Jaffna
Jaffna is the cultural and spiritual capital of Sri Lanka’s Tamil north, a city of character, resilience and artistic richness that has emerged from decades of hardship to reveal itself as one of the island’s most rewarding and distinctive destinations. The city’s Hindu temples are magnificent: the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple on a sacred island […]
Kataragama
Kataragama is Sri Lanka’s most spiritually charged pilgrimage town, where the intensity of devotion on display is unlike anything else. The Kataragama Devalaya, dedicated to the god Skanda-Murugan, is venerated by Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims alike, a union of faiths around a single sacred site. The Esala Perahera festival, held each July and August, is […]
Koneswaram Temple, Trincomalee
The Koneswaram Temple is a majestic, multi-tiered Shaivite shrine perched on Swami Rock, a sheer promontory that drops 130 metres directly into the sea at Trincomalee. The original temple, said to date back over 2,500 years, was partially destroyed by colonial forces in the 17th century, but has been rebuilt and expanded into a place […]
Adam’s Peak
Adam’s Peak, known as ‘Sacred Footprint’, is a conical mountain, climbed by thousands of devotees each year to witness the summit’s sacred footprint and the famous triangular shadow the peak casts across the clouds at sunrise. The climb begins in the pre-dawn darkness, the mountain trail lit by strings of lights and shared with a […]
Temple of the Tooth, Kandy
The Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy is one of the holiest in the entire Buddhist world. The daily puja ceremonies, performed three times a day to the sound of drums, flutes and the fragrance of jasmine, are among the most atmospheric religious experiences in Asia and draw both pilgrims and awed visitors in […]