Best Things to Do on a Ratnapura Gem Mine Tour Ratnapura gem mine tour guide — see traditional gem mining and washing methods in Sri Lanka's gem capital, plus a gem museum stop.
Small-scale pits still use hand-dug shafts and manual gravel-washing techniques largely unchanged for generations.
Local museums explain how raw stones are graded and cut, with examples of finished sapphires, rubies and other Sri Lankan gems on display.
Mines are scattered around Ratnapura, on the route toward Adam's Peak's southern trail.
A guided visit to a working gem pit to see the traditional digging and gravel-washing (panning) process used to find gemstones.
