The well known City of Gemes. You can visit a gem mine to see the traditional mining techniques as fortune seeking miners clad in their loincloth excavate the earth searching for illama - the gem bearing gravel, the Ratnapura region bares almost all varieties of gems are found in Sri Lanka - yellow & white sapphires, zircon, Cat's eye, alexandrite, tourmaline, amethyst, aquamarine, moonstones etc. Some of the largest & famous Blue Sapphires in the world have been found here.