Sri Lanka,

For updated & practical info, visit :

 

 

Previously known as Ceylon, the tear-drop shaped island of Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with obvious Hindu & Buddhist influence. Pristine beaches, fascinating heritage, beautiful landscapes, exciting wildlife, Sri Lanka has it all! The classic trip is called the cultural triangle, and includes Kandy, Polonuwara and Anuradhapura further up north.

The trip we had however did not reach the northern town of Anuradhapura, and took us to the south instead. We started our trip from the capital of Colombo, a very "long" city along the coast, with kilometers of beach, and with a direct exposition to the west allowing for some memorable sunsets! The city does not feel crowded at all and is very enjoyable. From Colombo, we drove to Pinnawala and Dambura to visit the historical sights, the lush countryside and visit a huge elephants reserve.

We continued towards to visit one of the highlights of our trip; Sigiriya and its iconic Rock. The location of this huge rock is beautiful, and the climb up amongst local pilgrims, stray cows lush vegetation is beautiful. From the top of the rock, it is possible to see very far out towards the mountains and the sunset is breathtaking. Only advice... do remember to bring a torch light if you plan to see the sunset from up there, because the way down the wooden ladders and walkways is rather treacherous!

We then drove to Polonnaruwa to see the ancient historical sights, temples and sacred caves (having to make detours because of angered elephants blocking some major roads!) and then onwards to Kandy.

UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kandy is the last capital city of the Sinhala kings and played a major role in the history of the country. The large lake in its center is very relaxing, and the city is peaceful, with a lot of cultural heritage, as well as some chilled colonial feel. The buddha-tooth relic temple is really fascinating, and I strongly recommend going at a time of day when a ceremony is on in order to experience the full vibe of the place!

We then took the legendary train back to Colombo, crossing incredible valleys filled with tea plantations. The train route is very ancient, and crosses beautiful senary so it is worth getting a ticket to the last wagon, where a huge window allows for the greatest view! The train tracks merge and diverge within lush jungle, through valleys and inside long tunnels, with people, all along the way, making use of the maintained pathway to walk from one village to the other!

From Colombo we made it south to Galle, its fort and the pristine beaches and seafood markets all around it! There is a lot of wildlife around Galle, and boats can be rented to go whale-watching, or you can find drivers to take you through the Yala or Uda Walawe national parks which have very diverse wildlife.