Colombo Airport to Ratnapura Taxi
The City of Gems — sapphire pits worked by hand, a wet-zone valley under Adam's Peak, and the back road to Sinharaja.
Airport to Ratnapura: what to expect
Two and a half to three hours from the terminal, inland through Avissawella. Ratnapura means 'city of gems', and it is not a marketing name: the alluvial gravels of this valley have produced sapphires, rubies, cat's eyes and alexandrite for two thousand years, and the trade still runs the town.
The mines are not industrial. They are hand-dug shafts sunk into paddy fields, timbered with logs, with men working at the bottom in mud and passing baskets up. You can visit working pits, and you can watch the gem market in the town, where dealers trade wrapped paper packets on the street in the morning.
Ratnapura is also the wettest part of Sri Lanka, which is why the surrounding country is so green, and the northern approach to Sinharaja rainforest.
Your driver meets you inside the arrivals hall with a name board, helps with luggage and SIM cards, and the price agreed on WhatsApp is final — fuel, tolls and parking are all inside it. Pay the driver on arrival in LKR, USD, EUR or GBP.
Book this transfer on WhatsAppFixed prices — Airport → Ratnapura
Per vehicle, one way, luggage included. Rupee equivalents are LKR 22,000 and LKR 26,000. Return trips and en-route stops quoted on WhatsApp.
Get your exact price for Ratnapura
Set your group size and we will pick the right vehicle. The WhatsApp message arrives with your details already filled in.
Worth a stop on the way
Gem mines and the market
Hand-dug shafts in the paddy, and street dealing in the town before noon.
Sinharaja rainforest
The Kudawa entrance is about ninety minutes south-east.
Colombo Airport to Ratnapura — FAQ
Can you visit gem mines in Ratnapura?
Yes. Working hand-dug pits in the surrounding paddy fields take visitors, and the museums and workshops in town show cutting and polishing. Go in the morning, when the market is trading and the mines are working.
Should I buy gems in Ratnapura?
Only with real caution. There are genuine stones and genuine dealers, and there is a great deal of synthetic and treated material sold to visitors. Never buy on a driver's recommendation — ours are not paid commission, and we would rather you bought nothing than got stung.
What else is there around Ratnapura?
Sinharaja rainforest to the south-east, Adam's Peak visible to the north-east, Bopath Ella waterfall nearby, and some of the greenest country in Sri Lanka. It is also a much shorter drive from the airport than most people expect.
Other transfers in this direction
Airport → Rakwana
3.5 hrs · from US$ 80Airport → Sinharaja
4 hrs · from US$ 80Airport → Udawalawe
4 hrs · from US$ 90Airport → Embilipitiya
4 hrs · from US$ 95Airport → Deniyaya
4 hrs · from US$ 100Airport → Weerawila
4.25 hrs · from US$ 125Airport → Tissamaharama
4 – 4.5 hrs · from US$ 125Airport → Wellawaya
4.5 hrs · from US$ 130Send your flight number
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