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Sri-LankaDescription of Ambuluwawa Tower and is it worth visiting
Ambuluwawa Tower in Sri Lanka
Ambuluwawa Tower in Sri Lanka is a modern observation tower built in 2009 on top of the mountain of the same name in the central mountainous part of the island. Its main value is the 360-degree panoramic view from the observation deck at a height of 48 meters, with a total elevation above sea level of 1086 meters. Shortly after its opening, this place became almost a tourist icon and a mandatory stop on excursion routes, especially for tourists visiting the cultural capital Kandy. But people also come here specially from the coast.
The tower is located on the territory of the Ambuluwawa Biosphere Reserve, which is home to 126 species of living organisms, including 29 endemics, and about 200 species of plants, many of which have medicinal properties. Although theoretically you can stay overnight in the reserve, in our experience, there is not much to do here, and almost all tourists come with one goal - to climb the tower. A visit usually takes from one to two hours, not including travel.
Sometimes Ambuluwawa Tower is mistakenly perceived as an important religious center or a temple-tower on the mountain, but in fact it is part of a symbolic multi-religious complex, not a real place of worship. At its base there are four pavilions symbolizing Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. They look more like decorations than real temples. In general, the complex gives the impression of a tourist object focused on making money rather than an authentic sacred place. This is confirmed by the souvenir shop at the base of the tower with inflated prices, and the constantly increasing entrance fee, which is especially noticeable for foreigners.
After visiting the tower, we had mixed feelings. On the one hand, the views from the tower are truly stunning and breathtaking, and the climb itself on the unusual structure makes your heart beat faster. Photos from here also turn out magnificent. On the other hand, the strong commercialization and the realization that this is not an authentic historical or spiritual attraction cause slight disappointment. Nevertheless, we believe it is definitely worth visiting, if only for these unique panoramas. And hurry up, before the visit prices become even higher than the tower itself.
Practical information on how to visit the tower
- Get to the entrance of the Ambuluwawa Biosphere Reserve, on whose territory the tower is located (entrance and ticket offices on the map).
- Purchase entrance tickets at the ticket office. Note that the cost for foreigners is quite high and may increase without warning, so bring extra money.
- After the ticket office, you still need to cover the path to the tower (2.5 km with an ascent of 440 meters). There are three options for this:
- Hire a tuk-tuk on the spot for 1500 rupees round trip to the tower itself (about 10 minutes travel time).
- Walk the entire way on foot (about 1.5 hours one way).
- Pay for your own vehicle (from 100 baht) and drive another 1.5 kilometers to the intermediate parking lot, and from there walk the remaining 1 km with an ascent of 170 meters (about 40 minutes one way).
- Climbing the tower itself via the stairs takes 10-15 minutes. But allow at least 30 minutes for full viewing and photography.
Visiting tips
- Children under 7 years old are not allowed to climb the tower!
- To avoid crowds, arrive at opening time or in the evening before closing.
- Choose good weather for your visit, check the forecast. In cloudy weather and rain, the views are not as beautiful, and it becomes dangerous at the top. Clear skies usually occur in the morning and before noon.
- The ticket office has a terminal for accepting cards, including Russian UnionPay, but take extra cash in case it malfunctions or in case of another price increase.
- Be extremely careful at the top: there can be strong winds, and the safety railings are quite low. Hold children's hands.
- Do not get carried away with selfies in dangerous places.
- The stairs on the upper tiers are very narrow. It may be physically impossible for large people to reach the very top. To pass each other, use the special side windows.
- Monkeys live near the tower, be careful with them: hide food and items that can be stolen in backpacks.
- Don't forget to climb the adjacent, smaller tower. It looks less maintained, but it offers the best photos of the main tower against the landscape.
- For impressive photos and videos, it's better to bring a selfie stick and an action camera with a wide-angle lens.
- Drone filming is not prohibited here, but for their use in general in Sri Lanka, you officially need to obtain approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL).
Current weather in Gampola/Ambuluwawa and forecast for the near future:
Tourist seasons in Gampola/Ambuluwawa by month, when is the best time to go
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
* best time to visit;
acceptable time to visit;
not recommended time to visit
Weather in Gampola/Ambuluwawa by month
And here is our photo instruction to reinforce the material 😊:
🌐 Website: https://ambuluwawa.com/ (may not open in Russia due to Roskomnadzor blocks)
🕐 Opening hours
From 07:30 to 17:00, no days off. But sometimes the tower is closed for maintenance for a couple of days, and opening hours may change during weekends and holidays, it's better to check the information on the official website before your trip. It is best to visit early in the morning and taking into account the seasonality by month (see the season table above)
💵 Entrance fee / ticket prices
- Tickets for access to the complex territory with the tower:
- adults - 2750 rupees / 8.46 USD.
- children - 1500 rupees / 4.61 USD.
- local residents - 200 rupees / 0.61 USD.
- Fee for vehicle access to the territory and parking at the top (you can drive another 1.5 kilometers): motorbike – 100 rupees (0.31 USD), tuk-tuk – 150 rupees; car – 350 rupees.
- Fee for ascent and descent on local tuk-tuk from the ticket office to the tower – 1500 rupees / 4.61 USD.
The price often increases without notice, so bring extra money. Even on the official website, the price information is indicated lower than the actual price at the ticket office.
As you can see, the entrance fee consists of several items. At a minimum, you must buy entrance tickets, and you can then proceed on foot, but it's a long and far walk. Optionally, you pay for your own vehicle or hire a local tuk-tuk for the ascent. Read about the ascent procedure above in the "how to visit" section.
