Tea plantations in Sri Lanka's hill country

CeylonExplora Safety Rating

Is Sri Lanka safe to visit?

A dated assessment of travel conditions in Sri Lanka, prepared each month by CeylonExplora against a published scoring method.

Rated 22 September 2026. Next update: October 2026

Rating for 22 September 2026

69/ 100

Take care

Parts of a trip need re-planning. Check before you go.

  • 85 to 100Normal
  • 70 to 84Minor disruption
  • 50 to 69Take care(current band)
  • 30 to 49Serious disruption
  • 0 to 29Do not travel

A cap applies: Evacuation-level landslide warnings across two or more touring regions.

Summary

Sri Lanka is open and tours are running, with changes to routes in the hill country and the Galle hinterland. Heavy inter-monsoon rain has brought landslide warnings at the highest level to six districts, including Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Galle, and a flood warning on the Gin Ganga in Galle district.

The rating is held at 69 by that warning. Away from the affected slopes, conditions are normal: fuel is supplied under the weekly quota without delay, the airport is operating, there are no curfews and no unrest.

No government advises against travel to Sri Lanka. The United Kingdom added a warning about heavy rain, flooding and landslides on 21 September. Other governments keep their standing advice.

Factors behind this rating

  • 21 September: the National Building Research Organisation raised its landslide warning to Level 3, the evacuation level, in Galle, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura districts.
  • 22 September: flood warning in force for the Gin Ganga basin. The Disaster Management Centre reports 1,616 people affected, one death and 88 houses damaged.
  • Fuel quota in force nationally. Tourist vehicles are being supplied; our own drivers report no delays.
  • 22 September: verdict expected in the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks trial, with extra security around the Colombo courts.

This rating is CeylonExplora's own assessment as a travel agency based in Sri Lanka. It is not official advice. Please read your government's travel advice before you book and again before you travel.

The breakdown

Seven areas, each scored out of 100

Each area can be opened to show its indicators, the step each one was given and the source used.

Natural hazards and weather

Counts for 20% of the rating. Checked every update.

25

Landslide warnings at the evacuation level in six districts and a flood warning on the Gin Ganga. Whether any tour road or park has closed could not be established from a published source.

Show the indicators

Landslide warnings

Step 0 of 4, severe

Level 3 (Red) in Galle, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura; warning LEWM-21-09-2026-1600-04, valid to 16:00 on 22 September.

Source: National Building Research Organisation, via the Disaster Management Centre

Floods, cyclones, severe weather

Step 2 of 4, strained

Irrigation Department flood warning No. 02 for the Gin Ganga; 1,616 people affected per the situation report.

Source: Disaster Management Centre, via Ada Derana

Roads, rail, parks and sites closed by weather

Not scored this month

No published source lists tour roads, parks or sites closed by the weather. Not scored.

Source: None available

Fuel and transport

Counts for 15% of the rating. Checked every update.

83

Fuel is rationed under a weekly quota and supplied without delay. The Badulla to Nanu Oya rail section is suspended. The airport is operating normally.

Show the indicators

Fuel availability

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

Weekly QR quota in force; tourist vehicles supplied. Confirmed by our drivers on 22 September.

Source: Ceylon Petroleum Corporation; government travel advice

Rail, bus and strikes

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

Badulla to Nanu Oya section suspended on safety grounds, reported 18 September.

Source: Sri Lanka Railways, via Ada Derana

Airport and flights

Step 4 of 4, normal

No cancellations or closures reported.

Source: Airport and Aviation Services

Economy and essential supplies

Counts for 10% of the rating. Monthly figures.

75

Inflation 8.0% in August. Reserves above US$6 billion. Government travel advice notes shortages of some medicines.

Show the indicators

Inflation, year on year

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

8.0% year on year, August 2026.

Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Foreign reserves

Step 4 of 4, normal

Gross official reserves US$6.9 billion, end of August 2026.

Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

Power cuts and essential goods

Step 2 of 4, strained

Australian and German travel advice report shortages of some medicines. No scheduled power cuts found; the electricity board's outage roster is not public.

Source: Government travel advice

Political stability

Counts for 15% of the rating. Monthly, plus a yearly anchor.

92

No emergency powers, no election due, government stable.

Show the indicators

Emergency powers

Step 4 of 4, normal

No emergency regulations reported in force.

Source: Government travel advice

Government continuity

Step 4 of 4, normal

No national election within 60 days.

Source: Election Commission

World Bank political stability percentile

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

About the 35th percentile, 2024 figure.

Source: World Bank

Civil order and security

Counts for 20% of the rating. Checked every update.

94

No curfews, no unrest, no security incidents. One government added a weather warning this month; none changed its travel level.

Show the indicators

Curfews in the last 30 days

Step 4 of 4, normal

None in the last 30 days.

