When is the best time to visit Sri Lanka?

 

      Planning a visit to Sri lanka? The best time to visit the beautiful island depends on the area you wish to travel to. Being a small island nation it has a wide difference in climate from time to time throughout the year. Being in close proximity to the equator it ensures pleasant weather whatever the season. There are two monsoons which affect the island namely the south – western monsoon and the north eastern monsoon out of which the former is the more gentler of the two. As the names suggest the monsoons target a specific area of the country at a time, meaning even though one area is being drenched the other area is fit for fun in the sun type activities. 

      The South western monsoon shows up during the months May to July and the North Western Monsoon comes around during October to December. As the name suggests the south western monsoon affects the southern and western parts of the island whereas the north eastern monsoon affects the North and east sides of the island. That being said you now have an idea of which months or which parts of the island to avoid depending on the days you wish to visit. A quick summary is given below.

BEST TIME

January to April     - Entire Country

May to July - North and East

Mid July to September  - Entire Country

October to December - South and west

MONSOON SEASON

May to July  - South West Monsoon

October to December  - North East monsoon

BEACH DAYS

January to April - Entire coast of Sri lanka

May to September - North and East

October to December - West and South

Being squeezed in between the wet seasons the months of January to April and July to September offers fairly great weather island wide. That being said they are also the months where the country experiences a vast number of tourists. Its best to note that there could be transport issues during the Sinhala and Tamil New year which falls mid April as people move here and there within the country visiting family and friends, Its also best to avoid public transport at this time as it could be inconvenient and cause a hassle. 

This would be the best time to hike over in the Hill country or climb the ever most popular rock fortress Sigiriya as the weather is at its peak but not as hot as in Summer. During this dry season is also when most of the animals gather around pools of water making it the best time to spot wildlife in national parks.