Sri Lanka | Travel News, Guides, Ideas & Tips | Traveller

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

Sri Lanka

ON TRACK TO OHIYA: Sri Lanka has over 1500 kilometres of railway line and the higher you get the more scenic the journey. From Nan Uoya, at 1613 metres, it's an hour by train to Sri Lanka's third highest railway station at 1774 metres. Ohiya opened in 1893 as part of a British colonial government network created to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to the port of Colombo. The best views of villages, farms and forest on this north-to-south route are from the right-hand side of the train. Tickets can be bought on the day at the station and dangling your limbs out the windows and doors is permitted.

One of the world’s most spectacular train rides costs less than $10

Chugging along at 40km/h past tea plantations, gorges, rivers, waterfalls, viaducts and villages is slow travel at its finest.

  • by Julia D'Orazio
Packed with flavour ... kottu roti.

You will hear this spicy, heavenly dish before you taste it

Kottu Roti is a Sri Lankan classic: stomach-filling, tastebud-tingling street food at its finest.

  • by Ben Groundwater
Sigiriya, an ancient fortress and a major tourist drawcard in central Sri Lanka.

Why you should visit this undersold, teardrop-shaped island right now

Sri Lanka has had a troubled few years but as it makes a resounding comeback, there has never been a better time to visit.

  • by Lee Tulloch
Vancouver.

Beyond Singapore and Dubai: The hottest new stopover destinations

Fiji, Ho Chi Minh and even Colombo in Sri Lanka are some of the more exotic hotspots to break up your long-haul journey.

  • by Sheriden Rhodes
The locals in Sri Lanka are better than the beaches.

A country where the friendliness of locals is off the charts

The best thing I gained from a trip to Sri Lanka was the restored faith in my fellow humans.

  • by Lee Tulloch
Advertisement
A Negombo Lagoon boat ride will show you birds, mangroves, small fishing villages and outrigger fishing boats.

An expert expat tips for Negombo, Sri Lanka

My comfort food in Sri Lanka is kottu roti, which is chopped roti fried with spices, vegetables and chicken or meat with a spicy sauce

  • by Belinda Jackson
Lamprais: Rice (cooked in rich stock), plus one or two meat or vegetable curries, a spiced meatball (sometimes replaced with a fish cutlet), a boiled egg, some eggplant sambal and coconut belacan, all wrapped in a banana leaf.

What is lamprais? Sri Lanka created one of the world's greatest box lunches

A Sri Lankan lamprais has everything you need to set you up for the rest of the day.

  • by Ben Groundwater
A woman enjoys the train ride through Sri Lanka tea plantations.

Six of the best: Elevated experiences in Sri Lanka

Travel by floatplane while in Sri Lanka, especially if you're short on time.

  • by Elspeth Callender
Tuk tuks will whiz you all around Galle.

Galle, Sri Lanka travel guide and things to do: Nine must-do highlights

A legendary sports ground, maritime archaeology and superlative G&T are just some of the attractions of this Sri Lankan city.

  • by Mark Chipperfield
Villa Mayurana's 'Cinnamon Experience'.

The Sri Lankan ingredient that has the world's gourmands in its thrall

In Sri Lanka the art of harvesting cinnamon is passed down from generation to generation

  • by Mark Chipperfield