Again; SRI LANKA!
With the pandemic over, a few years after our last visit, we return to Sri Lanka! This time we came from neighboring India. It is not a bad idea to spend a short stay in South India before going to Colombo. The area certainly deserves it and it will give us a good idea of the contrast between these two great countries, so close and at the same time so different. We could enter through Bangalore to continue to the Jain temple of Shravanbelagola and its majestic and gigantic statue of Lord Gometeshwara; to continue to Mysore and its Royal Palace, one of the most impressive buildings in the world and pay a visit to Bandipur National Park with its spectacular wildlife and its tigers as its most famous guests. Going down from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, nothing better than a visit to the Meenaskshi Amman temple in Madurai before finally continuing to our destination.
We arrive with the same interest as so many other times, but with the unknown of how everything will be after this forced parenthesis of more than two years that we have all gone through. We arrived from Madurai on a short flight of less than an hour with the country’s flag carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, with which we landed at Bandaranaike Intl Airport in early May.
What a great joy to return to this beautiful country!
In my opinion, one of the most spectacular destinations in the world. For those of us who are lucky enough to have been there more times, its power over the traveler never ceases to amaze us. No matter what you have seen before, Sri Lanka always surprises with new experiences and outlooks into an amazing country with endless diversity.
But this time, we are going to give you new ideas for those of you who have already been here! To show you that there is more of Sri Lanka within Sri Lanka and that is why we are going to touch on new areas this time that allow you to make a truly different trip from those you have been able to do before this second time, when you have to come with the desire and interest to discover a new country of which you have already known the first time you came to Sri Lanka.
A NEW SRI LANKA
This time, we will start by heading north, bypassing Colombo, which we will visit at the end, to head across the narrow isthmus that separates the Indian Ocean from Puttalam Lagoon to Kalpitiya, at the northern tip of that strip of land facing Dutch Bay.
Land of marshes, shrimp farms and donkeys, which populate the area everywhere. A landscape between land and sea, very different from what we have been able to observe on other trips to the country. A different landscape of flat land and mangroves, which make up this beautiful corner on the west coast of the country. A sunset like few others, which bids farewell to our day watching the sun move away on its eternal turn to the west.
Early in the morning we will go on an interesting boat excursion to Wadiya from where they will take us by jeep to the southern entrance of the largest national park in the country, Wilpattu.
This entrance has the peculiarity of being not very crowded, which will surely allow us to enjoy the park with much less congestion than other parks in the country that suffer more from the tourist agglomeration.
A long tour of the park will allow us to see its rich fauna and peculiar landscape, very different from others that we have been able to see before.
After our visit we will leave the park to face our ascent towards the geographical north of Sri Lanka until we reach its capital, Jaffna, passing through the famous Elephant Pass that connects the northern peninsula with the main island. This northern area of Sri Lanka, isolated for so many years as the civil conflict between the Sinhalese central government and the northern “Tamil Tigers” lasted, is undoubtedly the great unknown part of the country, yet it is an area of great tourist and historical interest.
The Jaffna peninsula can be considered as an island connected to the rest of the country by a long tongue of land and where there is a pass over the waters called the “Elephant Pass” that connects it with the main island that makes up Sri Lanka.
As always throughout our journey, we will be accompanied by the intense green of the island, that color that surrounds us and gives us peace from the first to the last day of our travels in Sri Lanka.
We wake up in Jaffna where we will dedicate the day to the main visits in the area, beginning by reaching the pier where we will take a boat to the island of Nainativu where we will visit the famous Nagadeepa Viharaya, this being one of the places that Buddha visited, thus becoming pilgrimage point. The legend tells us of a dispute over a throne of gems offered to Buddha by a Naga king and its true owner to whom it was finally returned, being enshrined in a stupa located next to the temple.
We will also have the opportunity to visit the Tamil temple of Nainathivu Sri Nagapooshani Amman, where men must enter bare-chested according to tradition.
Returning to Jaffna we will visit its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1618 under the mandate of Phillip De Olivera and which was later taken over by the Dutch in 1658 and again captured by the English and under their control until 1948. The bloody 10-year Civil War left the Fort badly battered and it is being restored by a Dutch foundation with the help of the Sri Lankan Army.
We also visit the Jaffna library and we will be able to reach Point Pedro and Cape Sakkotai, the northernmost point of the country, the entrance to it coming from the north.
Hindu temples surrounded by thousand-year-old trees will accompany us in our visit to the Jaffna area. The next morning let’s not forget to take a walk around the fish market before continuing our way south
We now go down to the historical triangle, an area known by all from our previous trips but as impressive as always no matter how many times it is visited
The Dambulla caves, with their important restoration that has further highlighted their high cultural value. It was undoubtedly one of the surprises due to the good work done at the archaeological level.
The next day and early in the morning, the main tourist landmark of the country, the peerless Sigiriya fortress
Always spectacular, we can go up as many times as we want and it will always be impressive. It is undoubtedly one of the reasons to visit this country.
