Etiquette & taboos

Etiquette & taboos

Understanding local customs is where a journey begins. Find the topics that matter to you and feel at ease wherever you go.

Sri Lanka

0 rules found

No rules for this combination yet.

Site-specific notes 4

Taken from the "don'ts" on each site page here. Open a site for its full etiquette and background.

Sri Lankan rice and curry

  • Eat only with your right hand
  • on Buddhist holidays (full-moon poya days), many places don't sell alcohol

Galle Fort

  • The currents around the diving rocks are tricky, so visitors should not copy the jumps
  • wear comfortable shoes on the old town's stone streets.

Temple of the Tooth, Kandy

  • Visitors in revealing clothes will be asked to rent a sarong
  • don't touch monks (especially female visitors)
  • crowds are huge during the Perahera, so watch your belongings.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock)

  • Photography is banned in the fresco gallery (there are guards)
  • don't crowd or push on the climb — the spiral staircase is narrow.