Quick answer
At Sri Lankan temples, cover shoulders and knees in plain clothing, remove shoes and hats before entering the sacred area, and keep your voice low. Walk clockwise around stupas and shrines. Never pose with your back to a Buddha image for a photograph, and never wear clothing or display tattoos featuring Buddha images, which causes genuine offence and has led to visitors being refused entry or deported. White clothing is traditional at Buddhist sites. Use donation boxes rather than tipping individuals.
Key takeaways
- Cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes and hats before entering any sacred area.
- Never turn your back to a Buddha image for a photograph; it is considered deeply disrespectful.
- Buddha images on clothing or as tattoos have led to visitors being refused entry, detained and deported.
- Walk clockwise around stupas and shrines, keeping them on your right.
- White clothing is traditional at Buddhist temples and is always the safe choice.
What to wear
Shoulders and knees covered, in plain clothing, is the baseline at every religious site in Sri Lanka regardless of faith. That means no vests, no shorts above the knee, no strappy dresses, and nothing sheer. Long lightweight trousers or a long skirt with a t-shirt or shirt is the practical answer in the heat.
White is traditional at Buddhist sites and is what Sri Lankan worshippers wear on poya days and at major pilgrimage sites. You do not need to wear white, but it is always the safe and respectful choice, particularly at the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Temple of the Tooth and on Adam's Peak.
Some sites hire out or lend sarongs and shawls at the entrance, but never count on it. Carry a lightweight scarf or sarong in your day bag; it takes no space and solves the problem anywhere.
- →Shoulders and knees covered, in plain, non-sheer clothing.
- →White is traditional at Buddhist sites and always the safest choice.
- →Carry a lightweight scarf or sarong in your day bag as insurance.
- →Do not rely on sarong hire at the entrance; many sites have none.
The Buddha image problem
This deserves its own section because visitors get it wrong every year with serious consequences. Displaying a Buddha image on your body or clothing is treated as disrespectful in Sri Lanka in a way that has legal force. Travellers with Buddha tattoos have been refused entry at the airport, detained and deported, and others have been arrested for wearing Buddha-print clothing or for behaving irreverently in photographs.
The practical rules are simple. Do not wear t-shirts, shorts, bags or jewellery featuring Buddha images. Cover a Buddha tattoo with clothing or a plaster for the duration of your trip. Do not buy a Buddha statue as a souvenir without understanding the export restrictions on antiquities. And never, under any circumstances, pose for a photograph with your back to a Buddha image or sitting alongside one.
- →Do not wear clothing, bags or jewellery featuring Buddha images.
- →Cover Buddha tattoos with clothing or a plaster throughout your trip.
- →Never pose with your back to, or sitting beside, a Buddha image.
- →Visitors have been refused entry, detained and deported over this.
Shoes, hats and feet
Shoes and hats come off before entering the sacred area, which at large sites like Anuradhapura and Mihintale can mean walking a long way barefoot on granite. In the dry zone this stone gets genuinely painful by mid-morning, which is the practical reason to visit at dawn. Socks are permitted at most sites and make an enormous difference.
Feet carry significance beyond footwear. Do not point the soles of your feet at a Buddha image, a monk or a shrine, which means sitting cross-legged or with your legs tucked to one side rather than stretched out. Do not step over anyone or over offerings laid on the ground.
- →Shoes and hats off before entering the sacred area.
- →Socks are usually permitted and save you from hot granite.
- →Visit at dawn; stone becomes painfully hot by mid-morning in the dry zone.
- →Never point the soles of your feet at an image, a monk or a shrine.
Behaviour inside
Walk clockwise around stupas, shrines and bodhi trees, keeping them on your right. This is the direction of respect and everyone else will be doing it. Keep your voice low, silence your phone, and if a ceremony or chanting is underway, watch quietly from the edge rather than walking through it.
Do not touch statues, paintings, offerings or ritual objects. Do not climb on anything. Step aside for monks and for elderly pilgrims, particularly on stairways. If you are offered a flower or a lamp to place as an offering, accepting graciously is the right response, and doing so does not require you to hold any particular belief.
- →Walk clockwise, keeping the stupa or shrine on your right.
- →Keep voices low, silence phones, and never walk through a ceremony.
- →Do not touch statues, paintings, offerings or ritual objects.
- →Give way to monks and elderly pilgrims, especially on stairs.
Interacting with monks
Monks occupy a position of considerable respect and there are specific conventions. Do not touch a monk. Women in particular should avoid physical contact, including handshakes, and should not hand objects directly to a monk; place the item down for them to pick up, or hand it to a male intermediary.
