Colombo
Colombo, the island's largest city, is noisy, frenetic - and just a little crazy. Thankfully, the breakdowns, snarled traffic and power cuts are received with a shrug and a smile. 'No problem' might be the national motto; it's certainly the one phrase everyone knows and can say. While the city holds less obvious interest than many other parts of the island, it's still a colourful enough place and worth a visit to see what makes Sri Lanka tick.
Colombo is a relatively easy city to find your way around. To the north is the Fort district, the country's business centre, which has department stores, book shops, airline offices and is the site of the Central Bank. There are also ample sights such as the clock tower, a former lighthouse, the president's residence (known by incorrigible traditionalists as Queen's House), and a cluster of colonial buildings which lend the district an aura of bygone Empire.
Immediately south of here is Galle Face Green, a seafront expanse of occasional green graced by cricket games, kite flyers and trysting lovers. Cinammon Gardens, further south, is Colombo's most fashionable neighbourhood, with elegant mansions, tree-lined streets and the city's largest park. East of the fort is the pungent Pettah bazaar district. Walk through and marvel at the riot of goods - fruit, vegetables, meat, gems, gold, silver, brass and tin junk.
Culture buffs shouldn't miss the National Museum, which has a good collection of historical works, the Art Gallery, which focuses on portraiture and temporary exhibits by local artists, and the city's many mosques and Buddhist and Hindu temples. After familiarising yourself with Sri Lankan culture, check out the island's fauna at the Dehiwala Zoo. The highlight here is an afternoon elephant show. The closest real beach is at Mt Lavinia, a faded resort 10km south of the city.
Budget accommodation, cheap food and the best shopping can be found in the Fort and Pettah districts. Nightlife is okay with many hotels having their own night clubs and other clubs can be found easily in the Colpetty and Bambalapitiya areas, and a visit to the cinema in the Fort district is an experience.
Kandy
The laidback 'capital' of the hill country, and the historical bastion of Buddhist power, is built around a peaceful lake and set in a picturesque bowl of hills. It has a distinctive architectural character thanks to its gently sloping tiled roofs and the town centre is a delightful compendium of old shops , buses, markets and hotels. Its standout attraction is the octagonal Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), a temple which houses Sri Lanka's most important religious relic - the sacred tooth of Buddha. There are daily ceremonies of homage to the Tooth Relic, each attracting white-clad pilgrims carrying lotus blossoms and frangipani.
During the frenetic Kandy Esala Perahera celebrations, a replica of the shrine is carried through the city on an elephant. Other sights include the small but excellent National Museum, the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, and the Udawattakelle Sanctuary, a peaceful haven for birdlife. There are plenty of lovely scenic walks around Kandy, one of which leads to the Mahaweli, where you may see elephants being bathed. The Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre beside the lake has good displays of local crafts and an auditorium for popular dance performances.
Kandy is just on 100km (62mi) north east of Colombo and although the town lacks an airport, there are any number of buses and trains running between the two destinations.
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura is Sri Lanka's first capital, a potent symbol of Sinhalese power, and the most extensive and important of Sri Lanka's ancient cities. It became a capital in 380 BC and for over 1000 years Sinhalese kings ruled from this great city. Its impressive remains were 'discovered' in the early 19th century and have been in the process of restoration ever since. They lie to the west and north of the modern town of Anuradhapura.
The Sacred Bo-Tree is the city's holiest site, and was grown from the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. The Thuparama Dagoba, the oldest of many temples in Anuradhapura, is believed to contain the right collar-bone of Buddha. The Jetavanarama Dagoba is the largest remaining structure and may once have been over 100m (328ft) in height and housed an estimated 3000 monks. There are also museums that invite exploration, marvellously restored twin ponds which were used by monks as ritual baths, and immense tanks built to provide irrigation water for the growing of rice. The best way to explore the area is by bicycle.
The remains of the ancient lakeside city of Polonnaruwa, 75km (46mi) south-east of Anuradhapura, date mostly from the reign of the Indian Chola dynasty in the 11th and 12th century, but they cover a more compact site and are in an excellent state of repair.
Anuradhapura is 250km (155mi) north of Colombo.
Sigiriya
The spectacular rock fortress of Sigiriya is an impregnable fortress, a monastic retreat, and a rock art gallery and a must visit for any traveller . Built in the 5th century AD to fend off a feared invasion, it is situated atop a 200m (656ft) high rock, and at the height of its glory must have been akin to a European chateau plonked on top of Ayers Rock. There are water gardens, 5th century rock paintings of well endowed damsels, a 1000-year-old graffiti wall recording visitors impressions of the pin-ups, a couple of enormous stone lion paws and tremendous views.
To get to Sigiriya from Colombo, hop on a bus that stops at Dambulla, and from there catch any of the hourly buses going to the rock fortress, a total of 191km (118mi) away.
Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa is the island's most developed beach resort, though it's looking rather forlorn these days. It has a range of accommodation, good restaurants and pleasant cafe-lined beaches. There's good snorkelling at an attractive and easily accessible coral sanctuary, scuba diving at a number of wrecks in the bay, tours by glass-bottomed boats and pretty good surfing. It's a relaxed place, similar to many Asian beach resorts popular with Western travellers. There are also plenty of handicraft shops catering to tourist whims, a Buddhist temple, a nearby lake with abundant birdlife and some pretty dangerous traffic hurtling down the main road.
Frequent buses run the 87km (54mi) down the coast from Colombo, or there are four daily express trains that are worth considering. There are a few slow trains as well but these can take up to three or fours hours.
Galle
The port of Galle, thought by some to be the Biblical city of Tarshish, splendidly illustrates the solidity of the Dutch presence in Sri Lanka. The 36-hectare (89 acre) Dutch Fort, built in 1663, has withstood the ravages of time. Its massive ramparts surround the promontory that forms the older part of Galle, and shelters within its walls sturdy Dutch houses, museums and churches. This area has a quiet, relaxed atmosphere that seems almost detached from the flow of history. The New Oriental Hotel, built for Dutch governors in 1684, is a colonial gem with a wonderfully atmospheric bar. Nearby is a tiny sliver of a beach suitable for a dip, though most travellers prefer to head along the coast to the fine beaches at Unuwatuna, Weligama and Tangalla.
Plenty of public and private buses run up and down the 107km (66mi) stretch between Colombo and Galle, as well as any number of daily express trains.
