Currently sitting up in a Tree house in Yala National Park writing this blog about beautiful Sri Lanka and I’m so excited to share this with you guys.
Sri Lanka has been on top of our To-Do list for ages and if its not on yours it should be. You can expect to find a country rich in culture, UNESCO World Heritage sites, an abundance of nature, beaches and yummy food. Its the culture and sincere kindness of the people that makes you fall in love with the country.
We tried to experience as much as we could within the 12 days we had. Here is our itinery of the places we visited and would recommend to anyone visiting Sri Lanka for the first time. We hope you enjoy 🙂
SIGIRIYA
Rising dramatically from the central plains, the enigmatic rocky outcrop of Sigiriya is perhaps Sri Lanka’s single most dramatic sight and the main reason why tourist visit Sigiriya. The top of the rock contains ruins of an ancient palace complex, built during the reign of King Kasyapa (477AD – 495 AD. It is one of the 7 world heritage sites in Sri Lanka and is one of it’s most popular tourist destinations. Sigiriya rock is open for tourists to climb up, how ever we chose to go up Pidarangular Rock instead early in the morning and watch the sunrise over Sigiriya Rock.
Pidurangala Rock is adjacent to Sigiriya Rock and is the best viewing spot of Sigiriya Rock as it is only slightly lower. Pidurangala is a popular spot for sunrise as you can enjoy 360-degree views of not only the valleys but also Sigiriya Rock. Pidurangala Rock has a much more natural feel, despite also housing a temple you must cover your shoulders and knees. There is no need to choose between the two. Many travelers wake up for the sunrise at Pidurangala and then head to sunset on top of Sigiriya Rock. Entry to Pidurangular Rock is only 10 USD compared to Sigiriya Rock which is 30 USD.
We spent 2 nights at Sigiriya Hotel. It is the most popular hotel in the area and thats because of the views you get of Sigiriya Rock. You get the most beautiful photos by the pool at sunrise. The staff are friendly and the food was delicious.
Minneriya National Park
One of the most popular National parks in Sri Lanka. We also spent a day at the Minneriya National Park safari. We had a jeep to ourselves along with a driver and guide. Within 20 minutes of entering the park we seen a mother elephant with her baby and also a big bull male elephant crossing the road. We were so thrilled! Although the park plays hosts to many animals like Elephants, Spotted Deers, Monkeys, Peacocks, Birds and Water Buffalo they explain to you that its not always guaranteed to see Elephants up close as the park is 90.000 hectares. There are many different companies that do the open jeep tours in the area. If you want to see elephants we recommend Minneriya because all the animals are free to wander and are not tied up or doing unnatural acts. We chose to visit the park mid morning, where there are far less people and also less jeeps disturbing the wildlife. The day we were there we only seen 2 other jeeps. We also went to Yala National Park and did a half day safari there. We didn’t see any leopards and only a few elephants, however we expected to see more. There are many more jeeps at Yala and this probably the reason why the animals go into hiding. We recommend Minneriya National Park because its more quite, there are far less jeeps and the park is smaller.
DAMBULLA
Dumbulla is just approximatly 45mins – 1 hour Tuk-Tuk ride from Sigiriya. We spent a night here at the Sundreas Resort and Spa. Home to the Dambulla Cave Temple also known as the Golden Temple, Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.
Dambulla Cave Temple
There are 5 caves varying in size and magnificence. #1.The Cave of ‘ Lord of the Gods’, #2 The Cave of ‘ Great Kings ‘, #3 The Cave of ‘ Great New Temple’, #4 The Cave of ‘ Western Temple’, #5 The Cave of ‘ Second New Temple’. You can walk through the cave temples without a guide and all the temples are in a small proximity to each other. Shoulders and knees must be covered and you have to take off your shoes before you enter. They try charge people 25 rupees for holding your shoes. Some people just leave them at the front or put them in their bags, even though there is a sign saying you must not put them in your bag.
KANDY
Kandy is a busy city with plenty of personality. Its the second biggest town in Sri Lanka. The streets are filled with tuk-tuks, busses and shops which give it that busy city feel. We stayed close to the town centre at Impala city hotel for $55 USD a night. It was walking distance to the city shopping mall and train station, which was ideal for us as we were boarding an early train to Ella the next morning.
Royal Botanical Gardens
We only had 1 night in Kandy so we chose to see the Royal Botanical Gardens. The total area of the botanical garden is 147 acres and includes more than 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees. The gardens are filled with beautiful flowers and lush greenery.
Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha
Also go up the hill and visit the Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha statue. The statue can be seen almost from everywhere in the Kandy city as it lights up at night time. It stands up in the sky, between the tree tops attracting many Sri Lankans as well as foreigners. If you visit Kandy city, never forget to visit this temple. Its only 1 km from the city centre.
TRAIN FROM KANDY TO ELLA
The most popular way to get to Ella is by train. We caught the blue train from Kandy to Ella. Its not just the soaring hills and lush tea plantations that make the six hour train ride popular. Its the mad scramble for seats or a doorway, the friendly waves encounterd as the train rolls past the railway stations by the locals or the unforgettable experience of hanging out of the side of the train without a care in the world.
Some tickets can be purchased online but do sell out quickly for the reserves carriages. Many people line up early before the ticket stands opens at 8. We had our hotel worker buy them for us before opening time so we didn’t need line up. Even though we were the first ones on the platform by the time the train came, the platforms were packed. If you are lucky the carriage door will stop in front of you so you can hurry in and grab a seat with a window. We realised that the best time to get on is last so that you are last in the open door. The best place to sit is the doorway with your feet hanging out of the train as you get uninterrupted views of the landscape. We were very unlucky and at first ended up cramped with other passengers and our bags next to the toilet. You idea of personal space goes out the window when on this train so be prepared to be crammed in.
