Ratnapura, town of precious stones in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a land of mystery and authenticity … Ratnapura plunges you into a whole city turned to gems and therefore the mines. This old practice has changed little in Ratnapura and you will discover during the visit mines or when you wander among the stalls where enthroned gemstones.

 Ratnapura Sri lankaLa mine mining tradition and the search for precious stones are an extremely ancient Sri Lanka’s activity. The island is well known since ancient times for its gemstones. Many stories say that King Solomon would have offered a ruby from Sri Lanka to the sweet Queen of Sheba … It is estimated that the beginning of the operation dates back to 2000 years in Ratnapura which is undoubtedly the nerve center of this activity and the trade in Sri Lanka as you will discover in the circuit.

Ratnapura, the city of Sri Lankan gems

Ratnapura means « city of gems » in Sri Lanka. It is located 100km southeast of Colombo in the green hills south-west of the island. It is a mountainous and densely populated, although the city of Ratnapura has only slightly more than 52 000 inhabitants.

Ratnapura main street is intrinsically associated with mines and the trade marks are visible throughout the city. So you will see many gemstones foreign merchants in the city including Thai merchants. Every day they go downtown to buy or sell precious stones. These merchants remain attentive to the market and new opportunities, and many merchants were gone to Madagascar sapphires when deposit was discovered. The merchants concentrated around the market gems in downtown Ratnapura 150m east of  the clock, it is a succession of small stalls. In the main street of Ratnapura, you will find the shops of merchants classic. We can only advise you to go through them that are more stringent in the value of precious stones and give you a certificate.

Visit Sri Lanka Ratnapura mines

Visiting Sri Lanka gem mines

If you want to discover the gem mines, visits are organized in some places. You can see minors who are still using archaic tools often handmade. Most of these mines down 10 to 50 meters underground.

All miners hope to find beautiful gems in digging the soil Ratnapura to do this, water is used (gems ​​are heavier, they remain at the bottom of the screen). There are gemstones of all colors in Ratnapura: sapphire blue, yellow, purple, green and the famous « padparadscha » is pink-orange. There are also many colors topaz, moonstones and numerous semi-precious stones. The largest stone ever found in Ratnapura is the giant of the East blue is nearly 466 carats. However, the Sri Lankans which are the most proud of is the « Ray of Treasure » which is carefully guarded in Sri Lanka.

Ratnapura has a very humid climate and temperatures vary from 24 ° to 35 ° during the year. Avoid, if possible, to go between May and September during the monsoon. Floods are quite common especially in May.

What to do in the area of Ratnapura?

What else there is to do in the area?

Do not think that visiting the mines is the only experience living close to Ratnapura. There are also numerous religious buildings and large areas of crops (fruits, rice or tea). The rain also gives rise to many waterfalls in the area, waterfall Bopath Ella being the best known.

The area around Ratnapura is also equipped with special places: the Uda Walawe National Park, Sinharaja Forest Reserve or the Adam’s Peak, a place of pilgrimage for all believers.

You will understand, Ratnapura is a key step in a circuit in Sri Lanka … Especially if you are on honeymoon in Sri Lanka, a gemstone will surely delight lady …

Journey to the Heart of advise you to stay in Sri Lanka, our consultants will develop a trip to your image.

Free translation from the previous article on Ratnapura