your list

Sixteen things to do in Sri Lanka

My list 0/16

Ticks are saved in this browser only.

10 · The story

A short history of Sri Lanka

From ancient kingdoms built around giant reservoirs to three colonial powers, independence in 1948 and a new name in 1972. Swipe through the key moments.

  1. 4th c. BCE

    Anuradhapura becomes capital

    The city stays the island’s capital for around 1,400 years.

    01 / 13

  2. 3rd c. BCE

    Buddhism arrives

    By tradition, the monk Mahinda meets King Devanampiya Tissa at Mihintale on the Poson full moon.

    02 / 13

  3. 477–495 CE

    Sigiriya

    King Kashyapa builds his palace-fortress on the rock.

    03 / 13

  4. 1153–1186

    Polonnaruwa’s golden age

    Parakramabahu the Great builds palaces, temples and vast reservoirs.

    04 / 13

  5. 1505

    The Portuguese arrive

    Lourenço de Almeida lands; a fort follows at Colombo in 1517 and the coast slowly falls under Portuguese control.

    05 / 13

  6. 1588

    Galle Fort begun

    The Portuguese build the first fort at Galle.

    06 / 13

  7. 1640–1658

    The Dutch take the coast

    The Dutch East India Company drives out the Portuguese, taking Galle, Colombo and finally Jaffna.

    07 / 13

  8. 1796

    The British take over

    The British East India Company takes the Dutch coastal areas; they become a crown colony in 1802.

    08 / 13

  9. 1815

    Kandy falls

    The Kandyan Convention (2 March) ends the last independent kingdom and unites the island under British rule.

    09 / 13

  10. 1867

    Ceylon tea begins

    James Taylor makes the first tea at Loolecondera estate; after coffee rust wrecks the coffee crop, tea takes over the hills.

    10 / 13

  11. 1948

    Independence

    On 4 February 1948 Ceylon becomes independent.

    11 / 13

  12. 1951

    A national anthem

    “Sri Lanka Matha” by Ananda Samarakoon is adopted.

    12 / 13

  13. 1972

    Sri Lanka

    The country becomes a republic and takes the name Sri Lanka. The current flag is adopted on 22 May.

    13 / 13

Tea plantations near Nuwara Eliya
Tea estates near Nuwara Eliya. Tea took over the hills after coffee rust ruined the coffee plantations in the 1870s. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

How Ceylon became tea country

In the 19th century the hills were covered with coffee. In 1867 a Scottish planter, James Taylor, made the island’s first commercial tea at Loolecondera estate near Kandy, drying the leaves on his veranda. When a fungus called coffee rust wiped out the coffee estates in the 1870s, planters turned to tea. Taylor’s first small shipment, about 23 lb (10 kg), reached London in 1873. The name stuck: tea from here is still sold as “Ceylon tea”.

11 · National symbols

Flag, anthem and symbols

The national flag of Sri Lanka
The flag in its current form, adopted 22 May 1972. Image: Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The lion and sword

A golden lion holding a sword (kastane) in its right fore-paw: bravery and strength. The design goes back to the standard of the last king of Kandy.

National anthem

“Sri Lanka Matha”

“Mother Sri Lanka”. Music and Sinhala words by Ananda Samarakoon, who wrote it in 1940 as “Namo Namo Matha”; Tamil words by M. Nallathambi. First performed at an official ceremony on 4 February 1949 and adopted in 1951. It is sung in Sinhala and in Tamil.

National flower

Blue water lily (Nil Manel)

Declared 1986

National tree

Ceylon ironwood (Na)

Declared 1986

National bird

Sri Lanka junglefowl

Found only on the island

National gem

Blue sapphire

Declared 2003

12 · Respect the rules

Laws and etiquette

Buddha images

Never pose with your back to a Buddha statue, touch it for a photo or treat it as decoration. A British tourist was deported in 2014 over a visible Buddha tattoo, and tourists have been prosecuted for posing disrespectfully.

Temple dress

Cover shoulders and knees, take off shoes and hats before entering. Carry socks: temple courtyards get very hot underfoot.

Poya days

Every full moon is a Buddhist holiday (Poya). Alcohol isn’t sold anywhere and many shops close.

Drugs

Drug offences carry very heavy penalties. Don’t carry anything for anyone else.

