Sri Lanka : Profile

Facts

Sri Lanka is a useful stop for yachts en route to the Red Sea and a good point of departure for cruising the Maldives, Chagos and Seychelles.
The northern parts of the country should still be avoided even though attacks from the Tamil Tigers has now diminished. Special permission must be obtained before travelling to certain of the northern states. The rest of the island, however, remains relatively unaffected.
Colombo's large commercial harbour has no attractions and there is little provision for yachts and formalities are complex.
Facilities are steadily improving in the country’s southern tip where most yachts call at the old port of Galle. However, in general, facilities for yachts are poor as there are very few local yachts.

Weather

Tropical climate with distinct dry and wet seasons. The seasons are slightly complicated by having two distinct monsoon seasons.

From May to August the Yala monsoon brings rain to the island’s southwestern half, while the dry season lasts from October to March. The southwest has the highest rainfall – up to 4000mm a year.

The Maha monsoon blows from October to January, bringing rain to the North and East, while the dry season is from May to September. The North and East are comparatively dry, with around 1000mm of rain annually.

There is also an inter-monsoonal period in October and November when rain can occur in many parts of the island.

Colombo and the low-lying coastal regions have an average temperature of 27°C. At Kandy (altitude 500m), the average temperature is 20°C, while Nuwara Eliya (at 1889m) has a temperate 16°C average. The sea stays at around 27°C all year.

Sri Lanka Weather Forecast