Situated at Dehiwela 7 miles (11 km) from Colombo Fort, the Zoo has a fine collection of animals, birds, reptiles and fish from all over the world. One of the first to introduce the “open-air” concept in controlled animal habitat, it is considered Asia’s finest. The zoo’s aquarium is the only one of its kind in Asia and displays over 500 varieties of aquatic life. Also stroll through the walk-in Aviary, Reptile House and Butterfly Park. There are daily elephant performances at 5.15 p.m. Open daily between 8.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. Entrance fees: Rs 90/- per adult and Rs.45/- per child.

Sri Lanka has three beautiful Botanical Gardens worthy of inclusion in any itinerary …
Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya
Established in 1816 on 150 acres in a loop of the Mahaweli Ganga 6 km from Kandy on what was once a royal park and residence in the reign of King Kirti Sri Rajasingha (1747-80), the Peradeniya Gardens at an elevation of 75 M contains healthy specimens of all known plants in Sri Lanka and of much of the tropical flora from around the world besides. Stroll or motor through the ever-changing vistas - perpetually pretty pink and yellow “Queen of Flowering Trees” (Amherstia nobilis); the avenue of Royal Palms and a profusion of the coconut’s cousins; magical glades and groves of myth and marvel; riverside reeds, rushes and thickets of giant Bamboo towering 40 M; trees heavy with flying fox suspended like fruit; a wealth of healing herbs; a spice garden; lily-topped lakes and ponds; a lane of lianas; a rockery of ornamentals; cacti; orchids; a froth of ferns; the Octagon House or Conservatory and much more.The Mahaweli, Sri Lanka’s longest river surrounding this garden gives an added beauty to this garden.
The best attraction of the garden is the orchid House, which houses over 300 varieties of exquisite orchids. A spice garden gives you a first hand introduction to the trees and plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic medicine.

Hakgala Gardens
Rising to an elevation of 1700 M, just 10km away from Nuwara Eliya town (to the south), the Hakgala Gardens was established in 1860 by the eminent British botanist Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites who was superintendent of the more famous gardens at Peradeniya: first as a cinchona plantation from which the anti-malarial drug quinine is derived, and then adapted to an experimental garden for the acclimatization of plants from temperate zones in the tropics. Here can be found all the flowers of an English cottage garden in spring and summer, and much else besides – such as the oldest tea-bush in the island, an ornamental pond and quaint summerhouse. Hakgala (Jaw Rock) rises a sheer 460 M and offers one of the most stunning views ever. Legend says it was part of the Himalayas carried here by the monkey-god Hanuman in his quest to help Rama rescue Sita from the demon-king Ravana. Sita Eliya, site of Sita’s imprisonment, stands a mere mile away, with the Sita Amman kovil close by.

Henarathgoda Gardens
30 km from Colombo and 5 km off Gampaha, this often overlooked garden is celebrated for its tropical trees rather than for flowering plants. It was here that in 1876, 2000 seedlings of the Para Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) - from seeds smuggled out of the Brazilian Amazon by Sir Henry Wickham and nurtured at London’s Kew Gardens – gave rise to the entire rubber industry in Southeast Asia. It is said that some of the original rubber trees are still there, and it is worth visiting the garden.
New Botanical Gardens

Dry Zone Botanical Gardens - Mirijjawila
Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanical Gardens
The last Botanical Garden established in 1876 by the British was Henarathgoda Gardens in Gampaha and there are two Botanical Gardens being established in Avissavella and Hambantota. The main objective of establishing the new botanic gardens are to conserve dry and arid zone plants. The gardens will also provide opportunities for ecotourism and economic development in these areas and to model dry zone landscape improvement. These objectives will be achieved when the garden opens officially to the public.
According to the government policy, Southern Sri Lanka has been earmarked as a development zone for tourism, and a Botanic Garden presents an attractive visitor location both for domestic and foreign tourists.
Mirijjawila Garden is the first National Botanical Garden to be built after the Senarathgoda Garden in Gampaha in 1876. It is also significant as the first ever dry zone botanical garden in Sri Lanka. The government launched this project in 2006.