The Shrine of Our Lady of Madu is one of the most venerated Catholic pilgrimage sites in Asia, drawing devotees from all faiths each year. The original shrine dates to the 17th century, when Catholic communities fleeing Dutch persecution sought refuge in the surrounding forest and venerated a small statue of the Madonna. The current basilica stands in a peaceful, forest-girdled setting that feels sacred and removed from the modern world, a place where the silence carries a particular spiritual weight.

The Jami Ul Alfar Mosque is one of Colombo’s most iconic landmarks, a candy-striped confection of red and white that has anchored the city since 1909. Built in a distinctive Indo-Saracenic architectural style with striped domes and minarets, the mosque is as visually arresting as it is spiritually significant. A visit to Pettah, combined with the Red Mosque, offers a vivid immersion into the city’s multicultural character; the surrounding streets are a sensory explosion of spice shops, textile stalls and street food vendors.

Gangaramaya is one of Colombo’s most atmospheric Buddhist temples that reflects centuries of devotion and an accumulation of Buddhist art and artefacts from across Asia. Located beside the Beira Lake in the heart of the city, the temple complex houses a remarkable collection of statues, artwork, jewellery and offerings gifted by devotees from Sri Lanka and around the world. The annual Navam Perahera in February is one of Colombo’s most spectacular religious festivals, when ornately decorated elephants, traditional dancers and torch-lit processions parade through the city.

The Koneswaram Temple is one of Sri Lanka’s most revered Hindu temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The original temple was among the most celebrated in ancient Asia before being partially destroyed by Portuguese colonisers; today’s rebuilt shrine still commands one of the most breathtaking locations of any religious site on the island. The headland also encompasses Fort Frederick, built by the Portuguese and later occupied by the Dutch and British, creating a layering of cultural and historical narratives in a single spectacular promontory.

Built on the shores of the Kandy Lake within the royal palace complex, the temple is a masterpiece of Kandyan architecture, adorned with carved woodwork, gilded rooflines and fragrant offerings of jasmine and lotus. The daily puja ceremonies – held three times daily amid the resonant sound of drums and conches – create a moving and spiritually charged atmosphere. During the annual Esala Perahera festival in July or August, the tooth relic is paraded through the city’s streets in one of the most spectacular religious processions in Asia.