Tourists visiting Sri Lanka are usually taken aback by the natural scenic beauty in the country. They include mountainous terrains, agricultural landscapes, waterfalls, and rivers. For such a small country, Sri Lanka possesses a high level of biodiversity and wildlife resources. About 13% of the country’s land surface has been designated as Wildlife Protected Areas, you can imagine how many national parks and how many species of wildlife that can be seen here. The country also possesses nearly 1600km coastlines with tropical beaches which tourists like to visit. The beaches offer activities such as sea bathing, swimming, surfing, boating, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, underwater photography, and scuba diving. Sri Lanka is sometimes referred to as the hidden city because lots of tourists fly over the country without exploring the tourist’s attractions in the country.
Since the end of the civil war, which lasted 25 years, in 2009, Sri Lanka has become one of the country’s tourists look forward to visiting and this is reflected by the rapid increase in the number of tourists visiting the country year after year. In 2018, the country played host to over 2.3 million tourists and it has been estimated that the number of tourists visiting the country is going to increase for years to come.
On entry to Sri Lanka, tourists are required to declare foreign currency amounting to $10,000. If exiting with foreign currency of over $5,000, the full amount brought in or acquired in Sri Lanka must be declared. Do not mistreat Buddhist images and artifacts as this is a serious offense and you could be convicted for this.
Citizens of Singapore, Maldives and Seychelles are exempted from requiring a visa to gain entry to Sri Lanka.