We stood for about 3 hours, then other tourists got off so we quickly left our bags and sat in the doorway. This was by far one of the best experiences we had in Sri Lanka and we highly recommend getting a post in the doorway or atleast a window seat. We got to see the best views of the mountains all the way from Nuwara Eliya to Ella including waterfalls, tea plantations and countryside.
ELLA
Ella is surrounded by the most beautiful green landscapes including waterfalls, mountains and tea fields. There are so many options for activities. Ella is a dream for any outdoor enthusiasts. We stayed 2 nights here because of its beauty and photogenic landscape. We stayed at the Alter Vista Hotel in the city centre and their hospitality was great. Its situated on the main street but up on a hill so its a great location but also you don’t get the noise of the street and music at night. The main street is lined with cafes and restaurants. If you go to Chill Cafe the food there is amazing and tit has a funky chilled vibe there. There are 3 levels with the upstairs you can relax after a fun filled day on their bean bags.
Little Adams peak
One morning we hiked up Littles Adams peak. You can walk or get a tuk tuk at the bottom and then from there its about a 30 minute walk up. Its a smaller easier hike than Big Adams Peak in Hatton so you don’t need to be an advanced hiker to do Little Adams Peak. Max and myself actually took the wrong turn and found ourselves on a track that was leading to a huge rock face. Max even started climbing up it thinking that was still the way we were meant to go. Lucky for us a Sri Lankan worker could see us struggling and yelled across the tea fields that its not the correct way and told us how to get back on the track. YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HIKE AND THE WRONG TURN ON OUR YOUTUBE PAGE BELOW
We managed to make it up for sunrise. It was a beautiful view of the whole valley and of Ella rock. There were already a few hikers up the top when we got there, so we found a spot that was quite and flew the drone. The footage of the sunrise and rock was amazing. Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country and the footage from up high is one the best places we have ever been able to film and take photos of. One tip… Take water with you, we forgot and the whole time we were very thirsty. At the bottom there is a small cafe on the road called Ella Flower Garden Restaurant, you can enjoy a juice or coffee there while enjoying the view of the surrounding tea fields and of what you just hiked up.
On the way down we passed some local ladies picking tea leaves. We stopped and asked if we could learn how to pick the tea leaves. The lady said yes no problem and showed me how to pick the leaves correct and she let me wear the bag over my head. The ladies work very hard in the fields. I put the bag on my head for 5 minutes and could already start to feel the weight of the bag and i could only imagine how heavy it would be to wear all day as they do. I was so grateful to be shown and because Max captured it on camera i showed my gratitude by giving her a tip.
Halpewatta Tea Factory
Later that day we visited the popular Halpawatte Tea Factory. The factory has state of the art machinery and manufacturing procedures. It runs great tours that are very informative and you can learn all you need to know about Ceylon tea, and watch the step by step process of black tea manufacture. The production times for the factory are early morning until 11am, so when we got there the workers had finishesd and shut down all the machinery. Tours still run daily even during non production time. We are more coffee drinkers but we still found the tea process fascinating and enjoyed tasting the different types of tea.
Nine Arches Bridge
Make sure you make time to see the Nine Arches Bridge. We headed there early in the morning to beat the crowds and to get the best lighting for a photo. We timed it so that we were at the bridge when the train came pass. We flew the drone and captured the train going over the bridge with the people hanging out of the train. In the afternoons there can be up to 50 people there taking photos. Max is bit of an adrenaline junkie so he wanted to get a photo of him walking on the edge but for me sticking my legs over was scary enough.
YALA
Yala national Park
Yala National Park is Sri Lanka’s most famous wildlife park, its especially known as the best place to spot a leopard. Unfortunately for us we didn’t spot one that day. There are many tour companies that do day the half day and full day tours. For our tour we got picked up at 4:30 am, I know this seems early but you understand the early start when you get to the gate and see about 60 jeeps already in front, all lining up getting there spot in the que. We payed $60 australian each to have our own private jeep. You can choose to do ta private tour or if you go with a group you do get a discount. Personally i enjoyed Minneriya national park far more. We were expecting to see hundreds of elephants and had our hopes up to see a leopard. We only seen a few elephants and no leopards. I recon that because there are hundreds of jeeps driving through the park the animals go into hiding, and i don’t really like how they allow so many jeeps to enter in the one day.
UNAWATUNA
Our last 2 nights we spent here on the beach. It was so refreshing to see the ocean finally. We stayed at a small hotel right on the beach called La Veranda Di Serena. The staff were so friendly and the family that runs the hotel do all the cooking and helped to organise a scooter and transport to the airport. The location was great it was right on the water, in the morning you could enjoy your breakfast while the sun comes up. We loved staying there.
What made us pick Unawatuna over the more toursity areas like Marisa, was that its only a 20 minute scooter ride to Galle and we also to visit this swing right on the beach of unawatuna that we had seen cool photos of and wanted to get our own. The swing was made by locals a few years ago and it now is one of the main attractions on the beach. To keep up with the maintenance of the swing and rope you do have to pay to use the swing but its only a small fee $4 aus. You can have a swing and also order a drink while watching the sunset. We had seen the most amazing orange sunset while there.
