Some say the modern name is derived from the Portuguese name Rapadura for jaggery, the palm candy produced traditionally in this region, but the more common explanation in Sri Lanka is that it comes from the Sinhala "ratna" meaning gems and "pura" meaning city. Ratnapura is also spelled as Rathnapura. It is the centre of a long-established industry of precious stone mining including rubies, sapphires, and other gems. Apart from gem mining, the town is known for rice and fruit cultivations. Large plantations of low grown tea and rubber surround the town making it a very picturesque region to travel to. The Tea Plantations here are low country tea, rich in color and strength. We will visit a gem mining pit where you will see that it is still done as it was centuries ago. We will visit one of the museums, a gem workshop which will give you the opportunity to see a variety of precious stones, such as rubies, sapphires, cat's eyes, alexandrite, aquamarines, tourmalines, spinels, topaz, garnets, amethyst, zircons etc.

We will pick you up from any hotel or residence in Colombo and drive you to Ratnapura (101 Kilometers) enroute you will stop at a tea factory and visit the tea plantation and process. On arrival at Ratnapura we will visit a Gem mine where you can see the workers straining gems from sand, meet Gem vendors, minors & lapidarists at the heart of Gem city while enjoying the natural beauty of the area. You wil have a chance to see the life of workers and visit the gem market where purchases of precious and semi precious gems is being done on the street.