Srilanka - Pearl of the Indian Ocean

If I have to describe Srilanka in one word, I will call it “Pocket Patakha” small in size and big on impact.  There is so much packed in here that in every couple of hours you feel like you are in a new country. World heritage sites, stunning architecture, endless tea plantations, hiking sites, pristine beaches, wild safaris, cosmopolitan cities and cities with old world charm your name and you will have it right there.

Don’t go by the geographical size of this county, it has something to offer to all kind of travelers.

Srilanka was on my mind for the last couple of years and before over-tourism starts spoiling this place, I planned a 10 days action-packed itinerary dragged my partner along and left for this beautiful beyond words Island Country in December of 2019.

Before we go ahead let me tell you what this blog is going to be all about:

• ·         My Itinerary
• ·         Getting around
• ·         Best Time to Visit
• ·         Main Attractions
• ·         Do’s & Don’t’s

So let’s start our journey to this paradise country.

Since I had limited days in hand, I tried to include a bit of everything in my itinerary. Srilanka can be broadly divided into 5 circuits:

• Buddhist
• Archaeology/ Heritage
• Wild Life
• Beaches
• Tea Estates

But first thing first, let’s talk about the basics:

•        How to get around
•        Data and calling pack
•        Currency exchange
•        Language
•       General health
•        Tit-Bits (Do read this)
•        Weather

How to get around

Srilanka has got excellent road conditions and getting around the island is easy, if not a little time consuming and uncomfortable. Buses and tuk-tuks are the most common form of transport and service even the most remote corners. The more picturesque form of transport, however, is Sri Lanka’s train network. The journey is beautiful and gives you a sneak peek into the rich island culture but let’s face it the network is slow, clumsy, and almost never on time.

I was also in two minds about how to commute with luggage and a 6-year-old in tow…   Pat comes in the option of self-drive rentals or Taxi with a chauffeur. The moment you complete your customs formalities and try to exit the airport you are engulfed with the numerous taxi providers available within the airport premise. Now self-drive is a very exciting and alluring option but there is a catch- even if you have an international driving license, to drive in Srilanka one needs to have a driving permit from the local transport authority which needs ½ a day if you apply in person and if online taxi operators do it for you then it’s an additional cost of approx. LKR.5000. Plus one has to keep in mind that Srilanka has very less population and most of the roads (though in excellent condition) are single lane almost as soon as you move out of Colombo and head towards the smaller towns. Since I didn’t have ½ day to obtain the permit, I went for a chauffer driven taxi and I must say it was the best decision for this trip. The cost of a taxi per day for 2 adults and 1 kid ranges between $25-$30 including driver’s accommodation, meals, toll /parking charges and not to forget the driver doubles up as your guide and saves a lot of time since you don’t get lost while finding your way.

Note: Srilankan’s love tips so please before you release the driver at the end of your trip, leave them some money if you are satisfied with the service. (They get happy even if you tip them with LKR 1000)

Data and calling pack

The network in Srilanka is pretty awesome and the charges nominal. I purchased a Hutch sim card from the airport for $8 and the data and calling minutes lasted 10 days without top-up. Depending on your requirement you can select a plan. The whole process is pretty smooth and takes about 5-10 min.

Currency exchange

LKR or Srilankan Rupee is a closed currency. It’s difficult to get it in every county. The dollar is widely accepted and so is the visa card. The exchange rate at the airport is reasonable and a Visa debit card can be used in ATM to withdraw cash. Mind you Srilanka runs on cash and apart from the cities of Colombo, Kandy and Galle, you will need cash everywhere for every small thing, so keep enough cash while you are traveling into the interiors of the country.

Language:

Sri Lanka’s tourism boom is happening right now, which means that outside of the capital city of Colombo some areas are not exactly tourist-ready and English is not widely spoken. In our case the driver came to our rescue whenever required in the absence of a driver or guide google translate can come handy.

General Health

When traveling to Sri Lanka, be aware of the following:

Mosquitos - Dengue fever outbreaks are common in Sri Lanka, so cover up when hiking or traveling to remote areas. There is no threat of malaria.

Food-related issues - Be careful when buying food, especially from street vendors. Eat freshly cooked foods, cook veggies, clean salad in iodine water, and eat. Avoid eating fruits that are not cut in front of you.

Drinking-Water- Tap water is not safe for drinking, always purify your water or carry bottled water.

Heat - Sri Lanka gets pretty hot so always carry water or fluids with you. Avoid direct sunlight. And use a lot of sunscreens!

Tit-Bits:

• When in Srilanka always and always carry a scarf or wrap with you, one cannot enter a Buddhist temple bare shoulders
• Never show your back to a Buddha statue while clicking a picture, it’s considered disrespectful and you can even be deported. Keep Buddha tattoo also covered.
• Lottery is legal in Srilanka
• Tip adequately
• Srilankan’s are cleanliness freak so don’t litter and be mindful of disposing of your plastics and other wasted responsibly

Weather:

When traveling in Sri Lanka, it’s important to understand that the country experiences two annual monsoons – Yala and Maha. Yala monsoon the season is typically from around May till August and affects the southwestern part of the country, while Maha goes from around October till January and affects the north-eastern parts of Sri Lanka. Please plan accordingly. The best time to travel is from November- March.

