Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an ideal country to explore South Asia. It is small, surrounded by the ocean and much more quiet than India or other neighboring Asian countries. In addition, people here are friendly and the island has a lot of interesting places. We can say that Sri Lanka has absolutely everything for a good vacation, maybe except the first class hotels, but for us it was not critical, since 3 stars is quite enough for us.

We didn't plan to travel independently and contacted a local guide via the Internet. Since we liked the trip, we recommend him. Harsha Bandara is a young guy who usually goes with the driver, so you will have a guide and a driver. During our trip in February 2012 we had a Mitsubishi minibus. Two rows of seats are empty, so you can even sleep there. It is safe as the speed in Sri Lanka is very low, about 30-40 km per hour on average. Website of Harsha is https://lankatourdriver.com/, now I see that he already has quite a few guide-drivers working for him, I'm not sure if he himself still works as a guide.

Traveling with a guide by his car is a big advantage. The most important thing is that you won't get tired, and it's important. The second point is that only a local resident is able to show you many small interesting details. Also you don't need to worry about booking the hotels. Harsha will find all hotels on-site.

We chose the end of January - beginning of February, the weather was perfect during the entire trip. Here is our 8-day trip to Sri Lanka:

Day 1

We arrived at Colombo at 3 am local time by FlyDubai with the transfer in Dubai. In the arrivals area, to the left, we bought a Dialog sim card for about $11, of which $8 was put to our account. We used this card to make phone calls home and used the 3G Internet without any problems. The calls and the Internet are very cheap.

Then we met with Harsha, loaded into the van and woke up only in the morning in Anuradhapura, where we spent half a day. It was a day off and in Sri Lanka every day off is a holiday, so many people go to temples and arrange beautiful processions.




Next, we continued to Nilaveli on the east coast. It turned out that we had a very long journey on the first day. During the next days everything was simpler. We settled in a beach hotel in Nilaveli. Except for the lack of hot water, everything else was great.


Day 2

On this day, in the morning we planned a snorkeling trip to Pigeon Island, but due to high waves we cancelled it. Instead, we went to Trincomalee to visit Fort Frederick and the Koneswaram Temple.


Then we went to a local thermal spring Kanniya and met deer on the road!




After that we moved towards Polonnaruwa and drove through the home town of our guide, where he showed an interesting place with lots of water monitors. They behaved very calmly and took food out of the hands of the locals. We spend a night in this town in a pretty good bungalow hotel.




Next, we had a small transfer to Polonnaruwa and walked around the ancient capital during the rest of the evening.


On the way to the hotel we stopped near a huge statue of Buddha on the lake in Girithale and watched a beautiful sunset.


At night we were woken up by barking dogs. They are everywhere in Sri Lanka, and for some reason they want to bark at night and near your door :)

Day 3

Early in the morning we went to Sigiriya. On the way we found an interesting structure. At night people sit there and shout to wild elephants, which can ruin their gardens.


In Sigiriya we climbed the famous rock.


Next we went in the direction of Kandy. In Dambulla we visited the wholesale vegetable and fruit market, it was interesting.












We stopped to see the unusual Nalanda Gedige Temple.


In Kandy, first we decided to change money. It turned out that it was not so simple. If you cannot find a bank or an ATM, the money can be exchanged at jewelry stores (!?). And only the $100 bills are valued, the smaller ones may be changed at the worse rate.

We walked in the Temple of the Tooth, everything there is very beautiful. It is the cleanest and the most pleasant place in Sri Lanka. At the exit we bought popcorn and fed the ducks on the lake. Next we had visited an observation deck above the lake and then settled in a hotel on the hillside. The place is very picturesque.








The dogs got us there, too :)

Day 4

We got up early and went to Pinnawela, to the elephant orphanage. On the way we saw a local woman with two... porcupines! We stopped the car and asked her to take a picture :)


We came just in time to the elephant orphanage: fed the elephants, watched them bathe, and took pictures.






Next we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, where we walked for two hours. After a walk we decided to buy juice and saw the local Wood Apple juice. Don't repeat our mistake :)


On the way saw some "fruit" on the trees, went out of the car and came closer, it turned out...






Next we went in the direction of Nuwara Eliya. As we approached the mountains, tea plantations appeared everywhere.


We decided to look at the bushes and immediately came the women who were gathering the tea. We took pictures with them for $1.


We decided to buy tea and visited the factory.


The next stop was Ramboda Falls where we had lunch.


We arrived at Nuwara Eliya, the colonial resort in the mountains. The temperature here is much lower, around +13 Celsius against +26 on the coast. In the center there are old colonial houses and post office. We went to the post office to send a postcard to Ukraine, but there was no postcards. So we crossed the road and bought the postcards in a gift shop. As a result, the postcard didn't reach the destination :)




We spent the night in a colonial English hotel. It was very cold in the hotel, so we decided to take a heater into the room.

