The enchanting Kotapola Kiruwana Ella Waterfall is 54 meters in height and is located in the village named Kotapola in the Matara District. Access to this waterfall is about 4 Km from Kotapola via Urubokka.
Hathmale Falls (45m high and 10m wide) is the tallest fall in the Ginganga River and is split into seven segments (‘hathmala’). The fall lies 8km from Deniyaya Town
Hakgedi Ella Falls is a small waterfall which is probably about 3 meters tall lying in the rural village of the Porambakananke on the Galle – Akkuressa Road. .
This waterfall is one of the many waterfall hidden inside the Sinharaja Forest in Matara District. Batakotuwala area lies about 8 km from Pallegama in Deniyaya towards Lankagama. No further information is available of this waterfall at the moment.
It is said that this massive Ethamala Ella waterfall fed by the Nilwala River was on a Elephant Migration Path and an elephant fell to death off this 52 meter fall. Thus this waterfall was called Ethamala Ella.
Wewurukannala Viharaya is home to Sri Lanka’s tallest seated Buddha, a 160-foot marvel as high as an eight-story building. This unique temple features a vivid “Tunnel of Hell” with life-sized models illustrating karmic punishments, along with 18th-century murals and a functioning 1920s precision clock in its museum.
The Kushtaraja Gala in Weligama is a magnificent 7th–9th century Mahayana relief carved into solid rock. While folklore attributes it to a king cured of leprosy, scholars identify the figure as the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, a compassionate healer. It remains the wet zone’s only well-preserved monument of its kind.
Elamaldeniya Raja Maha Viharaya is a 2nd-century BCE cave temple attributed to King Saddhatissa. Reached by climbing hundreds of granite steps across a refreshing stream, it features a serene reclining Buddha. The site is a spiritual hub, particularly famed for its shrine dedicated to the widely worshipped deity Rajjuru Bandara.
The little town of Devinuwara or the “City of Gods” is located at the most southern edge of the country, about 6.5kms south-east of Matara. Devinuwara is also known as Dondra in English.
Devinuwara, the “City of Gods,” is a historic seaport at Sri Lanka’s southernmost tip. Once a glittering 13th-century pilgrimage hub, it houses the Upulvan (Vishnu) Devalaya, dedicated to the island’s divine guardian. The shrine is famous for the legendary red sandalwood image that drifted ashore during the reign of King Dappula.
Dondra Head Lighthouse was built in 1889 at a height of 160m making it still the tallest lighthouse in Sri Lanka and was designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass and constructed by William Douglass of the Imperial Lighthouse Service.
This Star Fort was built to the unique shape of a six-pointed star with space for 12 large cannons to cover approaches from all directions. The fort was surrounded by a deep moat and was built to hold a small garrison, food supplies, and enough ammunition. It also had two prison cells and a well in the center to supply water. On the arch of the main entrance the year 1765 is embossed (year of construction) along with the VOC emblem and the coat of arms of Governor Van Eck.
The old town of Matara is located on a land tongue between the ocean and a green lagoon, and is protected on the landside by Matara Fort, a 13 meter thick, 5 meter high rampart. On all other sides it is unprotected apart from the natural barrier of the water.
