Sri Lanka Jan/Feb 2014

On the 18th February we flew out of London Heathrow to Colombo for a trip to Sri Lanka. The trip was put together for us by Reef & Rainforest based on our suggestions. I can thoroughly recommend them. We wanted a good mix of both culture and wildlife. We were provided with a driver/guide for the whole 18days. He was absolutely excellent. 

I am not putting many pictures in the post but if you want to see more go to my Gallery. There are 288 pictures there. Next is a map and a brief summary of our tour.

The first item on the itinerary was a visit to Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage which was a short drive North East of Colombo. Interesting but in order to raise funds it has become a bit of a circus. We did manage to stop in the shop and buy souvenirs made out of elephant poo. We stayed a Elephant Bay Hotel which was the poorest we stayed at on the trip. The next day we headed further North East to Dambulla to visit the Dambulla Cave Temple. It is magnificent don't miss it. Our guide Kumara Premawanse was a devout Buddist and was extremely knoweledgeable. We then headed off to the Heritance Kandelama Hotel what a great place and what views.

The next day it was off to Polonnaruwa the island's ancient capitol. The monuments of this ancient city are relatively well preserved and give an good feel for the glory of Sri Lanka's past. What I did not realise is that they were great water engineers and the landscape is covered with huge man-made reservoirs.

Today a trip to the Sigirya Rock Fortress quite the most amazing and mad place ever. The climb to the top is not for the faint hearted but well worth the effort. I don't think my photos really do it justice.

Our journey now turns South towards Kandy. We stop first at the Paramount Spice gardens where after a very instructive tour we spend rather more that we intended in the shop. Then on to a Batik works, we were given a good view of the whole process. I did have to restrain my wife as health and safety aspects left a great deal to be desired. That evening we arrived at The Mansion a wonderfully faded old colonial house. Inside it was magnificent with the beautiful furniture. I believe we were among the last guests before it closed for refurbishment. It has now reopened as a luxury boutique hotel. We used it as a base for looking at the sights of Kandy perhaps the best being the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya and then off to a folk dance performance, before joining the seething hordes going into The Temple of the Tooth Relic.

Off further South to Nuwara Eliya to see the tea plantations, great views as we climb through the hills. Look at several plantations and then stop at a tea factory, they build them strong here, a tiny women picking up huge crates of tea. I now know what OP, BOP, and BOPF mean. I am not telling you, go to Sri Lanka. We stop at St. Andrew's Hotel, Nuwara Eliya a lovely old country house. We are off in the morning to Horton Plains a National Park at 2100m and Sri Lanka's highest plateau. The view from "Worlds End" where there is a sheer drop of around 1,000m is spectacular as are Bakers Falls.  It was a long walk a bit over 9km over very rough ground we had walking boots but many were just in flip-flops. The wild life was disappointing even most of the birds were in hiding.

Next day finds us travelling south again Uda Walawe National Park stopping on the way for refreshments at a rubber plantation. If you want to see elephants this is the place to go they are everywhere and plenty of birdlife. We take two safaris there one that day and on the next morning. We overnight at Kalu's Hideaway very well named. Very small hotel well hidden so it is a surprise to bump into my sisters hairdresser in the hotel pool, small world.

In the afternoon we drive Eastwards to Yala National Park and check into Cinnamon Wild aptly named as there are wild boar, water buffalo, monkeys and all sorts of animals and birds wandering around the cabins. Again a really nice place and we spend 3 nights here and make 3 safaris around Yala park. Yes in the end we did see our leopard, a sloth bear, and many birds, elephants, crocodiles, jackals a very productive trip. On the 2nd safari there was a "brown trouser moment" where we were charged by an elephant who stopped a few inches in front of the jeep. It was a female, apparently "trios" are the most dangerous that is a mother , daughter and baby.

It is time now to head off to the coast and Mirissa, we check in to the Mandara Resort a beach hotel and can't resist the temptation for a swim in the sea, great. Its is up early next morning to the port in Mirissa for a days whale watching. I takes some time before we find several pods of Blue Whales and get some excellent views. Did you know whale poo is bright red! When we turn for home we find ourselves surrounded by hundreds of dolphins a great end to the trip.

We take a trip North along the coast to Galle stop to look at the pole fisherman, its tourists not fish they are catching, stopping to pay our respects at the Tsunami memorial which stands were the passenger train was washed away. Galle is an attractive town, plenty of fish and vegetable and fruit stalls. At last we take a Tuk Tuk ride.

We head out in the morning to visit a moonstone mine and see the whole process from digging and panning the gravel to making the finished product. Once in the shop we are doomed. After lunch we take a boat trip around the mangrove delta of the Madu Ganga. We stop at Cinnamon Island and see them stripping the cinnamon bark. See crocodiles, water monitors, fruit bats and many birds. Nice relaxing trip. On our way back to the hotel we stop of at the Victor Hasselblad Sea Turtle and Conservation Center. We see the hatchery and tanks of young turtles.

We now head inland and uphill to our accomodation that night Boulder Garden, a hotel built into boulders and the mountain, quite extraordinary. The journey was horrendous, in rain on a road that was under reconstruction. We arrived rather late to find a candlelit supper set for us in a restaurant open on 3 sides under a huge rock overhang. It was absolutely magical.

The next morning we were of on our last jaunt of the holiday the Sinharaja World Heritage Site, our main sightings were purple Faced Leaf Monkeys, many butterflies, water snake and the very rare Rough -nose Horned Lizard. Sightings would have been better if we had started at dawn.

Late the next morning we reluctantly left the Boulder Garden and headed for Colombo and a hotel close to the airport ready for our flight early the next day.

How do I feel about Sri Lanka? Its a magical country both for culture and wildlife, go!!!

PS. For infomation they drive on the left, or is it the right or the middle