Most roads in Sri Lanka in modern times are very spacious and provide a smooth surface to have a comfortable and safe ride; the popularity of motorbikes increasing rapidly among the young generation of the island. Venturing on a Sri Lanka motorcycle tour is one of the best ways to discover Sri Lanka’s beautiful nature, quaint villages and cultured cities.
Table of Contents
- Five Sri Lanka Motorcycle Tours to Enjoy Sri Lanka
- Is a motorbike suitable for Sri Lanka
- The upward trend in the popularity of motorcycle tours
- One of the best Sri Lanka motorcycle tours – Colombo to Kitulgala: 95 Km
- Colombo to Panadura Beach: 40 kilometres
- Colombo to Negombo: 35 Kilometers
- Colombo to Ingiriya: 56 Kilometers
- Colombo to Seethawaka wet zone botanical garden: 46 Kilometers
- Where can I book Sri Lanka motorcycle tours?
Five Sri Lanka Motorcycle Tours to Enjoy Sri Lanka
- Colombo city tour to Kitulgala: 95 Kilometers
- Colombo to Panadura Beach: 40 kilometres
- Colombo to Negombo beach: 35 Kilometers
- Colombo to Ingiriya: 56 Kilometers
- Colombo to Awissawella wet zone botanical garden: 46 Kilometers
Is a motorbike suitable for Sri Lanka
Most roads in Sri Lanka in modern times are very spacious and provide a smooth surface to have a comfortable and safe ride; the popularity of motorbikes increasing rapidly among the young generation of the island. Undertaking one of the Sri Lanka tours on a motorcycle is one of the best ways to discover Sri Lanka’s beautiful nature, quaint villages and cultured cities.
It has also gone a long way and become a very popular household transport option with the availability of lightweight scooter type of motorbikes, which are very suitable for females. Sri Lanka was not a country like Thailand where females hit the road with motorbikes, but this trend is making a gradual twist over the last few years in Sri Lanka and females are also starting to get familiar with motorbikes. The demand for scooters has gone up compared to other types of motorbikes due to the increasing demand, especially from females.
Large numbers of people jump onto the wheels to have a leisurely ride while some others use it to fulfilling their transport requirements. The number of foreign tourists, who take motorbike tours in Sri Lanka also, has increased because taking a motorbike tour is an ideal way to explore the natural beauty, quaint villages and cultured cities without burning your hard-earned money.
The upward trend in the popularity of motorcycle tours
The island of Sri Lanka is experiencing a motorbiking revolution. The number of people, especially the local young people, who have taken to two wheels has increased at least by 100% during the last several years. However, the popularity of motorcycle tours among foreign travellers is yet to go on a long way. Only a few foreigners hit the roads with motorcycles and most of the foreign motorcyclists are to be seen on the beach areas.
Starting from Colombo, these 5 motorbike routes – ranging 50 to 100 km each way (and always with the availability of other transportation options such as buses and taxi) – is the best introduction to the different sides of the western province of Sri Lanka.
One of the best Sri Lanka motorcycle tours – Colombo to Kitulgala: 95 Km
On the hunt for the natural beauty of Sri Lanka with a twist of a bit of adventure, Kitulgala, located on the outskirts of Rathnapura, just 95 kilometres eastward from Colombo. Kitulgala is one of the popular one-day trip locations in Sri Lanka. A large number of local tour operators offer day trips to Kitulagla from Colombo for boat rafting, jungle trekking, caving, hiking etc.
The adventure playground of Sri Lanka or better known as “Kitulgala” is just a 2 hours drive from Colombo making it an easy one-day trip from Colombo and has a totally different setting than Colombo. Laidback small city has an overwhelming green treasure with rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and mountains. Kitulgala is included in Most Sri Lanka adventure tour packages as it offers a large number of adrenaline-pumping activities such as water rafting, canoeing, jungle trekking, caving, rock climbing, trekking, hiking and waterfall abseiling.
Kitulgala has become the most popular adventure holiday destination on the island and attracts a large number of local as well as foreign adventure enthusiasts. Kitulgala is not only suitable for adrenaline-pumping activities but also for the exploration of the rich bio-diversity of Sri Lanka.
The extensive rocky outcrop with rainforest cover offers a valuable opportunity for nature lovers to explore Sri Lankan plant life, avian fauna species, waterfalls, mountains, caves and remote villages.
The journey starts in Colombo’s busy Galle face neighbourhood on the Galle road, but the scenery starts to transform into a beautiful picture a few minutes after starting the tour as you pass the quiet Sitawaka Kingdom passing through laid-back small cities, the farming community of Puwakpitiya and Awissawella.
With quite empty roads all the way except in the cities, this two hours motorbike trip is a fantastic introduction to long-distance motorbiking for novices or families with kids.
When you arrive at Kitulagala you are in for a workout. It offers many Zig Zag routes, a few winding climbs that average about 10% gradient over 2 kilometres trek, which is the easiest and fastest way to reach the rain forest. From the main road of Kitulgala, local village guides organize short nature walks into the rainforest providing an up-close introduction to the indigenous plants, trees, birds and a few other animal species residing in the jungle.