Source: Sri Lanka Police; government travel advice

Protests and unrest

Step 4 of 4, normal

Routine peaceful protests only.

Source: Government travel advice

Terrorism and security incidents

Step 4 of 4, normal

No incident in 24 months, no new specific warning in 12.

Source: Government travel advice

Movement in government travel advice

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

United Kingdom added a heavy rain, flooding and landslide warning on 21 September; all country levels unchanged.

Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Health

Counts for 10% of the rating. Weekly and monthly figures.

100

No outbreaks and no disruption to health services reported. The weekly dengue figures could not be read this month.

Show the indicators

Dengue

Not scored this month

The Epidemiology Unit's weekly report could not be read. Not scored.

Source: Epidemiology Unit

Other outbreaks

Step 4 of 4, normal

None.

Source: World Health Organization

Health services

Step 4 of 4, normal

No strikes or shortages affecting emergency care reported.

Source: Government travel advice

Road and personal safety

Counts for 10% of the rating. Reviewed yearly.

75

Road traffic is the main standing risk. Government advice carries its usual warnings on petty crime and harassment. Reviewed yearly.

Show the indicators

Road deaths per 100,000 people

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

11.5 deaths per 100,000 (World Health Organization estimate).

Source: World Health Organization

Crime and harassment

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

Standard warnings, including on women's safety.

Source: Government travel advice

Other hazards on touring routes

Step 3 of 4, minor issues

Uncleared mines confined to marked areas in the far north.

Source: Government travel advice

How we score it

The rubric and the scale, in full

Each indicator has five defined steps. The same definitions are applied at every update, so ratings can be compared from one month to the next.

The scale

  • 85 to 100Normal. Travel runs as planned.
  • 70 to 84Minor disruption. Small adjustments: a closed park, local rain, a queue.
  • 50 to 69Take care. Parts of a trip need re-planning. Check before you go.
  • 30 to 49Serious disruption. Trips are materially affected. Consider postponing.
  • 0 to 29Do not travel. Follow your government's advice.

How the number is worked out

  1. Each indicator is scored from 0 to 4 against its written steps, using dated sources: Sri Lankan authorities first, then government travel advice, then news reports.
  2. An area's score is the average of its indicators, shown out of 100.
  3. The seven areas are combined using the weights shown on each card.
  4. If a serious condition from the list below applies, the rating cannot go above its cap, whatever the average says.
  5. An indicator with no readable source is left out of the score and listed as a gap. It is never counted as normal. If the indicators left out carry more than a quarter of the weight, the rating is marked Provisional.
  6. Each step is reviewed against the rubric a second time before publication. Reports from our own drivers are recorded separately from published sources and can move a step only towards caution.

Conditions that cap the rating

Some conditions make an average meaningless. When one of the following applies, the rating cannot exceed the figure shown.

  • Any listed government advises against all travel to Sri LankaCapped at 29
  • Coordinated attacks, or visitors or hotels targeted, within the last 30 daysCapped at 39
  • Any government advises against all but essential travel to the whole countryCapped at 49
  • Nationwide curfew, or a state of emergency with nationwide movement restrictionsCapped at 49
  • Widespread or sustained violent unrestCapped at 49
  • Fuel not reliably obtainable for tourist vehiclesCapped at 59
  • An attack with casualties within the last 30 daysCapped at 59
  • Evacuation-level landslide warnings, or a cyclone or flood emergency, across two or more touring regionsCapped at 69
  • Main international airport closed for 24 hours or moreCapped at 69

Every indicator and its five steps

Natural hazards and weather (20%)

Landslide warnings

Read from: National Building Research Organisation

  1. 4No warning in force
  2. 3Watch-level (Level 1) warning in up to 3 districts
  3. 2Alert-level (Level 2) warning anywhere, or watch-level (Level 1) in 4 or more districts
  4. 1Evacuation-level (Level 3) warnings in 1 or 2 districts
  5. 0Evacuation-level (Level 3) warnings in 3 or more districts, or in 2 or more main touring districts

Floods, cyclones, severe weather

Read from: Disaster Management Centre, Department of Meteorology, GDACS

  1. 4No active warnings
  2. 3Heavy-rain or minor flood advisories, under 1,000 affected
  3. 2Major-river flood warnings, or 10,000 or more affected
  4. 1Orange international alert, 100,000 or more affected, or a cyclone warning for the coast
  5. 0Red international alert, 500,000 or more people affected, or a national disaster declared

Roads, rail, parks and sites closed by weather

Read from: Official notices and news reports

  1. 4None
  2. 3An isolated closure: one road or one park
  3. 2A region's main route or several sites closed for 3 days or more
  4. 1Two touring regions affected
  5. 0Widespread closures
Fuel and transport (15%)

Fuel availability

Read from: Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Ministry of Energy, our own drivers