The info above will pretty much save you a lot of hassle so let’s begin our journey to the magical Island country.

We landed in Srilanka late in the afternoon and after finalizing a taxi we straight away went to our hotel in Nigambo and spent the evening at leisure relishing the Lankan rice and curry and soaking in the local vibes.

(Mind you, in Srilanka food portion is enormous so if you are someone who just picks at food then order cautiously)

Next day  the driver picked us up at 4 in the morning to begin our journey to Sigiriya which is 3 ½ hrs away but we were to take a pit stop in between to see:

Dambulla Royal cave:

This beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex comprises of 5 caves containing 150 stunning Buddha Statues and paintings first created here over 2000 years ago, and over the centuries subsequent kings added to cave art. Dambulla Royal Caves can be accessed after hiking for about 10-15 min and morning is the best time since rocks gets very hot during the day. You can see the stunning countryside view from the top and Sigiriya is clearly visible on a clear day.

It takes about 1-1 ½ hrs to explore the premise and we left for Sigiriya after spending the morning at these caves.

Sigiriya/ Lion & Pigurangala Rock exploration:

Sigiriya is a small sleepy village and is not a part of the regular tour packages so you will not see too many tourists thronging the town. It’s a quiet town with a series of homestays and plenty of home-cooked food prepared by locals. Since we started the day early we decided to catch the sunset at Pidurangala Rock and call it a night.

The hike to Pidurangala Rock starts with a Buddhist temple Pidurangala Vihara and you need to take your shoes off and cover the exposed shoulders and legs by a sarong that is available at the start of the trek. After crossing the temple you can remove the sarong and use it when you return back. This trek is not very difficult but you need to be a little cautious as there are boulders that you need to climb and at some places, the trek is quite narrow. But when you reach the top the view is worth all the effort. What makes this view even more special is being able to see the beauty that is Sigiriya as part of this vivid landscape!

(Drone photography is not allowed at Pidurangala)


The next day we started early to reach the summit of Sigiriya Rock by 7 a.m. to avoid the long queue. Sigiriya/Lion Rock a UNESCO World Heritage site can be reached after climbing 1200 staircases (to be precise) attached to steep walls to reach the top.  #sigiriyarock is as imposing a sight now as it must have been when it was first built in the 5th century A.D. The rock, resting on a steep mound, rises 370 meters... is reasonably well preserved and provides the visitor with a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders. While climbing the fortress you'll pass a series of quite remarkable murals, a mirror wall and a pair of colossal lion's paws carved into its base. The surrounding landscape – water gardens and cave sanctuaries – only add to Sigiriya's rock- enigma. Rising dramatically from the central plains, the inscrutable rocky boulder of Sigiriya is perhaps Sri Lanka's single most dramatic sight and the view of the surrounding forests is breathtakingly beautiful.

(don’t forget your water bottle as there are no shops on the way to purchase one)

After soaking in the beauty of this archaeological marvel we began our onward journey to Kandy via Ambuluwawa Tower situated in Gompala town, sitting at 3567 meters the climb begins from within the building and rises up gradually. Along each level, doorways open out to small viewing decks until the stairs emerge outwards... upon reaching the top of Ambuluwawa one can experience the most amazing views the climb may sound scary but the view is 100% is worth it!

Our stop for the night was in Kandy the cultural capital of Srilanka. It’s a quaint town around a beautiful lake and famous for “Temple of Tooth Relic” where the tooth of Buddha is kept for the devotees to seek blessing.

The cultural performance in the evening is a must-see which gave is a peek into the cultural diversity of Srilanka. Kandy is a good place to buy souvenirs like wooden rakshasa masks for good luck, health and prosperity.

Next day we left for Nallathanniya for climbing Adam’s Peak to witness the most beautiful sunrise in the whole of Srilanka. We knew that climbing Adams Peak will be a tiresome task so we went to bed at 9 p.m. and woke up in time to start the climb of 5500 odd steep stairs to reach the top of the peak at 1:30 a.m.  Also, know by the name Sri Pada, Adams Peak is Srilanka's holiest sites. It’s a 7358 ft high conical mountain and the top has a huge “footprint”-like dent and Srilankan believes it’s the footprint of Buddha’s left foot. The Hindus claimed that the footprint belonged to Lord Shiva. On the way, you will also see a Japanese Peace pagoda and a Stupa.

Adams Peak again an offbeat destination and is in the interiors of Srilanka so the accommodation and food options are limited. Also, it gets quite cold on the top so come prepared with windcheaters, gloves, and caps. It takes about 1 ½ -2 hrs to come down you can climb Adams Peak only by foot no alternate option is available.

