Sri Lanka is a popular holiday destination with holiday makers staying in holiday home accommodation. When on vacation to a beautiful country holiday makers are able to rent holiday villas and self-catering holiday apartments. It is referred to as 'the pearl of the Indian Ocean'. It is a country full of sunny clean beaches, ancient cities, warm friendly people and beautiful landscapes. Here are some destinations in Sri Lanka that you must visit:
- City of Gems - another famous destination in Sri Lanka is the "City of Gems", which is the center of gemming industry. The gems created in it include gems like garnet, zircon, aquamarine, tourmaline, topaz, amethyst, ruby, alexandrite, cat's eye, and sapphire. The tourist visits to Sri Lanka's gem mines may be guided and arranged by its travel agents. The various and exquisite gem collections can be seen and visited at the National Museum, Ratnapura and in private museums.
- Museum -The Galle National Museum is a major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. The Museum is home to many native arts and crafts and helps show tourists the true history of the island. It is also famous for its turtle shell wares like jewelry boxes, spectacle frames, combs and bangles.
- Dambulla is the most important place in the cultural tour circuit of Sri Lanka. With an imposing 160-meter height, the rocky place treasures five impressive cave temples. All the temples are dedicated to Lord Buddha and hence tourist can see His statues inside the caves. The first cave or Devaraja Viharaya is dedicated to Lord Vishnu; the second cave or the Temple of Great Kings is the largest one and is treasured with good number of sculptures; the third cave is the Great New Temple or the Maha Alut Viharaya.
- Negombo Beach is another tourist destination. Negombo is a fishing town and has many buildings that were built in the Portuguese and Dutch era. It is possible to rent holiday villas and self-catering holiday apartments in this part of Sri Lanka. Negombo is home to a large number of churches and is referred to as Little Rome.
Ratnapura is located around 100 km away from Colombo, the capital city. It takes around 3 hours and the picturesque journey is a pleasurable experience. It is a place that would impress the gem lovers and those who love mining and mining related activities. There are interesting excursions nearby that tourists enjoy the most. Sinharaja rain forest is the most exciting place that tops the list.