April ෴ අප්‍රේල්

April is a month of significant national importance in Sri Lanka as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year Festival takes place on the 13th and 14th of April.

The festival marks the completion of a calendar year for Sinhalese and Hindus in Sri Lanka, as the sun completes its transition from Meena (Pisces) to Mesha (Aries) in the Zodiac.

April is a month of mixed weather in Sri Lanka as the north-east monsoon blows out and the south-west monsoon commences. Although this is not an ideal month to travel to the North and East Coasts, you can enjoy all other parts of the country while travelling during this month. Rain and storms can be ocassional across Sri Lanka.

The month is famous as the final month of the peak travel season for Sri Lanka's West and South Coasts as well as the North Coast. However, much of this depends on the weather on a given day as April is a transition month for the 2 main monsoons in Sri Lanka. If the weather is good, you have the chance to enjoy plenty of sea-based activities such as watersports, sailing, diving, snorkelling as well as whale-watching and dolphin-watching in the north and south coasts on Sri Lanka.

April is the final month of the peak season for hot air ballooning in Sri Lanka. The activity is only available in Kandalama near Sigiriya and the views on offer are spectacular.

The month is also the sixth month of the peak season to visit the Wasgamuwa and Bundala National Parks, famous for their elephants and birds respectively.

This year, April is the first month of the peak season to visit the Minneriya National Park. The home of the world-renowned 'Elephant Gathering'. A short safari inside the park is enough to witness around 200 wild elephants in their natural habitat.

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