Explore the Beauty of Sri Lanka

For a Short Visit to Sri Lanka, travelers should obtain an ETA with effect from 1st of January 2012.

Diplomatic and Official passport holders are exempt from ETA processing fee, only when their applications are submitted through the state agencies such as Ministries, Statutory Bodies, Sri Lanka Overseas Missions etc.

At the arrival applicant may be granted 30 days ETA with double entry facility and double entries can be made from the date of initial arrival (Within given 30 days). The balance period of the 30 days of the initial entry will be granted for the second visit to Sri Lanka.

For more information, visit http://www.immigration.gov.lk

Sri Lanka is a year-round destination with two monsoon seasons so there is a lot of confusion around when is the best time to visit. The weather doesn’t run like clockwork here, and we can always be surprised by the weather in Sri Lanka! However, there will rarely be weather so dramatic that it will stand in the way of a brilliant holiday with plenty of warm weather and sunshine.

BEST TIME

January – April (Entire Country)
Mid-July – September (Entire Country)
February – SeptemberNorth and East)

MONSOON SEASON

May – July (South-West Monsoon)
...

Esala Poya is the night in which the Bodhisattva was conceived in the womb of his mother Queen Maha Maya. Esala Full Moon Poya is also the day in which Prince Siddhartha renounced his royal lifestyle. Esala Poya falls in the month of July and is a very important day for Buddhist devotees. Esala Poya is a holiday in Sri Lanka and families visit the many Temples situated around the island to offer flowers and pay homage to Lord Buddha, who preached many valuable sermons about the ideal way of life for all living beings.

Queen Maha Maya and King Suddhodhana did not have any children for twenty years. One Esala Full Moon night she dreamt that she was carried by Devas to a lake where they bathed and anointed her with perfumed oils. Then a white elephant with six white tusks and carrying a white Lotus flower in its mo ...

Sinhala and Tamil New Year

The Sinhala & Tamil New Year in Sri Lanka (Aluth Avurudda  අලුත් අවුරුද්ද or Puthandu  புத்தாண்டு) celebrates the end the harvesting season. The dawn of the New Year is based on the  sun’s astrological movement from the Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries), bringing to an end the harvesting season. This festival is celebrated in the month of April and at this time the sun is directly above the island.

April is known as Bak in the Buddhist calendar and the people of Sri Lanka welcome the Sinhala & Tamil New Year with loud bursts of firecrackers. The Erabadu trees (Erythrina variegatea) are in full bloom during this period and everyone hopes for continued peace a ...