 

After completing this mammoth task we headed off the tour next destination via Nuwara Eliya a.k.a the Little England of Ceylon, The town is a favorite cool-climate escape for tourists and locals alike. It’s the Tea capital of Srilanka and has this English country village vibe to it. We stopped over at an organic café and to take a stroll at Gregory Lake and started our onward journey.

Our stop for the next 2 days was Ella- a small mountain town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. known for its cooler climate and landscape characterized by hills, waterfalls, and tea plantations. It is also a party place and has some really cool bars and cafes. The best part about Ella is its lazy vibes and how it’s so very easy to pick up a place to stay overlooking a lovely waterfall. The main attraction in Ella apart from the endless tea gardens are Nine Arch Bridge, Little Adams Peak and Ella Rock (both easy hike of about 15-20 min with a breath-taking view). I would especially like to mention Nine Arch Bridge because of how this particular bridge adds up to the whole charm of the Kandy- Ella train route which is often referred to as the most scenic train ride in the world.

Train journey needs a special mention here as without riding a Ceylon train your trip to Srilanka is incomplete. The typical train ride from Kandy to Ella takes about 7-8 hours and let me tell you there is no schedule for train and they are often late. So in the interest of time and since we were traveling in our rented car, we decided to take a train ride from Ella to Demodara which is of about 50 min and passes the famed Nine Arch bridge as well.. It’s beautiful and if you are not panicking and running here and there to take pictures hanging from the train door it’s a ride to remember.

Nine Arch Bridge:

You can either reach here by walking narrow paths in the middle of jungle amidst tall trees and tea garden (it's a 30-min trek) or take a tuk-tuk from anywhere in Ella and reach right at the bridge...
It's a 100-year-old bridge and the unique part about it is that It's built entirely from rocks, bricks, and cement with no use of steel or metals throughout the structure. Before seeing this bridge I never thought that a train bridge could become such a huge tourist spot, but this bridge isn’t just beautiful; it’s also one of the best examples of colonial-era construction. If you are visiting #Ella don't keep Nine Arch Bridge out of your to-do list.

After spending two blissful days in Ella we headed off to the much-awaited destination of the trip “Yala National Park” It’s the most visited and second largest protected park in Sri Lanka, home to megafauna like elephants, wild buffalo, sloth bears, not to mention one of the highest the concentration of leopards in the wild. The only way to explore the park is through jeeps (unless you are staying inside the park) Once inside, the landscape opened up into beautiful scenery of lakes, open patches of grasslands, jungle, and complete tranquillity! Towards the end of the safari trip, we stopped at an awesome desolate beach where we strolled for a bit before making a returning journey.

The day was coming to an end and so was out safari and we were heading to our last leg of the journey to Galle and the nearby beach towns keeping our base in Galle.

The enchanting little small town of Galle and the remains of the Dutch Fort is just the best spot in the country. Galle Fort is a unique UNESCO World Heritage site and probably the single reason most people come to visit the town. The old-world charm of the city just grows on you and stays with you for long. The high point of visiting Galle is that you can stay within the Dutch fort compound and that experience just transfers you to a different era. The city is not very big, but there are still quite a lot of things to do like exploring the old Dutch town, visit the lighthouse to watch sunset or sunrise, explore the churches and the art scene is Galle is also quite happening. It’s a very Europian town set amidst a tropical Asian country.

We kept Galle as our base to explore the nearby resort beaches towns of Marissa, Arugum, Unawatuna, and Hikkaduwa. The beaches are easily accessible by Tuktuk and I recommend spending at least 2 days to explore these beaches.

Mirissa

This beach attracts all kinds of tourists as it’s the party hub of the east coast. The 2 km long Sri Lankan beach is full of restaurants and bars. Mirissa beach is one of the most well-known beaches and has great stay options on the beach itself.

Hikkaduwa

The beach of Hikkaduwa is located on the west coast and the closest to Colombo. You can swim with turtles here as the area is popular places for turtle hatcheries.

 Aahangama

This beach is going to be very special to me coz I tried surfing here for the first time, though could not do much but at least I got the courage of getting inside an ocean. Located on the east coast the beach attracts surfers from all over the world. Many of them make Arugam Bay their home during the surfing period.

Unawatuna is a great laid back village with the beach located in a bay, which means that you can safely swim.

And with this comes the end of the much-awaited and thrilling journey to Srilanka. Surely my first but not the last.

Colombo was my fly in and fly out the city and I mostly shopped here for souvenirs and spent some time at Galle Front beach. But will surely explore it more on my next visit.

Srilanka is the perfect amalgamation of misty mountains, golden sand beaches, lip-smacking food, the melting pot of cultural diversity and one of the best wildlife spots in the whole of Asia. The country is super diverse and soon catching up on the tourist scene. It’s still unspoiled and not at all polluted and my humble request is to try and let’s keep is as clean as possible by adopting responsible tourism habits.

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed writing this blog