Explore through timeless ruins and ancient temples, rural villages, and paddy fields, green carpeted hills of tea sun kissed coastal shores, mountains and valleys with cascading waterfalls whilst cycling and mountain biking through cities, towns and countryside of Sri Lanka.
For every cyclist, once you get past the hustle bustle and congested big cities, the roads around Sri Lanka are a reverie of beauty. There are four National Cycling Trails that cut across different landscaped regions of Sri Lanka. These trails are along the coast of the south to Koggala, routes to the Cultural Triangle of the North Western Province, towards Ratnapura in the Sabaragamuwa province and the hill country of the Central Province.
Cycling around Sri Lanka enables you to get closer to the country, taking sightseeing to the next level. You could connect with the local street food by passing through many food hotspots especially the seafood corners of Negombo to the pumping night markets in Colombo.
Ride along the ancient ruins complexes and parks in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa and relive history when admiring temples and monasteries built many centuries ago which do reflect to the lives and times of ancient kingdoms. Cycle along the foothills and terraces of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, caves of the Golden Cave Temple at Dambulla and admire the beauty of its surroundings. Cycle along the Kandalama Lake at Dambulla or Habarana Lake in Habarana which would take you through grassy routes along forests and you could see many water birds and witness local fishermen fishing on their daily catches. You would also pass through many farm lands at Sigiriya , Habarana and Dambulla in which you could interact with the locals, observe and learn the village life of Sri Lanka.
Cycling within the central highlands would be an uphill task but fun-filling since it would be along escalating beautiful hills and valleys among mountain ranges criss-crossing tea plantations, factories and villages. Kandy is the entry point to the Central highlands and you can start from Kandy to the Hanthana Mountain Range to chilly and quaint Nuwara Eliya. For the more experienced and fitter cyclists, the ride from Ella to Ravana Falls is less congested although it would encounter steep climbing.
Consider night riding in Colombo although cycling through the chaotic traffic seems daunting but at night, the streets are less quiet after the rush hours, glazed with warm breezy air and come to life with beautifully lighted buildings enabling you to feel the pulse and rhythm of the capital city.
The coastal belt around Sri Lanka gives you vistas of the amazing blue waters of the Indian Ocean hit by golden rays of the sun. The most popular route is from Trincomalee to Mullaitivu in the North and from Negombo to Puttalam where you can see the Negombo Lagoon and soft sands at Puttalam.
There are riding routes that have been cleared and established via Yala and through Wilpattu National Parks so as to explore the wildlife but it may be risky for individual cyclists and for those who are scared of the animals. However to ride along these routes you would need permission from the Forest Department of Sri Lanka.
Interested in taking a cycling tour in any region of Sri Lanka and enthrall in all of her beauty? Please do contact our tour consultants and plan your cycling tours with Epic Sri Lanka Holidays.
