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National Museum
Sri Lanka's oldest museum was established in 1877 and today boasts a massive collection of antiques and objects d'art, encompassing the cultural heritage of the island. Exhibits include artifacts from archaeological sites all over Sri Lanka, and more than 4,000 ancient palm leaf manuscripts. Among the exhibits is displayed the regalia of the Kandyan Kings dating back to the 17th century. Alongside the archaeological museum in Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha is the Natural History Museum, which features the island's fauna and flora in dioramas. The dual museums are a good introduction for visitors interested in discovering the culture and 2,500-year history of the island.
Address: Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha
Phone Number: (0)11 269 4767
Hours: Daily 9am to 5pm. Closed Fridays
Admission: Rs. 25 (adults), Rs. 15 (children)

Pettah
Colombo's bazaar district, the Pettah, presents a real treat for shopaholics who can wander through the hustle and bustle of whole streets dedicated to selling a particular type of merchandise, from local handcrafts to brand name clothing. The area was once an exclusive residential area filled with stately homes and large gardens in gas-lit streets. A relic of the colonial era, the Dutch House Museum, is open to the public on Prince Street. The mansion house dates from the 17th century and was the residence of Count August Carl Van Ranzow. It has now been restored and stands among the traders and boutiques as a museum displaying the life and times of the Dutch occupation, its exhibits including furniture, ceramics, coins and all the trappings of daily life at the time.
Hours: Dutch House Museum open daily 9am to 5pm; closed Fridays

Zoological Gardens
Colombo's zoo has a fine collection of animals, birds, reptiles and fish from all over the world, but in particular showcases the fauna of the island. The complex includes an aquarium, which is the only one of its kind in Asia displaying more than 500 varieties of aquatic life. There is also a walk-through aviary, reptile enclosure and butterfly park. One of the most popular attractions at the zoo is the daily elephant show, which takes place at 5.15pm.
Address: In Dehiwala, south of the city
Phone Number: (0)11 271 2751
Website: www.colombozoo.gov.lk
Hours: Daily 8.30am to 6pm
Admission: Rs. 90 (adults), Rs. 45 (children)

Hotels
Whether you stay in them or not, Colombo has some grand old hotels with plenty of legends and history attached that are well worth visiting, even for a sundowner on the veranda. The Grand Oriental Hotel faces the once-bustling passenger harbor terminal and in the age of elegance played host to the rich and famous traveling on the famed Cunard and P&O passenger liners. The Galle Face Hotel faces the Green with a haughty, beautiful façade. It oozes with charm and is believed to be the oldest hotel east of the Suez Canal. The Mount Lavinia Hotel at the city's beach resort was originally the residence of the British Governor.

Anuradhapura
The remains of the ancient sacred city of Anuradhapura are sited about 130 miles (205km) north of Colombo, standing majestically in the jungle that for generations hid away the palaces, monasteries and monuments, which have been there since the third century BC. The ancient city was capital of the island for more than 10 centuries, until an invasion in 993, having initially been founded around a fig tree grown from a cutting of Buddha's 'tree of enlightenment'. The remains visible today consist of several magnificent dagobas (domes built to enshrine sacred relics), sculptures, carvings, ruined palaces and monasteries, bathing ponds and irrigation tanks. Tourist facilities and hotels are available in the nearby 'new town' of Anuradhapura. A recommended way to view the many scattered archaeological treasures is to hire a bicycle, or travel between sights on a 'Tuk-tuk'.
Hours: Daily 8am to 5pm
Admission: US$20

