Sri Lanka is an odyssey of golden beaches, historical treasures and natural wonders. Visitors can discover UNESCO World Heritage Sites and peaceful Buddhist temples, sip tea in verdant tea plantations and climb hillside jungles. There's also a chance you'll catch a glimpse of a leopard or witness a family of elephants plodding along at a distance. Whether you choose to hit the beaches and go diving, indulge in an Ayurvedic spa treatment, go shopping for jewels or delve into the country's fascinating history, you'll uncover a whirlwind of sights and sensations. Bandaranaike International Airport (also known as Colombo International Airport and Katunayake International Airport) handles the majority of flights to Sri Lanka and is served by major airlines such as SriLankan Airlines, Emirates and Thomson Airways.
The commercial capital, Colombo, is the largest city on the island and lies adjacent to the current administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. It is a bustling and vibrant city with a mishmash of grand colonial buildings and gleaming skyscrapers, museums, parks, shopping and nightlife. The second most visited city, Kandy, set amid the lofty tea plantations, boasts gilded temples and one of Sri Lanka's most important festivals, the Esala Perahera. The island also has a collection of ancient cities that trace the island's history back over 2000 years, idyllic palm-fringed beaches lapped by the Indian Ocean and wildlife-rich national parks where you can spot majestic animals such as leopards and wild buffalos in their natural environment.