Located 103 km's South-East of Colombo, Ratnapura is the famous gem-mining town of Sri Lanka which literally means "City of Gems" ("ratna" - gems and "pura" - city). Ratnapura has the greatest concentration of gems in the world that include both familiar and exotic stones such as rubies, aquamarines, alexandrite, topaz, moonstone, spinel, amethyst, tourmaline, zircon and many more.
The city of Ratnapura has produced three of the world's largest blue sapphires, including the "Blue Bell" which adorns the British Crown and the "Star of India" weighing 563 carats displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Apart from gem mining, the city is also known for rice & fruit cultivations and large tea and rubber plantations that surround the city. In addition, there is a well-established tourism industry in Ratnapura; Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Udawalawe National Park, Kitulgala whit- water rafting , Adam's peak, Saman Devalaya, Potugal viharaya are specially popular amongst the tourists.