Foreign travelers looking forward to traveling to Sri Lanka are typically advised to visit during the dry months from December to April. This is the peak season for the Sri Lankan tourism industry with fine weather in most parts of the country. On the other hand, May to October is the low season of tourism in Sri Lanka due to the start of monsoons. Most visitors looking for beach holidays on the southern coast tend to avoid visiting Sri Lanka during this period. Because of several misconceptions attached to it, only a few tourists come to Sri Lanka in the low season.
The low season begins with the South-western Monsoon in May, where south and western parts of the country receive heavy rains. Although it lasts from May to September, it doesn’t rain all these months. Of course, there will be frequent showers in Colombo, Kandy, Galle, or Nuwara Eliya areas at the beginning of monsoons. But the impact of monsoons fades with time and there will be fine weather from July to August. The most important fact is you can adapt the route and target the regions with the least rainfall to enjoy the best weather in Sri Lanka.
In fact, visiting Sri Lanka in the low season is more attractive for a number of reasons. Here we are going to show you several benefits of visiting Sri Lanka in the low season. So, before you decide on when to travel, take time to read the below information. You can discover why the low season is actually a preferable time of the year to travel in Sri Lanka.
1. The reduced price
You’ll find there are significant advantages and great opportunities available for accommodations in the low season. Since there aren’t any crowds of tourists, many hotels lower their prices and give huge discounts to visitors. You’ll find many amazing offers and price drops for accommodations, which travelers can enjoy in a more luxurious hotel at very attractive prices.
Many service providers have different rates for the low and high seasons. All the major hotel brands including Jetwing, Cinnamon, and Amaya hotels offer a reduced rate compared to the high season. Some of these summer offers include an extra night is offered if you book a certain number of nights, thus enabling you to stay longer for the same cost. You can find these marvelous hotel deals for Sri Lanka on booking.com.
Finding availability in your preferred hotel during the high season in Sri Lanka may be quite difficult. However, the reduced number of travelers in the low season means there is more likely to be rooms available at your chosen accommodation. In any case, travelers get a better value for their money during this period.
2. The less crowd
If you are looking for a peaceful holiday, then you can go to the southern beaches in the low season. Usually, stunning beaches from Unawatuna to Tangalle are heavily crowded in peak season. These beaches become so quiet and deserted in the low season. Imagine the picture-perfect coastal line spread out for miles without any visitors. Without a doubt, the empty shoreline on the southern coast is perfect for a romantic beach holiday.
Certainly, the crowd can be an issue during high season. In contrast, traveling during the low season offers you a more peaceful visit, wherever you decide to go in Sri Lanka. Nothing can be more irritating than trying to take a picture of a beautiful place, while many visitors are always in your vicinity. The less crowd is an obvious advantage to get quality photographs during this time. You can capture some mind-blowing shots of the beauty of Sri Lanka.
3. Beautiful eastern coast
Although it is raining on the southern coast during the low season, this is the dry period in the north and east areas. Thus, it is the best time to visit charming eastern beaches. You can enjoy beautiful east coast beaches in Arugam Bay, Nilaveli, and Passikudah from May to September. You will find most surfers are heading to the surfing capital in Arugam Bay during this period.
With warm, sunny weather, the east coast is perfect for a beach vacation in the low season. These beaches are popular family-friendly destinations in the country, where you can enjoy with your kids. The waves are smooth and clean, providing better conditions for snorkeling and scuba diving. As well, east coast beaches are pretty shallow, where you can enjoy a safe sea bath.
4. Great elephant gathering
For wildlife lovers, visiting Sri Lanka in the low season gives good opportunities. Since months from May to October are the drought season in the dry zone, the wildlife is forced to congregate around the water tanks in search of water. Particularly, elephant gathering in Minneriya is a quite popular wildlife spectacle that occurs between August to October. Over hundreds of elephants can easily be observed near Minneriya and Kaudulla tanks.
In particular, you can see many baby elephants during this period. The lush grass around the tanks enables the elephant mothers to produce good milk for their calves. You’ll see the happy baby elephants feeding and playing with their mothers. This touching display of nature creates great sighting opportunities for safari goers. Therefore, this is the ideal time for wild safaris to see elephants in Minneriya or Kaudulla National Parks.
5. Baby boom in Yala National Park
Spring brings new life to the Sri Lankan jungles. Since leopard mothers usually give birth at the beginning of spring, the leopard baby boom in Yala National Park starts. When it comes to summer, Yala is buzzing with incredible sightings of leopard cubs. Thus, one of the major benefits of visiting Sri Lanka in the low season is watching these cute leopard moms and babies during your safari trip.
