With an attractive, shady garden, this spice specialist runs informative tours and has a cafe for snacks and drinks. Around 15km north of Matale.
Heritage Spice & Herbs Garden
The Ancient Cities
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.29 MILES
The steep ornamental staircase of this dramatic rock fortress is perhaps its finest feature, and once led to the Temple of the Tooth. One of the lions…
18 MILES
The beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex sits about 160m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely…
22.31 MILES
These stunning gardens were once reserved exclusively for Kandyan royalty. Today, even commoners are allowed in to enjoy the most impressive and largest …
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
20.76 MILES
The golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha. During puja…
25.27 MILES
This impressive 14th-century temple, mounted on a rocky bluff, is the most imposing in the region. It's divided into two halves – one half Buddhist and…
26.49 MILES
The spectacular terraced summit of the rock covers 1.6 hectares. This is thought to be the site chosen by King Kasyapa for his fortified capital after he…
9.94 MILES
The primary attraction at this Buddhist temple is the golden standing Buddha statue in the main cave called the Pahala Vihara (Lower Temple), which also…
26.52 MILES
Halfway up the Sigiriya rock an open-air spiral stairway leads to a long, sheltered gallery in the sheer rock face. The paintings of the buxom, wasp…
Nearby The Ancient Cities attractions
0.11 MILES
Offers very detailed tours of its spice garden and has a shop selling all kinds of creams, potions and lotions that are said to help everything from…
5.32 MILES
This South Indian style temple consists of an entrance hall connected to a taller shikara (holy image sanctuary), with a courtyard for circumambulations…
6.74 MILES
Set in the foothills 3km north of Matale, surrounded by giant boulders, this monastery is a low-key, but intriguing, site. There's a charming series of…
7.17 MILES
This crafts centre draws on the rich traditions of the area, producing quality batik and embroidery, which visitors can see being made on site. The future…
5. Sri Muthumariamman Thevasthanam
8.12 MILES
Just north of the bus stand for Kandy (at the north end of town) is this interesting South Indian–style Hindu temple. A couple of garages to the side…
9.94 MILES
The primary attraction at this Buddhist temple is the golden standing Buddha statue in the main cave called the Pahala Vihara (Lower Temple), which also…
9.99 MILES
This 20m-tall sitting Buddha, 4km southeast of Ridigama, was unveiled in 2015 as the largest (but not the loveliest) granite statue in the world. Set on a…
17.85 MILES
The English-language displays here are a good primer on Sri Lankan wall art – from cave paintings to 18th-century frescoes – but the poor reproductions…