Sigiriya Rock Fortress

This stunning fifth-century palace-fortress perches atop a towering rock outcrop above the plains in the country's centre. Steps lead up from water gardens below and past murals of heavenly nymphs.

The Dambulla Cave Temples

Go underground. The Dambulla Cave Temples in the island's centre are an intriguing collection of temples tucked away beneath amassive rock outcrop. They shelter an extensive collection of religious murals and exquisite statues.

Wonder at the extraordinary civilization that ruled from the ancient capital of Anuradhapura thousands of years ago. Its majestic remains testify to an advanced city carefully planned and filled with beautiful palaces, temples and giant stupas.

Vihara Maha Devi Park

In Colombo, root out bargains in the Pettah market, marvel at the blossoms in the Vihara Maha Devi Park between March and early May, and sample the offerings of some of the country's best restaurants.

Buddha at Polonnaruwa

See the huge reclining Buddha at Polonnaruwa, an ancient capital and another UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its remains of royal palaces, temples and stupas. It also has a superb museum, one of the country's best.

Yala National Park

Explore Sri Lanka's most popular wildlife-viewing destination, Yala National Park, on the southeast coast. It is home to the world's highest density of leopards, as well as a wealth of other species - from elephants to birds.

Negombo

See Sri Lanka's oldest and best-known fishing village, Negombo

The Fort

Originally a fort during the Portuguese and Dutch periods but now simply the commercial center of the country and the site of most major offices, big hotels, some of the better shops, airline offices, banks, main post office, immigration office, travel agents and restaurants.A good landmark in Fort is the clock tower at the junction of Chatham St and janadhipathi Mawatha (once Queen St.) which was originally a lighthouse. There's also the busy port(offlimit) and the large white dagoba(Buddhist Temple) of Sambodhi Chaitiya perched about 20m off the gound on stits - a landmark for sea travellers.

National Museum

National Museum of Sri Lanka was established in 1877 during the time of the British Governor Sir William Gregory. It has a good collection of ancient royal regalia, Sinhalse artwork (sculpturs, carvings and so on), anitque furniture and china,ola manuscripts. There are fascinating 19th-century reproductions of English paintings of Sri Lanka, and an excellent collection of antique demon masks.

Dehiwala Zoo

By the standard of the developing world, the zoo, 10km south of Fort, treats its animals well though the big cats and monkeys are still rather squalidly housed. It has its detractors, rather squalidly housed. It has its detractors, however: 'a disgraceto mankind' is how one visitor describe it. You wonder what they had have to say about zoo in Dhaka.

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