What an Amazing trip in Sri Lanka we had! I discovered the country with my friend Marianne from France and we spent 10 days admiring the wild nature and visiting many cultural sites. From food to buddhas statues and from black tea to elephants, Sri Lanka is the trendy island to add to your list, don’t wait too much before it becomes too full of tourists! As there are many cities to visit and we only had 10 days together, we decided to hire a driver/guide through a tour company ‘Mai Globe Travels that also took care of all the hotel and restaurants booking. It is a very good price/value and we definitely recommend it and our guide Dinusha. October was this year the perfect month with a perfect weather, we were very lucky.

Negombo

I was the first to arrive at the airport. There is a visa entrance of 30USD that you can pay beforehand on internet. There, I was taken in charge by our driver Dinusha. We visited Negombo, also known as the ‘Little Roma’ of Sri Lanka with its canals built during the Dutch colonisation. I visited a nice Catholic church with pink faded walls and then we headed up to the dry fish market… Even if it was quite #smelly, the view of the ranges of silver small fishes around was pleasant. Then I strolled in the streets, taking pictures of the lagoon with beautiful fishing boats. Before picking-up Marianne, I visited a Buddha temple, very colorful with tall Buddha statues. After onboarding the French girl, we did small stops along the road to drink king coconuts and discovered the red bananas. Then we arrived at our hotel in Anuradhapura and ate our first rice & curry (way too spicy for me, Marianne loved that).

London Palace hotel (7/10): we enjoyed sleeping under a mosquito net that reminded me of my childhood in Marseille.

Pink church: St Mary’s Church: Main Street, Negombo  

Anuradhapura – Mihintale

We enjoyed our first ruins and temples in Anuradhapura. Some ruins date back to the 4^th century BC when the city was still the capital of the country. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our guide was very funny and even if his English was not perfect he informed us a lot about the history. We saw the sacred tree, presumably brought back from India and supposed to be one of the oldest trees in the world. I particularly liked the moonstones, those half circle stones in front of the entrance of temples, with many designs and many meanings. White stupa (pagodas) were really impressive and we learned that Sri Lankan people really enjoyed taking bath in big swimming pools. Our feeling was very different between our first visit to the temples with stupas busy with local people, all wearing white and offering alms to the Buddha of the Citadel, and the second where we were literally alone, only surrounded by majestic ruins, all lost in the woods. The guide told us that we were alone because people don’t know anymore the history of the ruins, which previously formed a complete city for 4000 monks. After our first buffet, we’ve been to Mihintale were we climbed more than 1800 stairs to get a breathtaking view on the countryside and landscape. It was very windy and not so easy to climb up. Our next hotel was located in Habarana and was really nice. Before checked-in, we had a one-hour Ayurvedic massage at the spa and enjoyed a nice steamed room with many herbs spread out on the floor that gave the room a wonderful scent.

Jays Holiday Resort (9/10); staff is super friendly, very spacious room and even a swimming pool, I highly recommend it! It is conveniently located closed to cultural sites and natural parks.

Athreya Ayurveda Ashram Spa (9/10): Maguruhitiyawa wawa Road Henukkiriyawa, Ritigala, Habarana

Polonnaruwa

We began with the archeological museum of the city, which was also the capital of the country after Anuradhapura era. Then we rode bicycles through the ruins and temples under a burning sun and we saw Kalu Gal Vihara, 4 Buddha statues carved in granite. We had a lunch in a fantastic restaurant, which welcomed some Komodo dragons in their pounds (#OMG) and cooked all their food in firewood. The food was clearly amazing (and #organic!) and the owner very funny. The afternoon was dedicated to our safari in Kaudulla National Park where we had the chance to look at the elephants, birds, iguana, crocodiles for almost 3 hours in an old-fashion Jeep. The advantage was to see baby elephants playing together and taking their bath, and also to get quite close to them silently. Sunset at the end was again breathtaking with a subtle mix of bright yellow and deep orange (#nofilter!). To finish this perfect day, after a dive in the refreshing swimming pool by night, our dear guide presented us the Arkal (coconut alcohol) and we had the pleasure to ask him many questions about Sri Lanka state at the moment and to enjoy a great evening with him.

Polonnaruwa archeological Museum (7/10):

Restaurant Jaga Food (9/10):

Kaudulla National Park (10/10): 

Sigiriya – Dambulla – Kandy

We woke up at 6:30 to enjoy an early walk to Sigiriya Lion’s Rock. The 200-meters high monument was home to an illegitimate king that defined the rock as his palace after killing his father. Our guide was very dynamic and again, the view was wonderful over the countryside even if the climb was quite long and very steep. We even saw a snake in the park after few meters, which means I was not reassured during all the following. We then been to Dambulla were we enjoyed the visits of caves with buddhas and a sacred jar where water from the cave is dropping in for the ceremonies. After lunch, we quickly visited a batik fabric and we arrived in Kandy to see the busy and very modern Temple of the Tooth, known as THE Buddhist temple which hosts one tooth of the Buddha… This is a ‘funny’ monument as it combined very modern/colonial architecture with all the old-fashion frills of Buddhist temples (gold, colors everywhere…). We finished the day by a stroll in the city which has a beautiful lake and had milk tea & chocolate milkshake with our guide. Except the lake and the temple, Kandy is a big Asian city, with many cars et consequently, more pollution and not-working red lights (=> traffic jam nightmare).