Colombo to Panadura Beach: 40 kilometres
A mere 20 km south of Colombo, the beach park of Panadura is perfect for a family outing, with wide sandy beaches, open spaces, a kids’ play area and sheltered woods for children to play and explore.
The coastal city of Panadura is one of the closest seaside resorts to Colombo, with the colourful and vibrant city, sandy, palm-fringed beaches and fairyland for sun basking enthusiasts. Just 20 km south of Colombo – and doable in just 2 hours on a motorbike – the beaches of Panadura have become one of the favourite weekend escapes in the western province.
The tour from Colombo leads south-ward on the Galle-Colombo main road along the coastal belt of Western province, and the journey is quite easy and comfortable due to the well-maintained roads and it is mainly a flat road.
Stop for refreshment in a charming city like Moratuwa 10 km from Colombo, with the daily market selling fruit and vegetable. Here you can buy perfect picnic treats such as bread, pastries, salad, juices, and warm soup.
If you have a religious or cultural buff, the nearby Buddhist temple is a bonus for your hard-earned trip. Gangatilaka vihara is one of the oldest Buddhist temples on the island and one of the most beautiful temples located on the banks of Kaluganaga.
Colombo to Negombo: 35 Kilometers
The fishing village of Negombo is a popular beach resort on the west coast it is the centre of Sri Lanka’s Christian community and is an easy-to-tackle motorbike trip from Colombo. Negombo is an ideal one-day trip place in Sri Lanka for travellers who start their Sri Lanka day trip from Colombo. The three hours trip starts at Pettah railway station and heads north along the Negombo-Colombo main road, passing Peliyagoda, Victoria Bridge, the Colombo international airport and into the beautiful beach resort of Negombo. With not many twists and turns and even some empty roads, the trip is very enjoyable, passing through small Christian towns.
Taking the less crowded road along the Dutch canal makes the trip even more enjoyable, especially if you are the type of person who loves nature. This road turns out to be very verdant and passes through the small fishing villages of Wattala and Pamunugama.
Negombo is a fishing locality, therefore the Negombo fish market is a hot topic here, and the fishing market is very busy on all 7 days of the week at early hours. Negombo beach, where tons of fresh fish are dried under the scorching heat is also the main draw here.
Take a ride along Lewis lane, which is the tourist hangout in Negombo and a place to encounter hotels, guest houses, eateries, pubs, beach Restaurants and a large number of medieval churches.
Negombo boasted to have one of the oldest forts built by the Dutch on the island, the fort is to be found near the Fishmarket, however, the fort is in very dilapidated condition due to the lack of maintenance.
Colombo to Ingiriya: 56 Kilometers
Bodhinagala is one of the most beautiful places in Sri Lanka, located 56 km away from the capital of Sri Lanka. Laid-back, wide rocky outcrop and a popular Buddhist hermitage on the west coast of the island – and doable in a 2 hours ride – It is one of the favourites for meditation, as well as for leisurely strolls and is a favourite weekend escape.
Start the journey at the Fort railway station and head east down Awissawella road. The mostly flat road skirts the popular towns like Battaramulla, Padukka, and Horana, but mostly the road round through the picturesque countryside.
The beautiful scenery as you pass Padukka is a highlight of the day, a typical rural setting with paddy fields, remote villages, patches of forests and sparkling streams.
Colombo to Seethawaka wet zone botanical garden: 46 Kilometers
To explore the beautiful landscapes east of the capital, head to the route that leads to the interior of the country from the beach. Starting at the centre of Colombo, the road makes its way between busy towns such as Wellampitiya, Angoda, and Kaduwela towards the hilly outcrop of Sitawaka Kingdom. The beginning of the journey meander through flat roads while towards the end of the journey is somewhat hilly.
Sitawaka is best known as the capital of Sri Lanka during the medieval period. This south-central Sri Lankan kingdom had been the ruling capital of the island for 70 years established in 1521 AD. The best way to see and learn about the history of Sitawaka is to opt for short trips to historical places in the area.
Our destination, the wet zone botanical garden is just 10km away from Awissawella town and is a popular weekend anchoring spot for most families in busy towns in the western province. Being an attraction very close to Colombo it has become a popular family pick garden. The park offers a large extent of flat grasslands wide range of flowering plants as well as many other economically important flora species.
An excellent way to enjoy your trip is to take a duck boat tour in the shallow lake. These duck boats are driven by paddling and 2 persons can comfortably sit in the boat.
Where can I book Sri Lanka motorcycle tours?
Seerendipity tours of Colombo organize regular Sri Lanka motorcycle tours to interesting places around the island of Sri Lanka. They do also offer customized Sri Lanka motorcycle tours giving the flexibility to the customers to plan their own tours. Please contact seerendipity tours for more information at admin@seerendipitytours.com.