Monks in many traditions do not handle money. Do not offer cash directly; use the temple donation box instead. Sit at a lower level than a monk if you are seated together, and always ask before photographing a monk, which most will permit graciously if asked.
- →Do not touch a monk; women should avoid handshakes and direct handovers.
- →Place items down rather than handing them to a monk directly.
- →Do not offer money to monks; use the donation box.
- →Ask before photographing; sit lower than a monk if seated together.
Photography
Photography is permitted at most Sri Lankan temples but restricted in inner shrine rooms and at certain sites, and rules are signposted. Flash is frequently prohibited near old murals, and for good reason at places like Dambulla, where the paintings are centuries old.
The one absolute rule is not photographing yourself with your back to a Buddha image. This includes selfies taken in front of a statue, which is exactly the pose the rule prohibits. Turn around, stand to the side, or take a photograph of the image without yourself in it. Ask before photographing worshippers, and never photograph inside a shrine during a ceremony.
- →Photography is usually permitted but restricted in inner shrines; check signage.
- →Flash is often prohibited near old murals, including at Dambulla.
- →Selfies with your back to a Buddha image are exactly what the rule forbids.
- →Ask before photographing worshippers; never photograph during a ceremony.
Kovils, mosques and churches
At Hindu kovils, the same dress and shoes rules apply. Men are frequently asked to remove their shirts before entering inner sanctum areas, which is standard practice particularly in the north. Non-Hindus may be asked not to enter the innermost shrine, which should be accepted without argument. Puja times are the best moments to visit and the worst moments to wander through.
At mosques, women should cover their heads as well as their arms and legs, and visits should avoid the five daily prayer times and Friday midday prayers. Ask permission before entering. At churches, ordinary respectful dress applies, and services should be observed from the back or not at all unless invited.
- →Kovils: shoes off, men may be asked to remove shirts in inner areas.
- →Non-Hindus may be restricted from the innermost shrine; accept this.
- →Mosques: women cover their heads; avoid the five prayer times and Friday midday.
- →Churches: respectful dress; observe services from the back or not at all.
A simple approach
Carry a sarong, wear something with sleeves, take socks, arrive early, walk clockwise, and watch what the worshippers around you are doing. That covers essentially everything, and the last of those is the most reliable guide there is.
Lankan Stays & Trails briefs clients on this before the first temple rather than after it, and times religious sites for the hours they are in use, which is when the etiquette actually matters and when the visit is most worth making.
Frequently asked questions
What should I wear to a temple in Sri Lanka?
Cover shoulders and knees in plain, non-sheer clothing, and remove shoes and hats before entering the sacred area. White is traditional at Buddhist sites and always the safest choice. Carry a lightweight scarf or sarong, as not all sites lend them at the entrance.
Can you have a Buddha tattoo in Sri Lanka?
Keep it covered. Visitors with Buddha tattoos have been refused entry at the airport, detained and deported. Cover any Buddha tattoo with clothing or a plaster for the duration of your trip, and do not wear clothing, bags or jewellery featuring Buddha images either.
Why can't you take photos with your back to a Buddha statue?
Turning your back on a Buddha image is considered deeply disrespectful in Sri Lanka, and posing that way for photographs has resulted in visitors being arrested. Stand to the side, turn to face the image, or photograph the statue without yourself in the frame.
Do you have to take your shoes off at Sri Lankan temples?
Yes, shoes and hats come off before entering the sacred area. At large sites such as Anuradhapura and Mihintale this can mean walking a long way barefoot on granite that becomes painfully hot by mid-morning, which is why dawn visits and wearing socks both help considerably.
Which way do you walk around a stupa?
Clockwise, keeping the stupa, shrine or bodhi tree on your right. This is the direction of respect and everyone else present will be doing it, so following the flow of worshippers is the easiest way to get it right without thinking about it.
Can women talk to monks in Sri Lanka?
Yes, but not touch. Women should avoid physical contact including handshakes, and should not hand objects directly to a monk. Place the item down for them to pick up, or pass it via a male intermediary. Monks in many traditions also do not handle money.
What are the rules for visiting a Hindu kovil in Sri Lanka?
Remove shoes and cover shoulders and knees, as at Buddhist sites. Men are frequently asked to remove their shirts before entering inner sanctum areas, particularly in the north, and non-Hindus may be restricted from the innermost shrine, which should be accepted without argument.