At a glance
When is the best time to visit Sri Lanka?
For a first trip that takes in Colombo, the hill country and the south-west coast, January to March. For the east coast, from Trincomalee south, the dry months run from March to August. Sri Lanka has four seasons, two monsoons and two inter-monsoons, and each brings rain to a different side of the island.
Sri Lanka's Department of Meteorology describes four climate seasons: the first inter-monsoon in March and April, the south-west monsoon from May to September, the second inter-monsoon in October and November, and the north-east monsoon from December to February[2]. The south-west monsoon brings cooler, wetter weather to the south-western regions; the north-east monsoon affects the north-east of the island[2].
The thirty-year records show what that means on the ground. Colombo, on the west coast, gets its heaviest rain in October and November and again in May; Trincomalee, on the east coast, gets most of its rain from October to January and very little from March to August[1]. Kandy, in the hills between them, is wettest from October to December[1].
How hot and wet is Sri Lanka each month?
Colombo's average high stays between 30.3 °C and 32.0 °C all year. Its rain ranges from 77 mm in February to 359 mm in October. Trincomalee is hotter and drier in mid-year, with highs above 35 °C and 26 mm of rain in June, and wettest in November.
Colombo's temperatures, rainfall in three places, and arrivals to Sri Lanka
| Month | Colombo high / low (°C) | Colombo rain | Kandy rain | Trincomalee rain | Arrivals, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31.4 / 23.1 | 80 mm | 103 mm | 152 mm | 252,761 |
| February | 31.6 / 23.6 | 77 mm | 78 mm | 96 mm | 240,217 |
| March | 32.0 / 24.8 | 103 mm | 98 mm | 55 mm | 229,298 |
| April | 32.0 / 25.3 | 249 mm | 189 mm | 48 mm | 174,608 |
| May | 31.5 / 26.2 | 314 mm | 141 mm | 72 mm | 132,919 |
| June | 30.7 / 26.1 | 197 mm | 125 mm | 26 mm | 138,241 |
| July | 30.3 / 25.9 | 123 mm | 108 mm | 51 mm | 200,244 |
| August | 30.3 / 25.9 | 116 mm | 95 mm | 67 mm | 198,235 |
| September | 30.4 / 25.4 | 264 mm | 124 mm | 113 mm | 158,971 |
| October | 30.4 / 24.7 | 359 mm | 303 mm | 216 mm | 165,193 |
| November | 30.6 / 23.9 | 346 mm | 269 mm | 376 mm | 212,906 |
| December | 30.9 / 23.5 | 171 mm | 204 mm | 339 mm | 258,928 |
Climate: WMO climatological normals 1991–2020 for Colombo, Katugastota (Kandy) and Trincomalee, submitted by the Department of Meteorology[1]; mean daily maximum / minimum and mean monthly precipitation, rounded. Arrivals: Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority[4].
Rain days tell the same story. Colombo averages about five days with at least 1 mm of rain in January and February, and 16–19 in May, October and November[1]. Trincomalee averages fewer than five in every month from February to August, and 18 in November[1].
Heat differs more by coast than by season. The east is the hot side in mid-year: Trincomalee averages highs of 35.2–35.4 °C from May to August, while Colombo's stay between 30 °C and 32 °C[1]. The hills are cooler: Kandy's station averages lows of 18.7–21.9 °C through the year[1].
When is Sri Lanka busiest?
From December to March, and again in July and August. Sri Lanka counted 2,362,521 tourist arrivals in 2025; December was the busiest month, with 258,928, and May the quietest, with 132,919. Arrivals rose 15.1% on 2024, according to the tourism authority.
The quiet months coincide with wet weather in Colombo: May, June, September and October were the four quietest months of 2025[4], and each averages 197–359 mm of rain in the city[1]. July and August, drier in both Colombo and Trincomalee, brought close to 200,000 arrivals each[4].
In Kandy, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic scheduled the 2026 Esala Perahera's Kumbal processions from 18 to 22 August and the Randoli processions from 23 to 27 August[5]. Its 2027 dates had not been published when we checked.
How do the UAE school holidays line up with Sri Lanka?
Winter break, 14 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, falls in the north-east monsoon: good for the west and south, wet in the east. The summer holidays suit the east coast. The October mid-term falls in the wettest weeks of the year in Colombo and Kandy, and spring break, 5 to 11 April, in the hot first inter-monsoon.
UAE school breaks in 2026–27, and Sri Lanka at the same time
| UAE break | Dates | In Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-term | 12–18 October 2026 | Second inter-monsoon: Colombo's wettest month (359 mm) |
| Winter | 14 December 2026 – 3 January 2027 | North-east monsoon: west coast drying out, east coast wet; busiest weeks |
| Spring | 5–11 April 2027 | First inter-monsoon: Colombo 249 mm in April, Trincomalee 48 mm |
| Summer | From 3 July 2027 (school ends on 2 July) | South-west monsoon: east coast dry; the Kandy Perahera was in August in 2026 |
UAE dates from the Ministry of Education's calendar for schools that follow it[7]; check your own school's dates. Sri Lanka: seasons[2], WMO normals[1], Perahera[5].
Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich, as the Department of Meteorology states on its tables[3]; the UAE is four hours ahead of GMT[6], so Sri Lanka is 90 minutes ahead of the UAE.
Entry requirements for Sri Lanka depend on your passport, and we do not restate them. Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration and Emigration runs the official visa website, and our visa desk can look at your case.
Questions travellers ask
What is the best month to visit Sri Lanka?
For the west coast and the hills, February: Colombo averages 77 mm of rain and Kandy 78 mm, the driest month at both[1]. For the east coast, June, when Trincomalee averages 26 mm[1].
When is the monsoon in Sri Lanka?
There are two. The south-west monsoon runs from May to September and the north-east monsoon from December to February, with inter-monsoon seasons in March–April and October–November[2].
Is October a good time to visit Sri Lanka?
It is the wettest month in Colombo (359 mm) and Kandy (303 mm), and wet on the east coast too (216 mm in Trincomalee)[1]. It was also one of the quietest months for arrivals in 2025[4].
When is the Kandy Esala Perahera?
In 2026 its processions ran from 18 to 27 August, with the final Randoli procession on 27 August[5]. The temple publishes each year's dates; check them before you book.
Do I need a visa for Sri Lanka?
It depends on your passport, and we do not restate visa rules. See the official visa website of Sri Lanka's Department of Immigration and Emigration, or ask our visa desk.
Sources
The desk opened each source on the date shown. Rules, fees and timetables change: check the official source before you travel.
- [1]WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991–2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), station files Colombo_43466.csv, Katugastota_43444.csv, Trincomalee_43418.csv — WMO Member Nations (Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka), via NOAA NCEI. Accessed 29 September 2026
- [2]Climate News Letter, December 2023, Vol. 3 Issue 3 — Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [3]Over Head Sun's Position – 2026 — Department of Meteorology, Sri Lanka (Climate Division). Accessed 26 September 2026
- [4]Monthly Tourist Arrivals Report, December 2025 — Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [5]Kandy Esala Perahera: Perahera scheduled dates 2026 — Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic). Accessed 26 September 2026
- [6]Fact sheet — The UAE Government portal (u.ae). Accessed 26 September 2026
- [7]MOE announces the academic calendar for the next three years — UAE Ministry of Education. Accessed 26 September 2026
- [8]Online Visa Application — Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka. Accessed 26 September 2026
Published 26 September 2026 · Updated 29 September 2026
Seen something wrong or out of date? Write to trade@nwp.ae and the desk will check it against the source.
