10 Best Places to Visit in Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka

Muthurajawela is the reason most visitors come to Ja-Ela. It is the largest saline coastal peat bog in Sri Lanka, 3,068 hectares of mangrove, reed bed and open water that drains into the southern end of the Negombo Lagoon. In 1996 the government declared 1,777 hectares of its northern part a wetland sanctuary, and surveys have recorded 102 bird species, 209 animal species and 192 plant species here, including the slender loris.

You see it from a flat-bottomed boat that leaves from the Wetland Centre. The shared ride takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours, moving through narrow mangrove tunnels before opening onto the lagoon. Expect kingfishers, purple herons, cormorants and painted storks, plus water monitors sunning on the banks. Saltwater crocodiles do live here, though you will be lucky to see one. Go on the first boat if you can. By 10 am the heat flattens the light and the birds go quiet. Carry a hat and water, since the boats have only a thin canopy.

Locals call it the Dutch Canal, but the Hamilton Canal was dug by the British between 1802 and 1804 and named after Gavin Hamilton, the colony’s Government Agent of Revenue and Commerce. It runs 14.5 km from the mouth of the Kelani River at Hekitta to the southern edge of the Negombo Lagoon at Pamunugama, parallel to and just west of an older Dutch-era canal. The plan was to drain Muthurajawela. It did the opposite and let salt water in, which is part of why the marsh is brackish today.

For a visitor, the canal is a slow, green corridor. Walk or cycle the towpath at the Pamunugama end in the late afternoon, when fishermen cast nets from the banks and egrets work the shallows. Several Negombo boat operators also run canal trips that combine the Hamilton and Dutch canals with the lagoon, so you can link it to the Muthurajawela ride.

Guruge is the attraction most travel sites list first for Ja-Ela. It is less a nature reserve than a family theme park. Inside you will find the Mayan water park with its pools and fountains, a dinosaur section with life-size replicas and sound effects, a small animal park with peafowl, ostriches and ponies, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a short boat ride. There is also a museum of old coins and artefacts and scaled-down replicas of Sri Pada and Mihintale for a quick lesson in Sri Lankan history.

Tickets are tiered. A basic entry is cheap, while packages that bundle the water park and rides cost several times more, so decide what your children want before you queue. Weekends and school holidays get very crowded. Come on a weekday morning and you will have most rides to yourself.

This is Sri Lanka’s national basilica, and it fits a town where nearly half the population, 49 per cent at the 2012 census, is Roman Catholic. It began as a small chapel to Our Lady of Lourdes in 1911, with a grotto added in 1917. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on 4 February 1950, Pope Paul VI named it a minor basilica in 1973, and it was consecrated on 6 February 1974.

The building is the draw, running about 97 metres end to end. Below it, the crypt holds the Blessed Sacrament chapel and the tomb of Cardinal Thomas Cooray. Weekday mornings are quiet. On 4 February the grounds fill with pilgrims for the national feast, which is worth seeing if you are in the area, but plan for heavy traffic on the Ragama roads.

If you searched for a Ja-Ela beach, this is the one. Uswetakeiyawa is a long, straight stretch of sand on the strip of land between Muthurajawela and the Indian Ocean. There are no beach bars or sunbed rows, just fishing boats pulled up above the tide line, a few guesthouses and locals out for an evening walk. Because the beach faces due west, sunsets are the main event. Arrive by 5.30 pm. The sea has strong undertows and rocky patches, so swimming is not recommended even in the calmer December to March window. Paddle near the shore at most, and stay near other people. For livelier sand with restaurants, the beaches around Negombo are 30 minutes north, and the places to visit in Wattala guide covers the coast to the south.

Pamunugama is a fishing village on the narrow spit where the Hamilton Canal meets the Negombo Lagoon. One side faces the open sea, the other the flat, shallow lagoon, and evenings here are slow. Outrigger canoes come in, nets get mended and small seafood places start frying. Try the isso vadai, a spiced lentil patty topped with whole prawns. Combine Pamunugama with the canal towpath and Uswetakeiyawa for an easy half-day on the coast. Lagoon-side guesthouses here are a calmer alternative to sleeping on the busy A3.

Negombo is the beach town most airport travellers know, and from Ja-Ela it is a straightforward 30-minute drive. Get to the Lellama fish market early to see the night catch auctioned on the sand, with seer fish, tuna and crabs laid out in rows. Later, walk past the Dutch fort gate dated 1678 and the canal-side streets, then spend the afternoon on Negombo Beach, which has the hotels and restaurants Ja-Ela lacks. Our full guide to places to visit in Negombo and the list of things to do in Negombo go deeper if you plan to stay a night.

Kelaniya is one of the most important Buddhist temples near Colombo. Tradition holds that the Buddha visited this spot on the Kelani River on his third visit to Sri Lanka, and a stupa marks the place. The image house is lined with 20th century murals by Solias Mendis that tell the temple’s history, and they are reason enough to come. In January the Duruthu Perahera brings dancers, drummers and elephants through the grounds. Our guide to places to visit in Kelaniya covers the rest of the area.

This garden holds a small place in world history. In 1876, 1,919 rubber seedlings collected in the Brazilian Amazon came here from Kew Gardens, the first Brazilian rubber trees ever planted in Asia. They flowered in 1880 and seeds went out across the island from 1881, starting Sri Lanka’s rubber industry. The oldest tree fell in a storm in 1988, but the surviving trees are protected as a national monument. Today it is a shaded, 17-hectare garden of giant trees and palms, a good cool break on a hot afternoon. It sits about 1.5 to 2 km by road from Gampaha station, just off the Gampaha to Minuwangoda road. See more places to visit in Gampaha if you plan to spend the day on that side.

Attanagalla is the furthest stop on this list and the least visited. The temple is tied to the legend of King Sirisangabo, the ruler remembered for giving up his throne and, in the story, his own head rather than cause harm. It has an old circular image house and a calm hilltop setting, far from the traffic of the A3. Go if you have a full second day and want a temple without tour buses. Combine it with Henarathgoda, since both sit east of Ja-Ela on the Gampaha side.