Places to visit in Southern Province, Sri Lanka
17 places to visit in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Galle Fort, Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Bundala National Park and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Southern Province volume.
2 UNESCO World Heritage sites · 2 Heritage sites · 2 Famous places to visit · 11 Hidden gems
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Southern Province (2)
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Galle Fort
A walled old town on a headland in the Bay of Galle, first built by the Portuguese in 1588 and heavily fortified by the Dutch from 1649. Inside its ramparts are streets of colonial houses, churches and a lighthouse, and the walls make a fine walk at sunset.
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Sinharaja Forest Reserve
The last stretch of virgin rainforest left in Sri Lanka, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Under its canopy live many rare plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.
Heritage sites in Southern Province (2)
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Bundala National Park
A coastal park of lagoons and scrub that is an important winter home for migratory water birds, with 197 species recorded and flocks of greater flamingos the highlight. In 1991 it became Sri Lanka's first Ramsar wetland, and in 2005 a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
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Madu Ganga
A small river that widens into a lake at Balapitiya before running 4.4 km to the Indian Ocean. A Ramsar wetland, it is lined with mangroves and scattered with islands, and boat trips wind through its channels.
Famous places to visit in Southern Province (2)
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Mirissa
A small fishing town on the south coast, about 150 km from Colombo, with a curving beach and a lively night scene. Its harbour is one of the island's main bases for whale and dolphin watching trips.
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Yala National Park
A 979 square kilometre park on the Indian Ocean, protected since 1900, with monsoon forest, scrub, lagoons and beach. It is the best known place in Sri Lanka to see leopards, and also shelters elephants and 215 species of birds.
Hidden gems in Southern Province (11)
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Dondra Head Lighthouse
Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse, a white tower on Dondra Head, the southernmost point of the island. It is run by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and looks out over one of the busiest shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean.
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Hikkaduwa National Park
One of Sri Lanka's three marine national parks, a coral reef lying just off Hikkaduwa beach. Protected as a sanctuary since 1979 and a national park since 2002, its shallow water is a place to snorkel among reef fish and sea turtles.
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Hummanaya Blowhole
The only known blowhole in Sri Lanka, said to be the second largest in the world, on the rocky coast near Kudawella. Its name comes from the hoo sound it makes, heard some way off when waves force water up through the rock.
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Koggala Lagoon
A coastal lagoon behind the south coast at Koggala, about 110 km south of Colombo. Eight small islands dot its waters, rich in birds and mangroves, and boats take visitors across to them.
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Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara
An ancient Buddhist temple built up the sides of a 205 metre natural rock, ringed by four smaller rocks. Stairs climb past a series of cave shrines with reclining Buddhas and murals to the stupa at the summit.
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Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya
An ancient monastery among the rocks of the Yala forest, 18 km east of Kataragama, believed to have been founded by King Kavantissa in the 2nd century BC. Its name comes from Chiththala Pabbatha, the hill of the quiet mind, and the rock summit looks out over the jungle.
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Star Fort, Matara
A small star shaped fort built by the Dutch in 1765 on the east bank of the Nilwala River, about 350 metres from the gate of Matara's main fort. It was first called Redoute Van Eck, and its six pointed walls and moat are still intact.
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Tenavaram Temple
A historic Buddhist and Hindu shrine at Devinuwara on the south coast, dedicated to Upulvan, guardian god of the island, known to Hindus as Tenavarai Nayanar. Kings endowed it from the 7th to the 16th century, when it was among the most celebrated temples in Sri Lanka.
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Tissamaharama Raja Maha Vihara
One of the four great monasteries founded in Sri Lanka after the monk Mahinda brought Buddhism to the island. From the 3rd century BC to the 11th century AD it was the leading centre of Buddhist learning in the south, and its white dagoba is one of the largest stupas in the country.
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Unawatuna
A beach town about five kilometres south east of Galle, set around a sheltered curve of sand. It is known for its calm water and coral, which makes it one of the island's most popular places to swim and snorkel.
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Ussangoda National Park
A patch of high ground by the sea near Ambalantota, a national park and archaeological site in the southern turtle nesting zone. Unlike the land around it, its flat top is covered only in grass and a few pockets of dwarf forest, over strikingly red soil.
Collecting in Southern Province
What are the best places to visit in Southern Province?
LOQAH lists 17 places in Southern Province. The best known include Galle Fort, Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Bundala National Park, Madu Ganga and Mirissa. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Southern Province?
17, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Southern Province?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Southern Province before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Southern Province and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Sri Lanka
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