UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is to press Sri Lanka to ensure unrestricted access by aid agencies to displaced people in the north of the country.
Mr Ban said more than 300,000 people who had fled the fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were in need of food, water and sanitation.
He is the first senior world figure to visit since the government said it had ended the 26-year insurgency this week.
Mr Ban said it was extremely important to initiate talks with minority groups.
A BBC correspondent travelling with him says he will later urge the Sri Lankan government to win the peace as well as the war.
'Humbled'
On Saturday, the UN secretary-general saw at first-hand the main government-run camp for refugees at Manik Farm, near Vavuniya, where an estimated 220,000 displaced people are being held.
"I was humbled by what I saw," he told reporters afterwards.
Humanitarian agencies complain that access to the refugees has been restricted and that the distribution of aid has been hampered by a ban on vehicles from the UN and other groups.
The government says it needs more time to find any Tamil Tiger members hiding in the camps, and is suspicious of some agencies which it has accused of helping the rebels. It plans to resettle most refugees with six months.
"We will try to work hard to keep that promise realised," Mr Ban said. "They need to be resettled as soon as possible."
"There clearly seem to be some limitations in [the camp's] capacity."
Mr Ban will later fly over the conflict zone where the military declared a final victory over the Tamil Tigers, before holding talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at his residence in Kandy.
On the plane to Sri Lanka, the UN chief said his first priority would be "unimpeded access to the sites of the displaced by international, humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations."
Mr Ban said he would also appeal to Mr Rajapaksa to open political reconciliation talks between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority.
"It's time for Sri Lankans to heal the wounds and unite without regards for religious and ethnic identity," he added.
Without a political settlement that gives Tamils real rights, UN officials believe the fighting will begin anew, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan, who is travelling with Mr Ban.
Senior UN officials acknowledge there is a risk that Mr Ban's visit could be used by the Sri Lankan govt to give international approval to its victory, our correspondent says.
Mr Ban told the BBC this would not happen, and that he was here to convey the concern of the international community.
Sri Lanka officially announced an end to the war this week, after its troops took the last segment of land held by the rebels and had killed the Tamil Tiger leadership, including its chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
War toll
It is thought at least 80,000 people have been killed in the war.
The UN says 7,000 civilians have died since January alone, although the government disputes this figure.
At a rally before Mr Ban arrived, Mr Rajapaksa dismissed any attempt to take him to an international war crimes court.
"There are some who tried to stop our military campaign by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals.
"I am not afraid. The strength I have is your support. I am even ready to go to the gallows on your behalf."
In the first official statement on casualties among the government forces, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said more than 6,200 security personnel were killed and almost 30,000 wounded in the final three years of the war.
There are no official figures for the number of Tamil Tiger rebels killed in the civil war, although estimates vary from between 15,000 and more than 22,000.
Mr Ban said more than 300,000 people who had fled the fighting between Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were in need of food, water and sanitation.
He is the first senior world figure to visit since the government said it had ended the 26-year insurgency this week.
Mr Ban said it was extremely important to initiate talks with minority groups.
A BBC correspondent travelling with him says he will later urge the Sri Lankan government to win the peace as well as the war.
'Humbled'
On Saturday, the UN secretary-general saw at first-hand the main government-run camp for refugees at Manik Farm, near Vavuniya, where an estimated 220,000 displaced people are being held.
"I was humbled by what I saw," he told reporters afterwards.
Humanitarian agencies complain that access to the refugees has been restricted and that the distribution of aid has been hampered by a ban on vehicles from the UN and other groups.
The government says it needs more time to find any Tamil Tiger members hiding in the camps, and is suspicious of some agencies which it has accused of helping the rebels. It plans to resettle most refugees with six months.
"We will try to work hard to keep that promise realised," Mr Ban said. "They need to be resettled as soon as possible."
"There clearly seem to be some limitations in [the camp's] capacity."
Mr Ban will later fly over the conflict zone where the military declared a final victory over the Tamil Tigers, before holding talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa at his residence in Kandy.
On the plane to Sri Lanka, the UN chief said his first priority would be "unimpeded access to the sites of the displaced by international, humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations."
Mr Ban said he would also appeal to Mr Rajapaksa to open political reconciliation talks between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority.
"It's time for Sri Lankans to heal the wounds and unite without regards for religious and ethnic identity," he added.
Without a political settlement that gives Tamils real rights, UN officials believe the fighting will begin anew, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan, who is travelling with Mr Ban.
Senior UN officials acknowledge there is a risk that Mr Ban's visit could be used by the Sri Lankan govt to give international approval to its victory, our correspondent says.
Mr Ban told the BBC this would not happen, and that he was here to convey the concern of the international community.
Sri Lanka officially announced an end to the war this week, after its troops took the last segment of land held by the rebels and had killed the Tamil Tiger leadership, including its chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
War toll
It is thought at least 80,000 people have been killed in the war.
The UN says 7,000 civilians have died since January alone, although the government disputes this figure.
At a rally before Mr Ban arrived, Mr Rajapaksa dismissed any attempt to take him to an international war crimes court.
"There are some who tried to stop our military campaign by threatening to haul us before war crimes tribunals.
"I am not afraid. The strength I have is your support. I am even ready to go to the gallows on your behalf."
In the first official statement on casualties among the government forces, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said more than 6,200 security personnel were killed and almost 30,000 wounded in the final three years of the war.
There are no official figures for the number of Tamil Tiger rebels killed in the civil war, although estimates vary from between 15,000 and more than 22,000.
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