Sri Lanka in March: where to go and what to book first

March is one of the best months for Sri Lanka. The south and west coasts are at the end of their dry season, the hill country has its clearest weather of the year and the Cultural Triangle is dry before the April heat. Afternoon storms start to appear late in the month, and Easter makes the last week busier.

If February is the month everyone books, March is the one we would choose. It keeps most of February's weather and adds the best mornings of the year in the hills. The catch is that the season is ending, and towards the end of the month the weather starts to say so. How we build a trip around timing like this is in our guide to planning a private journey.

Is March a good time to visit Sri Lanka?

Yes. For a first trip, March is hard to beat, because almost every part of the classic route works at once. The north-east monsoon has finished, the south-west monsoon is still two months away, and the island sits in the calm before the first inter-monsoon builds.

What March does well

• •The hills, at their clearest. March is the driest and sunniest month in Nuwara Eliya, which is what Horton Plains and every tea-country view depend on.
• •The south coast, still in season. Calm seas in the morning, and swimming on most days.
• •Whales. The boats off Mirissa are working the last good weeks of their season, usually on flat water.
• •Adam's Peak. The pilgrim season is in full swing, and a clear dawn at the top is more likely now than later.
• •The whole classic route. Ancient cities, hills, a park and a coast, with no part of it fighting the weather.

What March does not do well: the east coast, which is not yet in season; quiet beaches in Easter week; and late afternoons at the end of the month, when the first storms begin to build.

What the weather does in March

March is the hinge between the north-east monsoon and the first inter-monsoon. For most of the month, days are hot, skies are clear and rain is the exception. In the last week or so, afternoon and evening thunderstorms start to appear, short and heavy rather than all day.

The hill country has the best of it. In Nuwara Eliya, March has the least rain and the most sunshine of any month, though the nights there are still properly cold. In the dry zone around Sigiriya, the heat is building towards April, and by late morning it is the real constraint.

So we plan March days around the morning:

• •Before ten: climbs, walks, game drives, whale boats and long transfers.
• •The middle of the day: a pool, a long lunch or the drive to the next stop.
• •Late afternoon: a second outing, with a roof nearby in the last week of the month.
• •In the hills: cold, clear dawns, so the alarm for Horton Plains is worth setting.

Where to go in March

The south coast is where most March routes end. Galle and Bentota are at their easiest, and Mirissa is the base for whale boats, which go out early and are usually back before the heat.

Sigiriya and Dambulla are dry and increasingly hot. Climb Sigiriya when the gates open at 7am, and keep the afternoon for the pool.

This is the month for the hills. Kandy and the estates around Nuwara Eliya have their clearest weather, and the train from Nanu Oya to Ella is at its most photogenic. Give tea country three nights rather than two, and do Horton Plains at dawn while the views are reliable.

Yala and Udawalawe are dry and good. The north is worth a thought too: Jaffna is into its dry season by March, and we explain how to get there in Colombo to Jaffna. The east coast, around Trincomalee and Arugam Bay, is better saved for late April onwards.

Dates for March 2027

• •Early March: the end of Ramadan. Some Muslim-run restaurants keep shorter daytime hours until Eid.
• •Saturday 6 March: Mahasivarathri, a public holiday, when Hindu temples across the island hold night-long vigils.
• •Wednesday 10 March: Eid-ul-Fitr, a public holiday.
• •Monday 22 March: Medin Full Moon Poya. Alcohol and meat are not sold, and Adam's Peak is at its most crowded that night.
• •Friday 26 March: Good Friday, a public holiday, with Easter Sunday on 28 March. European school holidays begin around now, so the last week of March and the first of April are noticeably busier on the south coast.
• •All month: scheduled domestic flights to Sigiriya, the tea country and the south coast are running, as part of the winter season.
• •Around the turn of the year: the hill railway between Kandy and Nanu Oya was expected back, after repairs following Cyclone Ditwah. Check before you plan around it; until then, we drive guests to Nanu Oya and start the train there.

If your trip runs into April, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year falls on 13 and 14 April; we cover it in Sri Lanka in April.

What to book first

1. 01Your Easter-week hotels, if your dates touch the last week of March, starting with the south coast.
2. 02A tea estate stay. The best bungalows have very few rooms, and March is their best month.
3. 03A private car and driver, so the mornings belong to you rather than to a timetable.
4. 04Train seats from Nanu Oya to Ella, on the day the window opens, 30 days before travel; how to do it is in Sri Lanka train tickets.
5. 05Whale boats and game drives, for early mornings.
6. 06Your ETA, online before you fly; the details are in Sri Lanka visa in 2026.

A ten-night March route

1. 01Nights 1 to 3: the Cultural Triangle. Sigiriya at opening, Dambulla, and Polonnaruwa or Anuradhapura. Three nights absorbs the long arrival drive; we explain that day in Colombo to Sigiriya.
2. 02Nights 4 to 6: Kandy and tea country. Kandy on the way up, then a tea estate, Horton Plains at dawn and the train from Nanu Oya to Ella.
3. 03Nights 7 and 8: Yala or Udawalawe. Two game drives at the very least.
4. 04Nights 9 and 10: the south coast. Galle for the Fort, or Mirissa if the whales are the point.

This is the shape of our Ceylon Icons journey, and March is one of the months it suits best. If wildlife matters most, Wild Ceylon pairs two contrasting parks with the whale shelf off the south coast. With only a week, keep the hills and the coast and drop a region rather than shortening every stay.

Who March suits

• •First-time visitors who want the classic route with no part of it compromised.
• •Walkers and photographers, for the clearest mornings of the year in the hills.
• •Couples finishing on the south coast before the season turns.
• •Anyone hoping to see whales, on calm seas off Mirissa.

Less suited: travellers set on the east coast, anyone hoping for empty beaches in Easter week, and those who struggle in midday heat in the dry zone.

If March is your month, tell us your dates and what matters most. We will give the hills the mornings they deserve, keep Easter week from catching you out, and finish you on the right stretch of coast. Plan my Sri Lanka trip.

Last checked 11 October 2026.

Author @Mahinsa Hennakgedara