🚶 How to get there
Ambuluwawa Tower is located in the central mountain province near the city of Gampola (Ambuluwawa on the map). First, here are the distances from popular tourist cities:
- Kandy - 25 kilometers
- Ella – 120 kilometers
- Nuwara Eliya – 62 kilometers
- Colombo – 120 kilometers
- Hikkaduwa – 200 kilometers
- Unawatuna – 220 kilometers
Ambuluwawa is closest to Kandy and is considered one of its attractions. But you don't necessarily have to stay in Kandy to visit it, because you can get here during the day from almost any resort, except perhaps the far north (Jaffna, Delft). However, the journey will be difficult and long, so we still recommend, if possible, to first come to Kandy or another place in the central region, and from here visit the tower. Here are the details about all the methods:
Ambuluwawa Tower with tours
Ambuluwawa Tower is included in most group tours to the cultural capital Kandy. In popular resorts such as Hikkaduwa, Negombo, Bentota, Unawatuna, you can buy inexpensive one-day group tours in this direction, which include the tower itself, a walk around Kandy with a visit to the Temple of the Tooth Relic and an evening show in Kandy. This is a very difficult excursion with night transfers by bus, but it's worth it. However, finding such excursions is not so easy, since the offer of inexpensive group tours in Sri Lanka is poorly developed, this is a local feature.
Individual tours by car or minivan with a driver-guide are much more common. They offer ready-made routes, and you can also create your own route and hire such a driver.
And the most convenient option is to select and book an excursion online on websites with reviews:
- Trip.com – the largest database of excursions, accepts Russian cards
- Sputnik8 – excursions in Russian, verified guides
- Tripster – individual and group tours in Russian
- GetYourGuide – international platform, many reviews
- Tezeks - new routes from local guides
Ambuluwawa Tower independently
Let's immediately dot all the i's: it is reasonable to visit the tower independently by public transport in one day only from Kandy, and perhaps it will work from Nuwara Eliya and Colombo. It is unrealistic to get from the coast on a rented motorbike and return back in one day, don't even try. Therefore, you need to aim for a trip with at least one overnight stay in Kandy, or rent a car for the trip. But even a car trip without experience over 200+200 kilometers on an unknown road with left-hand traffic will be a very difficult and dangerous test.
Therefore, we strongly do not recommend trying to visit the tower independently from the coast in one day. It is better to hire a guide, buy a tour, or simply come for one or several overnight stays in Kandy, Gampola or a hotel right near the tower.
If you are ready to come to Kandy, then we have a detailed instruction, How and by what means to get to Kandy independently. If you decide to stay in Gampola, you can get there by train from Colombo, Kandy, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Ella and other cities in the central part.
You can book a hotel with payment by Russian card on Trip.com:
- Hotels in Kandy
- Hotels in Gampola (this is the city closest to the tower)
- Book The Arbour Boutique Hotel near the tower.
In our opinion, the most optimal option is Kandy, since it is the cultural capital of Sri Lanka and an important tourist city, there is a lot to see here. You can read more about this in our guide – Kandy attractions and what to see.
To make it easier for you to understand local transport, we have prepared detailed instructions:
And here are detailed instructions:
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From Gampola
When you arrive in Gampola, you can only get to the tower by taxi or tuk-tuk. The distance is 5 kilometers, travel time 5-10 minutes. You can order via Uber PickMe apps from 500 rupees, but they will only take you to the ticket office. You can also hire a tuk-tuk on the spot for 1000 rupees one way, but immediately agree on the spot that they will take you to the tower or the intermediate parking lot higher up, and not to the ticket offices at the entrance, because otherwise from the entrance you will have to further hire a local tuk-tuk for 1500 rupees, or walk almost 2 hours uphill. Read more about this above in the section How to visit the tower, be sure to read it to understand how everything works here.
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From Kandy
By rented transport, it's 30 kilometers and 40-60 minutes. In the morning hours, there are terrible traffic jams in the center of Kandy, even for motorbikes, so to arrive at the opening at 7:30, you need to leave at 6:00.
You can get there by tuk-tuk or taxi via the Uber, PickMe app or order at the hotel or on the street. Tuk-tuk from 2000 rupees, car from 3300 rupees. We recommend a tuk-tuk, it's faster.
The cheapest way is by bus. Come to the center at the Kandy bus station and ask for a bus to Gampola. A huge number of buses go here, including with a transfer via Peradeniya. Don't be afraid to travel with a transfer: buses run frequently and there are many of them. The journey will take 1-1.5 hours.
You can also get from Kandy to Gampola by train. You can check the schedule on the official website https://eservices.railway.gov.lk/. Then again by tuk-tuk as from the bus station.
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From Colombo
Theoretically, you can get from Colombo to Gampola in one day and return. It's better to go by train, but again in theory you can take a night bus to Kandy and there transfer to a tuk-tuk or bus to Gampola, but it will be a very difficult trip.
By train you need to go to Kandy (with a further transfer to tuk-tuk or bus), or directly to Gampola on trains going to Badulla and Nuwara Eliya. Travel time 5-6 hours. Schedule on the official website https://eservices.railway.gov.lk/
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From Ella, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla
You can get by bus to Gampola or with a transfer via Kandy according to the classic scheme we have tested multiple times: come early in the morning to the bus station and ask how to get to Gampola, and they will tell you everything and put you on the right bus.
There are also trains to Gampola. Of course, these options can be combined taking into account train schedules.
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From other cities of the south and west coast
From Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna, Galle, Negombo, Bentota, etc., the optimal route in most cases is by train via Colombo or by bus via Kandy. But as we have already mentioned, this option is almost impossible to implement during the day in both directions, and it's not worth it. Therefore, it is better to aim for a trip to Kandy to simultaneously get acquainted with the cultural capital and also visit the tower.