Stunning Sri Lanka
On 15th March we arrived in Colombo. We changed some money on arrival although the rate at 224 Sri Lankan rupees to £1, locally you can get around 232. We were meet outside by our guide Chanaka Amarasinghe, who was fantastic, interesting, informative and very intuitive: the perfect guide.
We arrived late afternoon and went straight to the Jetwing Lagoon Negombo for 1 night. A beautiful hotel with gardens down to the lagoon and beautiful views. Our deluxe room was spacious with an enclosed outside bathroom. Lovely buffet dinner and the cost of dinner and 2 drinks was £25pp.
The next day was a 9am start with a 4.5hr drive to Sigiriya. We did a private jeep safari in Minneriya Wildlife Park, which meant we could move around according to where the elephants were. We did see a monitor lizard and a few day-old calves. The scenery was stunning. Late afternoon we checked into the stunning Aliya Resort Sigiriya Hotel. On arrival there is a huge staircase to climb, with a panoramic view of Sigiriya Rock at the top. The deluxe rooms are large, well decorated with an elephant theme. Lovely balconies overlooking the immaculate gardens. Exceptional food, amazing infinity pool, lovely and warm. The view to the Sigiriya Rock was stunning. This was my favourite hotel; I could spend 3 to 4 nights relaxing here.
Early start the next day to climb the 2000 steps up the Sigiriya Rock to the fortress on the top. Best to do this before it gets to hot and busy. Whilst we were ready to climb the steps Chanaka told us the story and took us around the gardens - it was important before you climb to understand why it was built, why there were so many lookout posts and narrow entrances carved in the rock. It certainly added to the awe when we got to the top. The climb is long with uneven steps and single file all the way up. In my case with a walking stick and climbing using one leg to step up it was very tiring but worth it. There is a rest point just before the final climb. It was amazing to reach this fortress, understanding how the people lived there having to transport food from the gardens below. The view was amazing and serene. The steps down seemed easier and a lot quicker, it was around 2.5 hours including time on the top. I recommend you take 2 bottles of water per person. Chanaka then took us to one of the many roadside stalls with fresh coconuts and we drank coconut water straight from the shell. We asked to go to a local restaurant for lunch, he took us to a local restaurant that had been built in a back garden. Dewata Villas - Oriental Village Restaurant which was lovely a local perfect lunch.
The next day was a drive to Kandy of around 3 hours. Before that we had a visit to the Dambulla Royal Cave Temple. A short climb and-it was stunning, though the caves were really hot inside. The drive on to Kandy, although not far, has mountainous roads which are slow and very windy. En route we stopped at a fruit and vegetable wholesalers, where farmers bring their produce in large sacks and hotels and restaurants come to buy. It was organised chaos, there were hundreds and hundreds of sellers with produce I have not seen before, everything was much larger than in the UK. It was interesting, the people did not mind us being there and gave us samples, a fantastic experience. Another stop en route was the Ranweli Spice Garden where you get a free guide (just tip and buy!) who explains the health benefits of the different spices.
Kandy is a large very busy town, chaotic traffic jams yet everyone was patient. The lake is very pretty, lots of tourist shops and local crafts such as Batik factory, gems, wood carving, very much geared to the tourist. The hotel, the Mahaweli Reach was old, rooms were very large and comfortable. We stayed on half board here and the food was ok. In the evening we went to see a traditional Kandyan and Low Country dance show. Chanaka got us front row seats, which was excellent, especially when the show finished with walking the coals just a couple of feet from us. The show was lovely and worth seeing.
Another early start to see the Temple of the Tooth relic. Every morning you can see the cask where the relic is held. The door closes at 11 am so hundreds of people were queueing to pay their respects. Men must wear long trousers or a sarong. It was amazing to see; I was given some flowers to leave as a gift.
We then drove further in the mountains to the stunning tea country and the British Resort of Nuwara Elia, around 3 hours. The drive is beautiful with waterfalls and stunning views. We stopped at a tea plantation for a tour and tea tasting - worth doing and a good place to buy unrefined tea. Nuwara Eliya is very pretty with a very British feel. The Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya is a country house hotel. The temperatures are cooler in the mountains. The food was excellent, rooms lovely. The gardens as you would expect were beautiful.
We then drove down the mountains back towards Colombo to pick up the motorway to Hikkaduwa. The journey takes around 6 hours and en route we stopped at a Hindu Temple and (shamefully) Pizza Hut for lunch. We arrived into Hikkaduwa late afternoon, a lively seaside resort and our stay for the next 2 nights was the Hikka Trang by Cinnamon. A pleasant beachfront hotel with both a calm swimming area and also an area with currents going in different directions where the turtles come into shore. Twice we were lucky to paddle and be close to the turtles. There are notices asking people not to touch or get close to the turtles. The sea was lovely and warm and lots of fish. The hotel swimming pool was lovely and warm and lovely to relax in. Plenty of sunbeds, the pool attendants always happy to help find some. The rooms were big and lovely terraces with sea views, very much a young vibe with young staff. All very helpful and friendly and everywhere looked spotlessly clean. We did go out and try a local restaurant, again excellent service and all very reasonable. The hotel also had monitor lizards that wandered around.
I loved Sri Lanka, Chanaka was lovely and so intuitive of our needs. Columbus Travel are an excellent company and seemed well thought of whereever we stayed.