According to Yala Leopard Diary, 15 new cubs were recorded from the southern to northern sides of the park in 2022 August. More than 5 leopard mother and baby families were sighted in Yala Block I this year. Therefore, Yala Leopard Paradise is completely worth visiting during the low season of tourism. You may capture some great shots of leopard cubs with their mothers.
Leopard cubs are living under the strict care of their mothers. Always, the mother accompanies them for a stroll or drinking water from the water body. When she goes out for hunting, they are just hiding in the trees and waiting for their mother. By the way, don’t miss the opportunity to see the rare scenery of cute leopard cubs in Yala National Park.
6. Lush green landscapes
The best advantage to travel during the low season is the rains enable the vegetation to become greener and lusher. Definitely, the rain will bring out the colors of nature, displaying more intense green vegetation. The different shades of green make up vivid and contrasting landscapes. If you are enjoying a boat safari in Madu River, you’ll see the lush greenery of the surroundings. Hence, this season is the ideal time to capture some epic photogenic sceneries.
If you are going to visit the hill country, May is still a good month of the year. Since the spring festival is over, there won’t be any crowds and you can enjoy the beauty of the environment peacefully. Most of the plants are still blooming with lovely flowers in Hakgala Botanical Garden and Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya. For those who want to take things at a slower, more relaxed pace, the low season is the perfect time to visit hill country.
7. Full flow of waterfalls
If you visit Sri Lanka during the low season, one of the best things you’ll see is the majestic view of waterfalls in full flow. Although waterfalls become thin and narrow in the dry season, they become so attractive with the start of monsoons. Due to the heavy rains in the hill country, waterfalls offer a glorious eye-pleasing view with full flow in these months. If you are going to waterfall hunting in Sri Lanka, you will better appreciate the low season for those gorgeous views.
As an example, here we have shown the St. Clair’s Falls in Nuwara Eliya, during dry and wet seasons. You may see this waterfall when you are traveling from Kandy to Ella by Ella Odyssey train. Calls as the “Little Niagara”, this is a very photogenic, awesome waterfall during the rainy season. But it becomes thin and narrow in the dry season.
8. Esala Perahera festival
Visiting Sri Lanka in the low season gives you a good chance to witness one of the great cultural festivals in Sri Lanka. This is Kandy Esala Perahera which holds for 10 days from July to August in the Sacred Temple of Tooth Relic in Kandy. It is considered the longest Perahera festival in the world. As well, it is one of the most beautiful religious festivals in the whole of Asia.
Kandy Esala Perahera is an absolutely stunning and fascinating festival with beautiful traditional dances you might have never seen. Hundreds of elegantly decorated elephants are parading in the Perahera festival. Especially, the majestic tusker carrying the golden casket containing the tooth relic of Lord Buddha is a completely worthy sight to witness.
9. Vesak festival
If you visit Sri Lanka in May, you’ll witness a great Buddhist festival in the country. This Vesak festival is celebrated by Buddhists to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of Lord Buddha. Buddhists decorate temples and houses with Vesak lanterns. These nightly Vesak illuminations are a quite beautiful sight to witness in Sri Lanka. The Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple in Colombo is one of the best places in Sri Lanka to see the Vesak celebrations.
The electrically lit Vesak pandal called “Thorana” is one of the major parts of the Vesak festival. They are erected island-wide in public places and illuminated at night. Each pandal illustrates a story from the life of Lord Buddha. They have thousands of vividly colorful light bulbs arranged in artful patterns.
10. Cultural Triangle
The Cultural Triangle is a good place to visit during the low season. Since this is the dry period, you can go to explore world heritage sites and the historical landmarks at Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya, and more. Due to their popularity and importance, these historical and cultural monuments are highly crowded during the peak season.
Especially from November to April, there are long lines to enter these famous attractions. But during the low season, most of these historical places are largely uncrowded. It will give you the freedom to explore those places at your own pace.
Activities you’ll miss in low season
By the way, you’ll miss some activities during the low season. One of them is Whale watching at Mirissa beach. Since there are strong winds and rains, whale watching cruises aren’t available in most of the months in the low season.
Besides, the pilgrimage season of Adam’s Peak is already over in the low season. Hiking Adam’s Peak is restricted to the months from December to April. The torrential rains make it impossible to climb the holy Adam’s Peak in other months.
Overall, visiting Sri Lanka in the low season helps you enjoy a peaceful vacation without crowds. Most probably, you can get closer to the locals and discover a lesser-known face of this lovely island. Moreover, it offers you numerous advantages. The holiday costs in the low season are nearly two times lesser than the cost of the peak season. Thus, this is definitely a worthy time for your much anticipated Sri Lanka trip. Welcome guys, visit Sri Lanka in the low season to enjoy the benefits.!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia Commons, Unsplash, Booking.com, Facebook, and Twitter. All copyrights are reserved by original authors.