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage
Among the green hills of Kegalle, about 50 miles (85km) from Colombo on the road to Kandy in the hill country, a herd of about 60 elephants roam free in the Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage. This popular attraction, established as a sanctuary covering 25 acres of lush forest by the Sri Lankan Government in 1975, is unique. Its purpose is to feed, nurse and house young elephants lost or abandoned by their mothers. Recently the sanctuary has also started a breeding program. Visitors are invited to observe and assist the baby elephants as they are fed from giant feeding bottles, before the pachyderms are lead down to the river for their daily baths at 10am and 2pm.
Address: Rambukkana Road, Kegalla
Phone Number: 035 65804
Website: www.elephant.se/pinnawela_elephant_orphanage_Sri_Lanka.php
Transport: The orphanage is accessible from Colombo by car, bus or train
Hours: Daily 8.30am to 5.45pm; feeding at 8am daily, and bathing times are 10am and 2pm
Admission: Rs. 150

Adam's Peak
The legendary mountain peak towering 7,297ft (2,224m) over the island of Sri Lanka is known as Sri Pada or Adam's Peak, and has been venerated as a place of pilgrimage and worship for all major faiths for many generations. The holy mountain bears the imprint of a foot on a rock on its summit. Depending on their faith pilgrims believe the print was left there by Buddha, the God Shiva, St Thomas, or Adam after he was expelled from Eden. Whether you believe the footprint to be holy or not the climb to view it, protected in an enclosure at the pinnacle of the peak, is well worth it for the panoramic views of tropical forest afforded from the top. The stairway up the mountainside is believed to be the longest in the world and climbers are entitled to ring the bell sited at the top once they have made the journey.
Website: sripada.org

Kandy
The relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the town of Kandy in the heart of Sri Lanka's hill country, about 75 miles (120km) from Colombo, is probably the result of being beautifully situated around a tranquil lake in a bowl of hills. The town is also the bastion of the island's pervasive Buddhist faith, and plays host to the country's most venerated religious relic, the sacred tooth of Buddha. The octagonal Dalada Maligawa, or Temple of the Tooth, attracts hundreds of pilgrims to daily ceremonies honoring the relic, and each year in July and August the tooth is carried in procession on an elephant during the ancient Esala Perahera parade. According to legend, the tooth was taken from Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre and was smuggled to Sri Lanka hidden in the hair of a princess in the 4th century. Visitors can't actually see the tooth as it's in a casket, but the temple is an interesting place all the same. The ancient city also sports a good museum, the lovely Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, a bird sanctuary and an auditorium where folk dances are performed and local crafts are on display.
Website: www.kandycity.org

Trincomalee
The ancient port of Trincomalee on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka has a perfect natural harbor, which has made the town a prize to be fought over by foreign powers for generations. The Danes first took the trophy in 1617 on behalf of the Dutch, but the Portuguese put up a fort and staked their claim a few years later. By the mid-17th century the port was Dutch again, until the British and French both had a turn at occupation in the late 18th century. During the Second World War the harbor was a strategic British naval base, and now is home to the Sri Lankan Navy. The beaches in the area, especially those north of Trincomalee at Nilaveli and Uppuveli, are broad, soft and white, lapped by warm gentle waters. Among the sights to visit is Fort Frederick, built by the Portuguese, and Wellington House, once home to the Duke of Wellington. The Tirukoneswaram Temple is an important modern Hindu shrine at Swami Rock.

Sigiriya
Sigiriya is an important Buddhist site in central Sri Lanka, about 100 miles (161km) northeast of Colombo. The remains of an ancient royal fortress and city dating from 477 AD stand on a vast rock, which rises 600ft (180m) above the surrounding plain. King Kasyapa built it to safeguard against attack from his brother, Mogallana from whom he had stolen the throne after having killed their father. The only way into the city is through the massive carved jaws of a lion - the name Sigiriya is taken from 'giriya', meaning 'jaws and throat' and 'sinha' meaning 'lion'. The site is one of the best-preserved first-millennium city centers in Asia and is also renowned for its 5th-century rock paintings and its magnificent, symmetrical water gardens.
Transport: Two or three hours from Colombo by rail, bus or car
Hours: Daily 8.30am to 6pm
Admission: US$12 (adults), US$6 (children)

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