Western Province

Diyasuru Park is an urban wetland park which is located in Sri Jayawardanapura, the administrative capital of Sri Lanka, at the vicinity of the Parliament. It is an ideal place to relax in busy and crowded and noisy Colombo. The park is spread over an area of 60 acres.  The park showcases a range of wetland habitats such as marshes, flooded woodlands, lakes, and ponds including wonders of urban wildlife in Colombo. More than 230 animal species have been recorded from the park including many rare and migrant birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mammals, many types of fishes including endemics, amphibians, and reptiles. Park offers many features and activities for visitors to have unique wetland experience in the middle of the city. These features include bird watching tower, bird hide, butterfly garden, organic agriculture area, open study area, buildings which are adaptive to nature, boardwalks to enjoy the beauty of the wilderness while walking through the wetland, plant nursery, ecology laboratory, ample parking and restroom facilities. External Links Wetlands losing ground – The Island

Korathota Raja Maha Viharaya is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Kaduwela, Colombo District of Sri Lanka. This temple, which dates back to 2000 years, is one of the few ancient temples found in the Western Province, sited on the top of a mountain next to the Belungala Rock in Kaduwela. This temple boasts of having the oldest and longest cave inscriptions in the Colombo district. Enter your current location in the search box below the map to find the best route to the Korathota Raja Maha Viharaya. Click here to find a list of accommodations around Kaduwela, Sri Lanka.   External Links Oldest and longest cave inscriptions – Sunday Observer Inscriptions of yore – Sunday Times  

Henarathgoda Botanical Garden (or Gampaha Botanic Garden) is one of the five botanical gardens in Sri Lanka. The garden is located in the Gampaha District of Western Province, Sri Lanka and it is only 30km away from Pettah. It was established in the year 1876 by the British in order to conduct experiments on exotic economic plants. The first imported rubber tree to Sri Lanka was planted in this garden. The garden is now owned and maintained by the Department of National Botanic Gardens, Sri Lanka. it is spread over 43 acres and now it serves as a tropical low country Botanic Garden.   External Links Department of National Botanic Gardens Botanic Gardens Conservation International  

Ape Gama (Our Village) is a replica of the villages of yesteryear in Sri Lanka, where society was managed as an agro-economy with flourishing traditional industries and the inhabitants lived a simple life with contentment. The spot is located in Battaramulla area of Colombo District, very close to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.    

The Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya is a Buddhist temple located in Kelaniya, Gampaha District,  few kilometers away from Colombo. You can access the temple within one hour from Colombo. According to Buddhist history the temple is dates back to the third and final visit of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka. Which says that the history of this temple is go back to 500 BCE. According to the Mahavamsa the original stupa of Kelaniya enshrined a gem-studded throne on which the Buddha sat and preached. External Links The Mahavamsa The Visit of The Thatagatha (Lord Buddha)  

The Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens is located in Ilukovita, Avissawella of Colombo District. It was opened to the public in the year 2014 and it is the youngest botanical garden in Sri Lanka. The total land area of the garden is 105 acres. This is a nice place to escape from the busy Colombo within 1 to 2 hours. Because of the greenish surrounding and hilly areas you will feel like you are entering the up country when you go there. The park is mainly two parts. The lower part is well maintained with perfectly cut grasses and beautiful flower beds. The most interesting part of this lower area is the lake. The lake add more beauty to the garden. Visitors can have fun with paddle boats on the lake, The other part of the park is a hilly area. The path to the hill is bit long and the journey is bit tired. Along the route to the hill you can see trees of lots of varieties. You can enjoy walking there with your friends. If you do not like walking, you can arrange a golf cart to go around the park. However, not like in other upcountry gardens here in sunny days you will find bit difficulty to enjoy the nature. To find the best route from your location, enter your current location in the text box bellow the map and hit the “get direction” button.

A nice place to relax in busy and crowded Colombo. Diyatha Uyana is located in Polduwa Junction of Battaramulla town, just next to the Water’s Edge hotel. It is constructed on a marshy lands on the banks of the Diyawanna Oya. The park gives opportunity for visitors to hang around, have chats and even for jogging as there are jogging paths. You can go on boat ride and also there is floating restaurant which you can reserve for private functions.  The floating restaurant can accommodate 36 to 55 persons. Many people visit Diyata Uyana in evening hours. There number of good food stalls that you can chose from.