Not to miss

Colombo

Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city, is noisy, frenetic - and just a little crazy. Thankfully, the breakdowns, snarled traffic and power cuts are received with a shrug and a smile. While the city holds less obvious interest than many other parts of the island, it's very colourful and worth a look.

North of the centre is the Fort district, the country's business centre. South is Galle Face Green, a seafront expanse of occasional green. East of the fort is the pungent Pettah bazaar district.

Culture buffs shouldn't miss the National Museum, the Art Gallery, and the city's mosques and temples.

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura is Sri Lanka's first capital, a potent symbol of Sinhalese power, and the most extensive and important of Sri Lanka's ancient cities. It became a capital in 380 BC and for over 1000 years Sinhalese kings ruled from this great city.

The Sacred Bo-Tree is the city's holiest site, and was grown from the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. The Thuparama Dagoba, the oldest of the many temples in Anuradhapura, is believed to contain the right collar-bone of Buddha.

The Jetavanarama Dagoba is the largest remaining structure and may once have been over 100m (328ft) in height and housed an estimated 3000 monks. There are also museums that invite exploration, marvellously restored twin ponds which were used by monks as ritual baths, and immense tanks built to provide irrigation water for the growing of rice. The best way to explore the area is by bicycle.

The remains of the ancient lakeside city of Polonnaruwa, 75km (46mi) southeast of Anuradhapura, date mostly from the reign of the Indian Chola dynasty in the 11th and 12th century, but they cover a more compact site and are in excellent condition.

Dimbulagala

Dimbulagala, or Gunners Quoin, stands out 545m (1787ft) above the surrounding scrub. There are hundreds of caves cut out of the rock in a Buddhist hermitage that has been occupied almost continuously since the 3rd century BC. The temple at the base is the first of 15 cave temples in the complex that can be explored on the way to the dagoba at the top.

Panduwasnuwara

The 12th century remains of the temporary capital of Parakramabahu I are nothing on the scale of Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa, but it's worth stopping in if you're heading past, even though the sprawling site, covering 20ha (50ac) hasn't been fully excavated.

There are many stories about who lived in this palace and why it was built, but however attractive they may be the fact is that no-one really knows why this place was built.

Ridi Vihara

Ridi Vihara, literally the 'Silver Temple', is so named because it was here that silver ore was discovered in the 2nd century BC. Although not on the usual beaten track, it's well worth a visit to see its wonderful frescoes and the unusual Dutch tiles in the main cave.

Legend has it that a king established the complex as a sign of gratitude for the discovery of silver, which allowed him to complete other construction projects. A gold-plated statue of the Buddha was erected in the cave. It's still there, as is a 9m (30ft) recumbent Buddha. Check out the nearby Upper Temple too.