Sri Lanka has a wide variety of attractive handicrafts on sale. Laksala, a government-run store, is found in most cities and tourist towns. Each store has a good collection of items from all over the country and its stock is generally of reasonable quality, moderately priced, with fixed price tags. There are other handicrafts outlets in Colombo. Street stall can be found in touristy areas, but you'll need to bargain-expect the vendor to start the bidding at two to three times the value of the articles.
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 Mask
Sri Lankan masks are a popular collector's item for visitors. They're carved at a number of places, principally along the south-west coast, and are sold all over the island, but Ambalangoda, near Hikkaduwa, is the mask-carving centre. You can visti serveral of the showroom-workshops here. Touristy or not, the masks are remarkably well made, good value and look very nice on the wall back home. They're availablefrom key-ring size for a few rupeess up to big, high quality masks for over Rs 2000.
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Batik
The Indonesian art of batik making is a relatively new development in Sri Lanka but one that has been taken to with alacrity. You'll see a wide variety of batiks made and sold around the island. Some of the best and most original are madein the west coast towns of Marawaila, Mahawewa and Ambalangoda. Batik pictures start from about Rs 200, go up to well over Rs.1000. Batik is also used for a variety of clothing items. |
Leather
You can find some very low priced and good quality leatherwork - particularly bags and cases. Look in the leatherwork and shioe shops around Fort in Colombo. The Bazar on Olcott Mawatha, beside Fort Station, is cheaper then Laksala for similar-quality goods. The Leather Collection in Colombo is more upmarket place to shop. Hikkaduwa is also a good place for leather bags. |
Pottery
Pottery is one of the oldest crafts in Sri Lanka and is still a daily utensil of a particular social group of 70% which retain using clay pot and fans for cooking. In addition to pots, the more intricate products likes terracotta figures, carved vases, etc are made as well for souvenirs. |
Jewellery
Sri Lanka produces excellent jewelry which considerably benefits its own economy. There are two traditions of jewelry making: Galle tradition and Kandyan tradition. The Galle tradition is characterized by its precious stones while the Kandyan tradition is featured by its intricate metal work, especially silver work. |
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