Mulgirigalla
Just 16km (10miles) north of tangalla, past Beliatte, is the Pahala Vihara Cave Temple of Mulgirigalla. Allow at least an hour to ascend at a leisurely pace and try to arrive early to beat the heat-not least because you will have to do the entire climb barefoot and bareheaded. Halfway up is a unique Victorian monks graveyard, beside the entrance to a small school for trainee Buddhist bhikkus (monks).

Heading east from Tangalla, a road heads north from Nonagama to Uda Walawe National Park, where some 600 elephants roam freely around the park's 308sq km (119sq miles) of land. There aare many places to stay overnight on the edge of the main Park, and Jeep safaris with a guide are available to view many species of deer, wild boar and Jackals.

Back on the coast Hambantota is the largest population of Malay Muslims. Its name is said to derive from sampans, the boats which the Malays arrived in, and tota or harbour. From Sampantota it is but short step to Hambantota. Hambantota is famous for its buffalo curd which it claims to be the best in the country. There are many stalls selling it-easily recognisable with their strings of clay pots swinging from the awnings. Hambantota's other big industry is the ancient method of salt-making, and you will see many evaporating salt pans on the roads in and out of town. The main tourist attraction is the Bundala Bird Sanctuary, which stretches along the coast east of Hambantota and is one of the best parks for instant gratification: in a four-or five hour Jeep ride, you may see elephants, 2.5metre (8ft) crocodiles, and flamingos - which are among the 150 species of bird found in the area. Afternoon safaris in the dry season (December-may) provide visitors with the best chance of seeing the wildlife.

Mulgirigalla Rock Temple
Mulgirigalla " The summit of the Rock " was confusingly known as adam's berg or Adam's Peak until the 18th century. The Portuguese, infamous for their destruction of Buddhist sites, misunderstood the monks who explained that the frescoes were of the " first man " . Rather than Buddha, they decided that these were images of Adam and left the cave temples untouched. In the 17th century a Dutch general misled some visiting persians who hadlanded in Matara asking to be taken to Adam's Peak. Having no intention of marching 160km (100miles) through difficult territory, he led them on a roundabout route from matara to Mulgirigalla dragging the journey out for six days.
Probably founded in the 1st Century BC, this 105-metre (350ft) rock temple is smaller than Sigiriya but rises almost vertically out of the surrounding forest. With well preserved and beautifully painted cave temples carved into five levels, the rock was also th site of an important Discovery; the ola-leaf scripts discovered here in the 19th century were the key to the translation of Sri lanka's most informative ancient text, the Mahavamsa. It is also the site of a Buddhist graveyard, a rarity enforced on the monks by the British who disapproved of cremation.