  1. 4Freely available, no quota
  2. 3Quota or rationing in force, tourist vehicles supplied without delay
  3. 2Binding quota, or queues over an hour in several towns; tourist vehicles supplied with delay
  4. 1Stations widely dry, multi-hour queues, tours need special arrangements
  5. 0Not reliably obtainable for tourist vehicles

Rail, bus and strikes

Read from: Sri Lanka Railways, news reports

  1. 4Normal
  2. 3A local or short strike, or one line suspended
  3. 2National rail or bus strike of 48 hours or more, or a shutdown in one province
  4. 1Combined transport shutdown
  5. 0Movement nationally paralysed

Airport and flights

Read from: Airport and Aviation Services, airlines

  1. 4Normal
  2. 3Isolated cancellations
  3. 2Airlines suspending several routes, or the airport closed under 24 hours
  4. 1Airport closed 24 to 72 hours
  5. 0Airport closed 72 hours or more, or airspace closed
Economy and essential supplies (10%)

Inflation, year on year

Read from: Central Bank of Sri Lanka

  1. 4Up to 7%
  2. 3More than 7, up to 15%
  3. 2More than 15, up to 30%
  4. 1More than 30, up to 50%
  5. 0More than 50%

Foreign reserves

Read from: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, IMF

  1. 4US$6 billion or more
  2. 3US$4 billion up to 6 billion
  3. 2US$2 billion up to 4 billion
  4. 1Under US$2 billion
  5. 0Payments suspended

Power cuts and essential goods

Read from: Ceylon Electricity Board, news reports

  1. 4No scheduled cuts, no shortages
  2. 3Unscheduled or local cuts, or one item short locally
  3. 2Scheduled cuts of up to 3 hours a day, or a national shortage of medicines or cooking gas
  4. 1Scheduled cuts of more than 3 and up to 8 hours a day, or several national shortages
  5. 0Cuts of more than 8 hours a day, or hospitals restricting services
Political stability (15%)

Emergency powers

Read from: Government gazette, Department of Government Information

  1. 4None
  2. 3Essential-services orders or local measures
  3. 2Emergency regulations in force, no movement restrictions
  4. 1State of emergency with troop deployment or mass arrests
  5. 0State of emergency with nationwide movement restrictions

Government continuity

Read from: Election Commission, Parliament, news reports

  1. 4Stable, no national election within 60 days
  2. 3Election period, calm
  3. 2No-confidence crisis, mass resignations or a disputed result
  4. 1President or prime minister forced out, government collapse
  5. 0Contested authority with violence

World Bank political stability percentile

Read from: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, yearly

  1. 450 or higher
  2. 335 to 49
  3. 220 to 34
  4. 110 to 19
  5. 0Under 10
Civil order and security (20%)

Curfews in the last 30 days

Read from: Sri Lanka Police, government notices

  1. 4None
  2. 3One town, under 24 hours
  3. 2A district, or repeated local curfews
  4. 1Colombo or a whole province
  5. 0Nationwide

Protests and unrest

Read from: News reports, government travel advice

  1. 4Routine peaceful protests
  2. 3Large peaceful demonstrations disrupting Colombo traffic
  3. 2Clashes in several places, or blockades on touring routes
  4. 1Sustained violent unrest, deaths, attacks on property
  5. 0Widespread violence

Terrorism and security incidents

Read from: Government travel advice, news reports

  1. 4No incident in 24 months, no specific warning in 12
  2. 3A specific threat warning in the last 12 months, no incident
  3. 2An attempted or minor attack, no visitor casualties
  4. 1An attack with casualties
  5. 0Coordinated attacks, or visitors and hotels targeted

Movement in government travel advice

Read from: UK, US, Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, France

  1. 4Every listed government at its usual position for Sri Lanka
  2. 3One or two have added a specific new warning, country level unchanged
  3. 2Any has raised its country level above its usual position, or three or more have added new warnings in the last 30 days
  4. 1Any advises against all but essential travel to the whole country
  5. 0Any government advises against all travel
Health (10%)

Dengue

Read from: Epidemiology Unit, National Dengue Control Unit

  1. 4At or below the seasonal norm
  2. 3Up to 1.5 times the seasonal norm
  3. 2More than 1.5, up to 2.5 times the norm; or high-risk areas declared in 3 or more main touring districts
  4. 1More than 2.5 times the seasonal norm, or an epidemic declared
  5. 0Health system overwhelmed

Other outbreaks

Read from: World Health Organization, Ministry of Health

  1. 4None
  2. 3A local outbreak with no relevance to visitors
  3. 2An outbreak travellers are told to take precautions for
  4. 1Entry screening or movement restrictions
  5. 0Border health closure

Health services

Read from: Ministry of Health, news reports

  1. 4Normal
  2. 3A token or short strike
  3. 2A national doctors' or nurses' strike of 48 hours or more, with emergency cover
  4. 1Medicine shortages affecting emergency care
  5. 0Emergencies turned away
Road and personal safety (10%)