Drones

You need to register your drone and get a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority before flying. No flying at night or within 5 miles of an airport without approval, and protected sites need extra permission.

Driving

Only with a home licence, an IDP and a Sri Lankan recognition permit or temporary licence. Unlicensed foreign drivers are prosecuted.

Photos of people

Ask first, especially monks, pilgrims and anyone at a religious site.

Wildlife

Feeding wild elephants causes accidents and conflict. Stay in the jeep and follow your guide.

Visa overstay

Overstaying your ETA can bring fines and deportation. Extend through the Department of Immigration before it runs out.

13 · Stay well

Health and safety

Dengue

A year-round risk across the island, including Colombo and the coast. Use repellent day and night and cover up at dawn and dusk.

Yellow fever

A vaccination certificate is only needed if you arrive from, or transit more than 12 hours through, a country with yellow fever risk.

Rabies

Avoid stray dogs and temple monkeys. Get medical help the same day if you’re bitten or scratched.

The sea

Monsoon seas can be rough with strong currents. Swim where locals swim, in season, and heed red flags.

Sun and heat

Coastal lowlands are hot and humid all year. Start early, drink plenty and use high-factor sun cream.

Before you go

Check vaccines with a travel clinic about 8 weeks ahead, read your government’s travel advice, and buy insurance that covers medical evacuation.

14 · Save these numbers

Emergency contacts

119

Police emergency

Crime, accidents, urgent police help

1990

Ambulance (Suwa Seriya)

Free national ambulance service

110

Fire & rescue

Fire brigade

1912

Tourism hotline

Sri Lanka Tourism help line for visitors

117

Disaster Management Centre

Floods, landslides, cyclones

Tap a number to call from your phone. Save your own country’s embassy or high commission number in Colombo before you travel, along with your insurer’s 24-hour line.

15 · Bookmark

Useful links

Official

Getting around

Culture

Skyplus city guides

Go deeper: our Sri Lanka destination guides

Galle, Sri Lanka
AsiaMixed

Galle, Sri Lanka

Wander the atmospheric cobblestone ramparts of UNESCO-listed Galle Fort and explore the lush southern coast. Discover vibrant artisan galleries, boutique dining, and tranquil tea estates.

Best · The optimal period to visit Galle is from December to April, when the dry northeast monsoon brings calm blue seas, sunny days, and minimal rainfall. Avoid the peak southwest monsoon from May to October, which brings heavy downpours, high ocean swells, and rough swimming conditions along the southern coast

Open guide →
Sri Lanka country guide →

Questions visitors ask

Do I need a visa for Sri Lanka?

Most visitors need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they fly, applied for at eta.gov.lk. Since 25 May 2026 the 30-day tourist ETA is free for nationals of 40 countries, including the UK, US, India, Australia and most of the EU. You still have to apply.

How do I get from Colombo airport to the city?

Bandaranaike International Airport is at Katunayake, about 35 km north of Colombo. The E03 expressway takes around 40–50 minutes outside rush hour. Options are the airport taxi counters, ride-hailing apps PickMe and Uber, or the route 187 bus to Colombo Fort.

Can tourists drive in Sri Lanka?

Yes, but your home licence and an International Driving Permit aren’t enough on their own. You also need a recognition permit from the Automobile Association of Ceylon or a temporary licence from the Department of Motor Traffic, which has a counter at the airport. Traffic drives on the left.

What is the best time to visit Sri Lanka?

It depends on the coast. The west and south (Galle, Mirissa) are best from December to April. The east (Trincomalee, Arugam Bay) is best from May to September. The two monsoons hit different sides of the island at different times, so somewhere is always dry.

What are the emergency numbers in Sri Lanka?

Police 119, ambulance 1990 (the free Suwa Seriya service), fire and rescue 110, and the tourism hotline 1912.

What currency does Sri Lanka use?

The Sri Lankan rupee (LKR). In mid-2026 one US dollar bought roughly LKR 330. ATMs and exchange counters are in the arrivals hall at Colombo airport.

What should I wear to temples in Sri Lanka?

Cover your shoulders and knees, take off your shoes and hat, and never pose with your back to a Buddha statue. Disrespecting Buddhist images is taken seriously: tourists have been deported over it.

Sources

Facts checked October 2026. Visa rules, fees, park opening dates and exchange rates change: confirm on the official sites before you travel. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.