Sithulpawwa Rock Temple

Sithulpawwa Rock Temple is a monastery from the 2nd century BC, set on rock outcrops inside the park boundary. You climb a bare rock face to a white stupa with views over the forest canopy, and the cave shrines below hold old paintings and reclining Buddha images. It is a working temple and a big pilgrimage site, so dress for it: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off.

Kataragama

The sacred town of Kataragama is about 20 km north of Tissa. Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people all worship here, at the Maha Devale shrine to the god Kataragama (Skanda-Murugan) and at the white Kiri Vehera stupa nearby. The evening puja brings drums, fruit offerings and crowds walking across from the Menik Ganga river. The Esala festival in July or August adds fire walking and nightly processions.

Tissamaharama

Tissa is where most visitors sleep. The Tissamaharama Raja Maha Viharaya stupa, built around the 2nd century BC and about 47 m tall, is the largest in the south. Walk round it at dusk, then head to Tissa Wewa, the old reservoir, where egrets roost in the trees along the bund road.

Kirinda and Bundala

The small fishing village of Kirinda sits on the coast 10 km south of Tissa. Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya tops a boulder above the beach, linked by legend to Queen Viharamahadevi, who is said to have come ashore here. The sea here is rough, so look but do not swim.

West of Tissa, Bundala National Park was Sri Lanka's first Ramsar wetland. Around 200 bird species have been recorded, and in the northern winter flocks of greater flamingos feed in its salt lagoons. It is calmer than Yala and a good half-day if you like birds.

Getting there and best time to go

From Colombo, the Southern Expressway to Hambantota then the coast road gets you to Tissa in about 4 to 5 hours. From Ella it is roughly 2.5 to 3 hours downhill through Wellawaya. There is no train, so most people hire a driver for the south and hill country. Find a guesthouse or safari lodge in Tissa or Kirinda and plan the stay around a dawn safari.

February to June is the best stretch: dry, with animals gathering at the water holes. The north-east monsoon brings rain from about October to January, which turns the park green but can make tracks muddy. It is hot all year, so bring a hat, sunscreen, binoculars and a scarf for the dust.

Add Yala to your route and see it on a map with your other stops: start planning your trip.

Yala