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Travel and Tourism in Sri Lanka
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Sri Lanka.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
- Time Difference
- UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
- Climate
- Monsoons produce two rainy seasons. The southwest monsoon lasts roughly from May to September. During this period, the southwestern part of the island, including Colombo, receives much of its average annual rainfall of 100 inches. The northeast monsoon, from about October or November through February, provides the northern and eastern parts of the island virtually all their average annual rainfall of 60 inches. Monsoon showers can become torrential in the Colombo area. December through March generally proves the driest period.
- Ethnic Groups
- Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 18%, Moor 7%, Burgher, Malay, and Vedda 1%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day (National Day), 4 February (1948)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 7 00 N, 81 00 E
- Location
- Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
- Airports
- 14
Destinations
Regions and cities, top sights, national parks, UNESCO sites, and festivals for visitors.
Geography: The Shape of an Island
Sri Lanka sits in the Indian Ocean at approximately 7 degrees north of the equator, separated from the southeastern tip of India's Tamil Nadu state by the Palk Strait, which narrows to just 22 kilometers at its narrowest point between Mannar Island and the Indian coast. To the southeast lies the Gulf of Mannar. To the west and south and east stretches the open Indian Ocean. The island's teardrop form is one of the most recognizable shapes in Asian cartography, roughly 435 kilometers long from the Jaffna Peninsula in the north to Dondra Head in the south, and approximately 225 kilometers at its widest point.
Despite its modest size, Sri Lanka contains a striking range of terrain. The island's central core is dominated by a dramatic highland massif, a series of ridges and plateaus that rise steeply from the surrounding coastal plains to heights exceeding 2,500 meters. Pidurutalagala, the highest point in Sri Lanka at 2,524 meters, sits near the city of Nuwara Eliya in the heart of this highland region.
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
There are six large hospitals in the Colombo area, including three facilities with emergency trauma service: Asiri Surgical Hospital, Lanka Hospital, and the government-run National Hospital. Medical facilities outside Colombo are limited. The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of private physicians that may be obtained upon request. The availability of medical supplies is uneven; as a result, travelers should carry any special medications with them.