As Sri Lanka celebrates 70 years of independence, we highlight 23 spectacular reasons to visit the country.
1. To get wild
Dive with blue whales in season or watch spinner dolphins leap about in Kalpitiya. Sri Lanka also has 5,800 wild elephants ambling about and the biggest concentration of leopards in the world. See them in Yala national park, along with sloth bears and buffalo.
An elusive leopard in Yala
2. For cricket in Galle
Sleepy Galle is a haven for grown-up backpackers, with Dutch colonial architecture, jewellery shops, ice cream parlours and an almost complete dearth of nightlife. It is also where to catch an international cricket match or have a knock about near an old fort.
Children watch the cricket from the wall of a fort in Galle
3. There's an entire ministry for crab
Opened by two former national cricket players in an old Dutch hospital, Colombo's Ministry of Crab serves knockout sweet, succulent and spicy Sri Lankan crab in what is one of the capital's most beautiful buildings. The restaurant itself was also voted one of Asia's 50 best restaurants in 2016.
4. Get lost in caves
The Dambulla Buddha caves are filled with Buddha statues, cave paintings and are amazingly atmospheric.
Inside the Dambulla Buddha caves
5. See elephants
The kindest way to see elephants is by volunteering at an elephant sanctuary. Working Abroad has information on positive projects around the country
6. The trains are impossibly scenic
A newly reopened train route from Colombo to Jaffna promises an eye-opening journey through Sri Lanka
The recent reopening of the Yal Devi (Queen of Jaffna) Express provides visitors to Sri Lanka with an opportunity they have not had since 1990: to travel by train from Colombo to Jaffna.
Travel by train from Colombo to Jaffna
The railway journey between Kandy and Ella is also one to remember.
7. They have the world’s most adaptable snack
You can dine on hoppers for a song. The dish is composed of a thin, crepe-like batter that's infused with coconut milk and spices and crisped into a bowl shape to hold fried eggs. It's versatile enough to serve as a breakfast dish, quick snack or hangover cure dependent on your needs.
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