But abounding in new experiences, it is highly recommended to experience how the locals prepare daily food. For that, nothing like visiting a local house where you can see the process and be able to participate in it.
We continue to one of the main poles of the historical triangle, the ancient city of Polonnaruwa which is undoubtedly an interesting point of visit in the historical triangle. After such an intense day we continue to the coast, arriving at Passikudah.
We start the new day with a visit to Trincomalee, a port of great importance on the east coast of the country. Among other places we will visit the Hindu temple and the Ravana Cut. Then continue with a visit to the World War II cemetery that pays homage to the many countries that participated in the war in the country.
Spending the night back in Passikudah we prepare to continue towards the geographic center of the island in Kandy. But first, we have to carry out one of the experiences that we will remember the most from this trip at the Millennium Elephant Foundation, where we will have the opportunity to learn about the life of these intelligent animals and where we will be able to bathe them and walk with them in a fantastic afternoon that we will always remember.
Finally we arrived in Kandy, a city of great activity in the center of the country and of great importance for possessing the tooth of Buddha in the temple of the same name.
A new day dawns in this tropical paradise and nothing better than taking a walk by the lake and its busy streets. It is without a doubt the best city in the country to wander the streets, completely surrounded by mountains and full of life and once again, going up towards the central mountains, we are going to take a different route heading to Mediyaya, a route with landscapes like this and accommodations like this which in turn will allow us to make an afternoon foray into the village of the Veddhas, the original aborigines of Sri Lanka who have preserved their traditions for millennia and have kept a genetic heritage that has been recognized by UNESCO.
We have slept last night in the Mediyaya and when we wake up we will have a pleasant surprise from our hotel, having breakfast in a boat with which we will be able to observe the local fauna while we take a tour of the lake that is next to our accommodation. A gigantic colony of giant bats will add the finishing touch to this spectacular morning experience.
It is now that we begin the final ascent towards the central mountain area of the country, the Uphill Country with its tea plantations, waterfalls and exuberant nature. Arriving in Nuwara Eliya we have visited the surroundings as beautiful as ever and we are now going to Nanu Oya station to take the train to Ella – a very interesting experience to capture the essence of this fairytale landscape that surrounds us and that we will cross with the railway.
Yet another interesting experience that has just taken us to one of the emblematic points of these mountains, the town of Ella. Nothing better to end the day than an infinity pool on the hotel terrace while we see the Ella Gap from it.
New day in the mountains of Sri Lanka and today we will visit the most famous points of Ella being the 9 Arches Bridge the first of them.
We continue with the ascent to Little Adam’s Peak to see the Ella Gap and the Ravana Falls from afar, that later we will visit just beside them.
On our climb to Little Adam’s Peak we can do recreational activities such as the Zipline that will allow us to fly between mountains sliding down a steel cable in the Flying Ravana. We then continue south, going down through the mountains that we climbed just a few days ago and we will stop at one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the country, the Ravana Falls.
Descending from the high mountains, we are already reaching the southern plains of the island, to head towards the most famous national park in the country, the Yala. Perhaps this time we will finally be able to see the Asian leopard, so elusive on numerous occasions that we have tried.
We finally arrived at the park, a bit of humor (here there is a hilarious photo of a jeep with a sticker) and we began the route to see its innumerable fauna
Already at twilight and returning to the entrance, we suddenly diverted our route……it seems that a leopard has been seen roaming the bushes. We will be there for a long time, patiently waiting like so many other times that we have not succeeded. But this time…….finally…..we see the leopard clearly in the bushes! The camera has captured it vaguely, but our memory will remember the moment forever!
Today we sleep happier than ever in Tissamaharama, after our encounter with the Yala leopard!!
On a new day we face the road to Colombo along the coast, stopping first at Dickwela where we will see its rocky coastline and a small turtle farm.
We finally arrived at emblematic Galle, a fortified city with great activity within its walls which reminds us every time we come of the importance that this island had on the famous maritime Silk Road and in all its historical vicissitudes that throughout the centuries forged its character as a key city in the maritime routes of the Indian Ocean. A stop in Bentota before reaching Colombo.
Finally a night in Colombo. We return to the point of origin.
This is our last day before leaving tomorrow for our return trip, we will dedicate it to visiting the capital with all its interesting strategic points. Nothing better than a view of the port from the terrace of the Grand Oriental Hotel, faithful guardian of a luxurious past. We already went up towards Negombo to reach Waikal where we will spend our last night before taking the plane tomorrow.
It has been a very intense journey through Sri Lanka in more than two weeks that has shown me once again the ability to surprise me that this country has no matter how many times I have been there. I fell in love with Sri Lanka the first time I came here more than 20 years ago and every time I talk to its people again, see its landscapes, its monuments, its fauna, its beaches, and so many other things, I fall in love again like the first day. Every time I repeat, I like it more. There is no end to this wonder of the Indian Ocean, which also allows you to discover new countries within the same country. New areas, new discoveries that seem endless.
To all of you, those of you who have never been there and those who already know some of its mysteries, I would encourage you to come so you can fall like me in love with this great country and its people.