Road deaths per 100,000 people

Read from: World Health Organization, Sri Lanka Police

  1. 4Up to 8
  2. 3More than 8, up to 12
  3. 2More than 12, up to 18
  4. 1More than 18, up to 25
  5. 0More than 25

Crime and harassment

Read from: Government travel advice

  1. 4No specific warnings
  2. 3Standard warnings on petty crime and harassment, including women's safety
  3. 2Warnings of violent crime against visitors, or reports rising
  4. 1Frequent violent crime against visitors
  5. 0Lawlessness

Other hazards on touring routes

Read from: Government travel advice

  1. 4None
  2. 3Confined to marked or well-known areas off normal routes
  3. 2Incidents on normal touring routes this year
  4. 1Recurring incidents
  5. 0Not used

Method version 1.1. Changes to the method are dated and listed with the past ratings.

Current conditions

Issues we are monitoring

Landslide warnings in the hill country

Evacuation-level warnings cover Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Kegalle, Ratnapura, Kalutara and Galle districts. Tours in those districts are routed around closed roads day by day. Ask us before setting a hill-country date this month.

As of 22 September 2026

Fuel quota

A weekly quota applies while supply from the Middle East is disrupted. Our vehicles continue to be supplied without delay.

As of 22 September 2026

Easter Sunday attacks verdict

The court verdict was due on 22 September, with extra security in Colombo. We will review this within seven days.

As of 22 September 2026

Common concerns

Safety for different travellers

Is Sri Lanka safe for tourists?

For most visitors the principal risks are road traffic, strong currents on some beaches, sun exposure, and mosquito-borne illness during the rains. Violent crime against visitors is uncommon. Petty theft occurs in crowded places. Road traffic is the largest of these risks, which is one reason most visitors tour with a driver.

Women, solo travellers and families

Several governments warn of harassment of women, mainly on crowded buses and trains and on beaches after dark. Travelling with a private driver avoids most of those settings. Families should ask for seat belts in every row, swim where lifeguards are present, and carry insect repellent.

Is Colombo safe?

Colombo is the commercial capital. The main concerns for visitors are petty theft in markets and stations, and traffic. Use metered or app-based taxis, and avoid demonstrations near government buildings. Most itineraries include one night in the city at the start or the end.

Archive

Past ratings

Past ratings remain on this page, including periods when the rating was low. Corrections are added as dated notes and the original figure is kept.

  • 22 September 202669Take careCurrent rating.

Questions

Safety in Sri Lanka: common questions

Is Sri Lanka safe to visit right now?

The current rating and its date are shown at the top of this page. It describes conditions for a visitor touring by road with a private driver. It should be read alongside your own government's travel advice, which is listed on this page with the date of each update.

Who works out the CeylonExplora Safety Rating?

CeylonExplora prepares it. We are a travel agency based in Kandy with drivers working across the island throughout the year. Seven areas are scored against a published rubric using Sri Lankan official sources, government travel advice and news reports. It is our own assessment and is not official advice.

How often is the rating updated?

The rating is reviewed about once a month. It is updated sooner after a significant event, such as a cyclone, a curfew, fuel rationing or a change in a government's travel advice. The date of the rating is always shown.

Is Sri Lanka safe for women travelling alone?

Government travel advice warns of verbal and physical harassment of women, particularly on crowded public transport and on beaches after dark. Travelling with a private driver avoids most of those settings. We advise modest dress at religious sites and avoiding isolated beaches at night.

Is Sri Lanka safe for families with children?

The practical risks for families are road traffic, strong sea currents on some beaches, sun exposure and mosquitoes. We recommend a vehicle with working seat belts in every row, swimming only where lifeguards or local advice indicate it is safe, and using insect repellent, particularly during the rains.

Is Colombo safe for tourists?

Colombo is the commercial capital. The main concerns for visitors are petty theft and traffic. Demonstrations take place from time to time near government buildings and should be avoided. Most itineraries include one or two nights in the city.

What should I do in an emergency in Sri Lanka?

Call 119 for the police and 1990 for the Suwa Seriya ambulance service, which is free of charge. The Sri Lanka Tourism hotline is 1912. If you are travelling with us, contact your driver and our Kandy office as well. We will handle local arrangements while you contact your embassy or insurer.

Does a lower rating mean I should cancel my trip?

A lower rating is not in itself a reason to cancel. In the Minor disruption and Take care bands it usually means that part of a route needs adjusting, for example moving a hill-country day during heavy rain. Follow your government's advice, check the terms of your travel insurance, and ask us what the rating means for your dates.

Questions about your travel dates

Send us your dates and intended route. We will explain what current conditions mean for that itinerary and what we would adjust.

Plan your tripWhatsApp ushello@ceylonexplora.com