14 days in Sri Lanka!

Serene Sri Lanka. 

So peaceful, green, and beautiful. 

I was so super chilled while we were here - I feel like that is the general vibe felt by most who visit. 

We did long scenic car journeys between towns which was great, and also meant I slept a lot too (ha, I can be a terrible passenger once a car is on the move)!

Travel Wallet: 

CCY: රු LKR

Visa (British Passport): ETA required in advance, valid for a visit up to 30 days.
Vaccinations: Required
Backpacker budget: ££

Peaks in pictures: 

See my post on Instagram!

Our driver's route over 2 weeks: 

Colombo (we landed here) 
Pinnawala
Trincomalee
Sigiriya 
Dambulla
Kandy
Nuwara Eliya
Ella
Yala (we stayed in Unawatuna) 
Mirissa
Bentota
Colombo (flew out from here) 

Favourites over four weeks: 

Trincomalee
See Fort Frederick
See Swami rock / Koneswaram temple
See Lovers leap
Eat sour roadside mango and guava (my favourite!) 
Visit Trinco beach

Sigiriya  + Dambulla
Hike Sigiriya rock / Lions rock (££ admission!) 
Climb Piduranagala rock and visit Buddhist monestary
Visit Dambulla Cave Temple / Rangiripaya temple  
Eat a brunch of dreams: hoppers, string hoppers and fresh salt & peppered pineapple (in a tree house!) 

Kandy
Visit golden temple
Visit Spice farm / Ayurvedic 501 spice farm 
Visit Tooth relic: Sri Dalada Maligawa / Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Buddhist temple)

Nuwara Eliya
Trek Horten plains to worlds end at sunrise 
Visit Ambewela diary farm (could miss this, we did it and it was eye opening) 
Visit the botanical gardens
Visit / or stay at The Heritance Tea Factory hotel 
Visit Ramboda water fall
See Sita Amman Hindu temple

Ella
Take the train through the clouds / mountains from Nanu Oya railway station to Ella 
Enjoy Sri Lankan tea, the view and crisp mountain air 
Hike up Little Adams Peak (you have to drive a little west to get there) 
Visit Nine Arch Bridge 
Drink fresh coconut water and wait for the train ;-)
Visit Ravana waterfall 

Yala National Park 
We stayed in and eco-friendly hotel in Tissamahama, read more about this under 'Pits' 
Visit the Tele Cinema area 
Take a glass bottom boat trip to see coral sanctuary and marine life in Hikkaduwa

Unawatuna
Chill: beach days! 

Mirissa 
Visit Galle Fort
Have lunch at Asela's house with his family

Bentota
Chill: Beach day
Visit Turtle hatchery

Colombo
Visit Sri Anjaneyar Hindu temple in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia area 
Visit Colombo national museum
Visit Independence square
Visit Gangarama temple
Visit Beira lake
Visit BMICH 
Explore Pettah bazaar 

Peaks:

Hiking Adam's Peak and the crisp air in Ella. The rock climb and the view opposite Sigiriya (you can see this in the video!). All the lovely home cooked food - I love vegetarian Sri Lankan food. Asela, his family, and everyone else we met in Sri Lanka who were all so welcoming and hospitable. Oh and discovering my favourite comfort drink ever - after chai - Nestlomalt! 

Pits:

Pinawalla elephant orphanage. It's a tourist trap; elephants are bound to each other and herded around with spears. Also, not a negative but just an observation, it took me a while to adjust to the slower pace in Sri Lanka so I ended up sleeping a lot. I'm not the type of person who can relax on a beach for days: I either get itchy feet or get too lazy; so in hindsight I would probably tell my younger self to visit Sri Lanka for 9 days rather than 14.

This is also not a pit, but a funny story: we had the worst luck with the hotel we stayed at near Yala National Park - we left the balcony light on by accident and start hearing lots of small knocks on the patio window at night, opened the curtains to see big flies flying into the window trying the get into the room. They found a small gap and hundreds started swarming around us, then a frog came up the sink hole! We were surround by animals in a panic, which was ironic considering we had to be up at 4am to voluntarily go animal watching in the National Park...

(It was all sorted within an hour. I think we got a couple of  hours sleep in the end ha)

  

If I could go again, I would also:

Visit Jaffna - it's off the tourist track but it would be nice to see where the family of people I know and love used to live 
Go whale watching in Marissa
Do the Boat Safari: see mangrove swamps and natural fauna / flora
Do some water sports: wind surfing, water skiing, banana boating

Do you have any other recommendations or tips? Leave a comment below and let me know,  

Enjoy Sri Lanka! 

Priya x