Which one to choose in Colombo
Gangaramaya Temple vs Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara
Two temples in Colombo. Gangaramaya Temple has 2 tickets and tours to book; Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara has 2 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Gangaramaya is an easy temple to visit on your own. There is no online ticket: foreign visitors buy an entry ticket at the counter by the gate, which also admits them to the temple museum, and a separate small ticket or combined ticket covers the Seema Malaka pavilion on Beira Lake nearby. Sri Lankans enter free, and the temple is open long hours.
Online, the temple appears as a stop on Colombo city tours. These come in several forms: a tuk-tuk ride or minibus loop of the main sights, including Galle Face Green, the Fort district, Independence Square and the Old Parliament; and walking food tours that start or end at Gangaramaya before diving into the bazaars of Pettah.
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Colombo, Sri Lanka
There is nothing to book for Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara. Sri Lankan worshippers enter freely, and foreign visitors pay at most a small entry charge or donation at the gate; there is no online ticket and no timed entry. Shoes are left at a supervised stand by the entrance for a few rupees.
The temple lies about 11 km north-east of central Colombo, and the tours sold online are ways of reaching it with a guide. The simplest is a guided tuk-tuk ride from Colombo, where a driver-guide takes you out through the suburbs, accompanies you around the temple and explains the murals and the rituals, then brings you back;
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