Cultural Triangle Travel Guide

Getting There

Sri Lankan Airlines operates an air taxi service to the main cities, while trains and coaches to Kandy, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and Dambulla are numerous if slower. Many people opt to rent a car or motorcycle from Bandaranaike International Airport and drive, stopping at leisure at the myriad of great destinations on route.

By air: all of the main centres in the Cultural Triangle have Sri Lankan air force bases, which are used by Sri Lankan Airlines’ Air Taxi flights from Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport. Although the air taxi schedules are dependent upon adequate passenger numbers (4 minimum), there are usually enough visitors arriving by air to Kandy, Anuradhapura, and Sigiriya, as well as to Hingurakgoda, the nearest airfield to Polonnaruwa, to make the air taxis seem regularly scheduled daily.

By train: there are regular train services from Colombo to the Cultural Triangle region, with stations at nearly all the main tourist destinations. The most frequent services are between the capital and Kandy, while there are daily trains heading up to Anuradhapura. Polonnaruwa can be reached by trains that pass through Habarana. Train travel is slow but much more comfortable than travelling by bus, and generally more scenic, particularly as the tracks wind their way through the hill country.

By bus: there are countless government and private buses and coaches running between Colombo and cities and towns within the Cultural Triangle. There are two types of long-distance government-operated buses; air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned. Both are almost equally uncomfortable, as the buses are almost always overcrowded. The timetables are also unreliable, as many buses depart and arrive much later than scheduled. Private air-conditioned coaches are a better deal, as they are more modern, have a maximum number of passengers and are more reliable.