Day 5

We woke up very early as we were going to Horton Plains, and you should be there by 6 am. Horton Plains is a must-see place in Sri Lanka.








We went down from the plains by a different road and drove to the Ohiya train station. There we bought train tickets to the third-class carriage and drove about an hour to Haputale, where was our next hotel. Harsha with the driver went there by car. There are carriages of all three classes, but we can drive first class in Ukraine, and in Sri Lanka we wanted to see the third class. Trains in Sri Lanka are quite civilized, unlike the Indian ones, which are often depicted on "demotivators". The train runs among the picturesque places and some travel agencies include it in the their programs. Even in the third class there was no problems with seats. The tickets are very cheap.






From Haputale we first went to the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, Bambarakanda, which flows down from the Horton Plains, and then returned to the hotel.


Our hotel in Haputale offered a beautiful view from the balcony and in the evening we just relaxed and watched the local chipmunks and cats.




Day 6

On that day we went in the south coast direction. We asked Harsha to drive through Ella, as we had heard about that place. Ella is really beautiful, but it's located in the mountains and it's not easy to get there or find a good place to stay overnight.

We visited the Dowa rock temple. 

The locals write their wishes on the flags.

Next stop was the Ravana Falls with a lot of monkeys around.




We stopped near interesting trees. It was a rubber tree, Harsha showed us how the rubber is extracted. The smell is awful :)






The next stop was the Diyaluma waterfall.


We also visited the Buduruwagala Temple. This place unknown to tourists and therefore it's interesting.


There's a lot of interesting plants in this area. For example, if you touch these leaves (shy mimosa), they will immediately fold.


We arrived at Tissamaharama, settled into the hotel, had lunch, rested and went on a safari in the Yala National Park. This is one of the best places in Sri Lanka.








Day 7

All day long we were driving along the coast. First we stopped in the Wewurukannala Vihara Temple, where we ascended to the head of Buddha and looked at 500 drawings in the style of Dexter.




Then we walked in the southernmost place of Sri Lanka, near the lighthouse in Dondra.


Checked the best beach of the island, Mirissa


Saw the fishermen on poles in Weligama Bay


And walked around the Galle fort, where attempted to withdraw money from one of the ATMs. It was a big surprise for us that the Visa cards don't work in many ATMs of Sri Lanka. Luckily, we had a Mastercard.




After Galle we stopped near a monument. It reminds of the tragic events of 2004, when south coast of Sri Lanka was devastated by tsunami. At this point, a 6-meter wave destroyed a crowded train and killed more than 1,700 people. This disaster is the largest railway catastrophe in the history. In total, 35,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka, more than half a million lost their homes. Unfortunately, modern tsunami warning systems are too complex, and the main problem is that they don't always work.




Parents of this girl were killed, but she escaped and sat on a tree until the water subsided.


The events of 2004 are shown in the movie "The Impossible" (2012).

Then we began to look for a hotel and it was not easy. We searched for about an hour, because all hotels on the coast were occupied. We stopped at the Oasey Beach Hotel, which had free apartments on the top floor.

Funny, but only women work in this hotel. When we arrived, one of them grabbed our bag and carried it to the top floor! We tried to stop her, but failed.




Day 8

On the last day in the morning we went for a safari along the Madu Ganga river.










We also stopped at the turtle hatchery in Kosgoda.




Our flight was at night, so there was still plenty of time. First we walked in Colombo.






And then we went to a beach hotel in Negombo, where we rested on the beach until the evening for a small amount of money. As it was not convenient to stay in the hotel for several hours, we just slept in the car in the parking lot of the airport.

Sri Lanka left only positive impressions. If you are still thinking whether to go or not to go, we are sure that our reports will dispel all doubts.

General tips:
 - You can get an e-visa at this wesite http://eta.gov.lk/slvisa/.
 - If you need a sim card, buy Dialog at the airport.
 - You need to go barefoot and bareheaded to temples and holy places.
 - The main food is fried rice or noodles with fillers: vegetables, chicken or seafood. We always asked "not spicy".
 - Visa cards don't work in many ATMs on the island.
 - There is no hot water in inexpensive hotels and guesthouses.
 - Sri Lanka has special sockets.
 - Room price may not include tax (~10%), which you will pay later.
 - On the Internet, there was information about a common ticket for several places in the cultural triangle: Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura. In February 2012 such tickets were gone.
 - Don't let local guides follow you near the tourist places, otherwise they will claim the money.
 - Be careful with Tuk Tuks, their favorite activity is to say that the price is "200" rupees, and in the end of the trip they say that you agreed to "2000".