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The South

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

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Sri Lanka, Galle, Lighthouse Hotel, Palm trees on beach

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Overview

Prepare your senses for overload, for the South is Sri Lanka at its most sultry and enticing: a glorious shoreline of dazzling white curves of sand set against emerald forested hills. Yes, you'll find the region a delight to explore, with each bend in the coastal highway revealing yet another idyllic cove to investigate.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Mirissa Beach

    Mirissa Beach

    Mirissa

    A vision of tropical bliss, Mirissa Beach boasts powdery pale sand, while its azure water is framed by an arc of coconut palms. The west side is the…

  • Staircase at the Mulkirigala rock temple.

    Mulkirigala Rock Temples

    Tangalla & Around

    Dangling off a rocky crag 16km northwest of Tangalla and nestled away among a green forest of coconut trees are the peaceful rock temples of Mulkirigala…

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    Bundala National Park

    Bundala National Park

    Bundala National Park is a fantastic maze of waterways, lagoons and dunes that glitter like gold in the dying evening sun. This wonderland provides a home…

  • Tea tasting in the he Handunugoda Tea Estate and Tea Museum.

    Handunugoda Tea Estate

    The South

    This exquisite tea plantation in the hills above Koggala offers (free) highly informative tours of the estate. You'll sample and learn how they produce…

  • Old fort, Galle, Sri Lanka

    Flag Rock

    Galle

    Flag Rock, at the southernmost end of the Fort, was once a Portuguese bastion. Today it is easily the most popular place to catch a sunset. During…

  • Star Fort in Matara.

    Star Fort

    Matara

    This fort was built by the Dutch to compensate for deficiencies in the neighbouring rampart, but it’s so small it could only have protected a handful of…

  • Dutch Reformed Church in the Fort Galle.

    Dutch Reformed Church

    Galle

    Originally built in 1640, the present building dates from 1752. Its floor is paved with gravestones from Dutch cemeteries, while other impressive features…

  • Tuk tuk drives through the entrance of the old Dutch gate with British Coat of Arms above.

    Old Gate

    Galle

    A beautifully carved British coat of arms tops the entrance to the Old Gate on the outer side. Inside, the letters VOC, standing for Verenigde…

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