Sri Lankan Highlights

Sri Lanka is a beautiful, green country, although most important things seem to be at the top of rocks, so lots of stairs/climbing is involved (some of it bare foot). Entry into these sites is expensive. In India most attractions cost 500 rupees (£7), with the Taj Mahal costing 1000 rupees (£14). Here the entry fees are US$25-30 (nearly 5000 rupees). Obviously in India £1 is 80 rupees, but in Sri Lanka £1 is 180 rupees, so do take that difference into account.

 

I took a pre organised 10 day tour of Sri Lanka, so these are my highlights.

Buddha at Mihintale

Anuradhapura: I visited Mihintale, which is were Buddhism started in Sri Lanka. It has 3 main parts - the statue of Buddha on one hill (above), a stupa (solid hemisphere containing relics) on another and a large rock that we climbed up. It was a really interesting place and we sat on a rock behind Buddha for the sunset which was lovely. Buddhist sites don't allow you to wear hats or shoes, so all this rock climbing/stairs was bare foot. It can get hot so don't forget to take (and drink) plenty of water.

Buddhist relic shrine

We also visited Dambulla Rock Temple - a complex of 5 temples built into caves at the top of yet another hill. These temples are decorated and filled with statues of Buddha and was incredibly pretty, especially as it came with a hill top view.

 



Sigiriya involved climbing up Lions Rock (entry $30 or nearly 5000 rupees). We did this at 7am before it got too busy and it involved a lot of stairs - some of which were attached to the side of the rock. The rock used to be home to a palace, so the archaeological ruins remain at the site. There is a lovely panoramic view from the top. It took us 1hr30mins to get to the top and back down, stopping to take photos and read the information boards along the way. If you look at the photo below you will see some of the stair attached to the side of the rock... It's not a time to look down as you climb up to the top.

Lions rock - staircase entrance

In Sigiriya we also did a village tour, which involved a bullock cart ride, a short boat ride on a reservoir (I use the term boat loosely), a cooking session and a tuk tuk ride back to the start. This cost 2000 rupees and was a lovely experience. The cooking session was interactive and we made coconut roti from fresh coconut and maize flour in a basic outdoor kitchen.

Orchid, Botanical Gardens

In Kandy we visited the Botanical Gardens - Peradeniya. This complex came with lots of bamboo collections and an Orchid House. It has a suspension bridge out over a river and large gardens. There is certainly a lot to see and it is very pretty. Entry was only 1500 rupees for a foreign ticket, but you could easily spend a whole/half day here.

We also visited the Temple of the tooth relic in Kandy. It was very pretty and as you can see in the shrine below, highly decorated. It is quite a popular place to go, although the tooth relic itself is in a closed room behind a pretty screen with its own pair of ivory tusks.

Shrine to Buddha at the Temple of the tooth relic

Next to the Temple is the Kandyan Culture Centre. At 5pm we watched an hour long show made up of 12 different dances and finishing with 2 men walking through fire. It was very interesting to see the different dances, to traditional music in full costume. It is definitely something that is worth going to see.

Cultural Dance

Nuwara Eliya: We stayed here in order to go to Horton Plains National Park, arriving at 6am when the park opened to walk the 9km circuit. We were finished by 9:30am, as it started to get hot. There are 2 view points - Mini World's End and World's End which are set on the top of the hill. It was pretty cloudy when we went but apparently the clouds get heavier as the day progresses. There is also a waterfall called Bakers Fall which is very impressive, even if we visited in the dry season.

World's End, Horton Plains

Yala: We had a half day safari around Yala National Park, but I would recommend going for a full day to get a better chance of seeing more animals. I was surprised by just how many peacocks there were. We didn't see any leopards, but we were lucky enough to see a couple of wild elephants, some crocodiles, deer, buffalo and even a rabbit. It was a lovely afternoon out, but 4x4's are a bit bouncy off road - you have been warned. You will also see quite a few lunchboxes full of humans (other tourists in 4x4's - leopards pre-packed lunch :) ).

Elephant

Galle: We first visited a turtle sanctuary. Here they care for turtles injured by fishing nets and give a home to the ones that are unable to be released back into the wild after receiving medical care. It is also egg season and they buy eggs from fishermen and keep them safe from the predators until they hatch. We were lucky enough to be able to release one each back into the sea. They head towards the sea and then get carried out with the tide once they reach the water. Week old turtles are tiny black little things. It was definitely worth a visit.

Turtle

From here we headed to Galle Fort to take photos of the Dutch clock tower and the English lighthouse. The fort itself was built by the Dutch and then taken over by the British when they colonised. We only came here as a photo stop, but it did seem quite a popular tourist attraction.

Galle Fort

Colombo: We have visited 2 temples in Colombo, one of which is a museum. It is crazy and filled with everything from old cameras to jewellery to Buddha statues - we even spotted Pikachu. It is definitely an experience in there. We also visited Colombo National Museum which, despite the lack of air conditioning, was a really good place to visit. It covers everything from early man up to more recent history with coins, fabrics and art to name a few of its many galleries. It wasn't too expensive to get in either, which is always a bonus. We have also been exploring our local area which has lots of higher end shops scattered about, so it is a great place for those who like to shop. There are also markets and beaches to hand if you don't mind a short ride in a tuk tuk.

 

I have enjoyed seeing the amazing scenery that Sri Lanka has had to offer over my 10 day tour and have taken so many photos (I think in 10 days I took more photos than I did over 6 weeks in India - woops). There is still more in store for my time in Sri Lanka, but that's another blog post in the making...