Best Time To Travel To: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a relatively large island located in the Indian Ocean south of India. Sri Lanka can be clearly defined in terms of landscape: the areas around the coasts consist of lowlands, inland it then becomes mountainous, with the highest points at around 2,400 meters. Due to the location between 6 ° and 10 ° North, the climate is tropical with the influence of the monsoon. The climate divide in the country forms the central mountainous region. To the southwest of it it is a little wetter, the rest of the country is drier. The daily average temperatures are between 29 ° and 33 ° C. At night the thermometer rarely drops below 25 ° C. The humidity is relatively high at 70 - 90%. The climate can be stressful for weak and poor health. In the mountains over 1,000mtr. the climate is more bearable, you have between 5 ° to 7 ° C less and the humidity is therefore lower. The areas directly on the coast also seem more and more pleasant due to the sea breezes.

The low-lying areas in the country have a warm to hot climate all year round, which is also accompanied by high humidity. The areas directly on the coast have a certain advantage because the sea winds are quite pleasant and, especially at night, greatly reduce the humidity.

The further you go inland, the more the climate is determined by the altitude at which you are. In Sri Lanka, too, the rule of thumb applies: the higher, the cooler. Compared to the plains inland, the temperatures at the higher points inland are more than pleasant. During the day it is usually pleasant, at night the temperatures go down. It rarely gets really cold, and frost does not occur frequently.

The precipitation tendency is distributed fairly evenly over the whole country over the year. There are four main phases of precipitation: the pre-monsoon (March to May), the summer monsoon (May to September), the post-monsoon (October to November) and the winter monsoon (December to February). The southwest coast and the mountainsides usually receive the most rain. It usually rains the most between May and June and October and November. In the east and north-east one would also have to name December / January.

The northeast is quite dry, especially the lowlands in the country. It rains very little there, most of the rain comes between October and January under the influence of the northeast monsoon. It is driest on the Jaffna Peninsula, on parts of the northwest coast, on parts of the northeast coast and in Yala National Park.

When is the best time to visit Sri Lanka?

The main travel time in the country is between December and March, the best travel time for Sri Lanka could be February and March. Then there is relatively little rain and not quite as hot. The best travel time for a beach holiday on the southwest coast is generally between January and March. During this time, you can usually move around well in the mountains. However, it should be noted that the winter monsoon phase prevails. It is then not extremely rainy, but it can also rain more heavily during this phase. January can be very wet with the danger of flooding. On the other hand in June 2014 two days of continuous rain after a five-month dry phase were enough for severe floods and landslides. For the northeast coast, it can be said that the February to September phase is normally hot and dry throughout.