Temple of the Tooth (7/10): Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy

Liyya Re (8/10): very comfortable hotel with Deluxe room and a good dinner on the terrace.

Kandy – Peradeniya – Ella

Kandy is a big quite modern city so we’ve planned to visit the Peradeniya Botanical Garden to have a refreshing stop. The garden is huge and host many species or flower, plants, orchids and palm trees. Children wearing school uniforms and new couples are strolling in the park and the whole atmosphere is very bucolic. We then stopped at Storefield Tea Factory to discover how tea is make and try/buy different kinds of black tea.  Then after several hours on the winding mountain road, we arrived at Nuwara Elyia to take the old-fashion train (all windows and doors opened) to Ella, a small hilltop village surrounded by tea plantations. The trip was pleasant with great views on the valleys. Then we arrived in our lovely bungalow and had dinner in a restaurant where a band playing in the small village. There we tried a chicken roti, a Sri Lankan dish made of vegetables, chicken, roti and some curry sauce: a true delight!

Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens (8/10):

Storefield Tea Factory (7/10): Nuwara Eliya Road Gampola | Nuwara Eliya Road, Gampola, Gampola

Sunnyside Bungalow guesthouse (10/10): lovely owner. We enjoyed a local Sri Lankan milk tea on their terrace was one of my best memory of the trip.

Ella

On October 5^th it was Poya day (=full moon day which is a bank holiday). We did a trek in the Haputale tea plantations. The landscape was very nice and we were fortunate enough to have the sun with us at the beginning of the walk. We even stopped for a cup of tea with a family in a small village. The foggy weather upon the plantations gave them a ‘mystic’ view, very nice too. And finally we walked under a heaving rain, we were soaked to the skin but happy. We took shelter in a true Sri Lankan house and where we could spied the Hindu temple below celebrating the full moon with much colours and songs. Then we relax a little bit in our hotel, reading and playing the piano with the son of the owner. We then climb the Little Adam’s Peak up where we admire again the beautiful view of the valley. After that, it was time for a coffee/pineapple juice at Ella’s rock hotel with its nice terrace overhanging the valley and a nice Lumpsay at Chill restaurant with a very western atmosphere (which was nice to rediscover, for a night time).

Ella’s rock hotel (7/10): Ella Main Street, Ella

Restaurant: ‘Chill’ (8/10): quite crowded with Western people, try the Lumpsay specialty 

Tangalle

For our last day in Ella, we shopped at the ‘famous’ Halpewatte tea factory located at high altitude (1200 m) and I bought many flavoured teas (Vanilla, Tropical, Mint, Black tea again…). Then on the road to Tangalle, we stopped at Rabawana waterfalls to admire the view. Finally, after 3 hours of driving (and a good sleep) we arrived in Tangalle. We had some devilled prawns at Emaliya Rock view restaurant (who forgot to give us our money change….) but the lunch on the terrace facing the ocean was great. We arrived at our wooden cabana at Palm Paradise Cabanas, very nice high-end hotel with a swimming pool, a private beach, a restaurant and even a room with ping pong, darts, and board games. We spent our whole Saturday reading, swimming, eating on the beach and it was great to do nothing for a day. The hotel is really cool but our cabana was very close to the ocean and the noise of waves prevent us to sleep well.

Halpewatte tea factory (9/10): Badulla Road | Hela-Halpe, Ella

Palm Paradise Cabanas (9/10): Goyambokka, Tangalle

Gale

On our last day, we had one last morning bath before checking-out. We drove to Galle, lovely citadel close to the ocean. After some seafood (not shark …) in a restaurant, we wandered in the streets, shopping, buying spiced and enjoying our latest moments together, as I was flying back to Hong Kong and Marianne stayed another week in Unawatuna. If you want to buy nice souvenirs such as pottery, it is the city to go. You can also feel that the city gets more tourists and French people, and is a little bit more ‘western’ than the others.

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 Sri Lanka is still quite a wild island with many natural attractions: safari, tea plantations, beaches, animals. The country is also quite poor and recent bloody history is still in every Sri Lanka’s heads. You can also feel the ‘Indian’ influence (at least what I imagine about India) in the food, architecture, people style.  Sri Lanka is trendy so don’t wait too much before visiting!