National Day and Navam Full Moon Poya Day

My husband and I will be arriving into Sri Lanka late night on Feb 3rd. We are thinking of exploring Colombo for the Saturday then heading out on the train to Habarana on the Sunday. I understand that Saturday is their National Day - celebrating their independence and will be very busy with military parades - presidents speech etc. Can anyone advise if it is worth while for us to hang around on the Saturday to witness all of the goings on - or are we best leaving Colombo in the Morning to avoid the crowds?

It is also the Navam Poya whilst we are in Sri Lanka - we have no planned itinerary as of yet (it's a work in progress) - from what I can gather from the internet this Poya is celebrated in Colombo with the most spectacular parade - will there be celebrations on other parts of the island - or should we make the effort to head back to Colombo for this?

Any info / advice much appreciated.

Hi SLPY83,
In my opinion, I think it would be great if you could stick around to watch the Navam Perahera. Peraheras (parades) are beautiful you could check out my blog for more info on Maru Blog. If you are going on train, buy the tickets in advance, so you won't have to go through the hassle.

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