Gem and Jewellery Heritage Visit

Ratnapura’s name means ‘city of gems’, and the alluvial gravels beneath its paddy fields and riverbanks have yielded sapphires, rubies, cat’s-eyes, garnets and many other stones for centuries. Mining here is still small-scale and largely manual: narrow pits shored with timber, from which gem-bearing gravel known as illam is hauled up and washed by hand in conical baskets.

With a guide, you visit a licensed working pit when conditions allow, watching miners sort the gravel and learning how they spot a promising stone. Afterwards you see how rough gems are graded, cut and polished, and how traditional jewellery is set, with time to ask about the colours of Ceylon sapphire, from deep blue to the rare pinkish-orange padparadscha. The town sits among rubber plantations and green, forested hills, and the drive in is part of the pleasure.

Good to know

• Pit visits depend on the weather; heavy rain can flood pits, particularly during the south-west monsoon (roughly May to September).
• Wear shoes you do not mind getting muddy.
• There is no obligation to buy. If you do, ask for a certificate; the National Gem and Jewellery Authority offers independent gem testing.
• Ratnapura is roughly two and a half hours by road from Colombo and pairs well with Udawalawe or Sinharaja.

This visit can be added to any private itinerary, and we time it to suit your route through the south.