Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was famously named under the British rule, is a dark horse of a country. Why a dark horse? Because unlike other "more famous" Asian countries, little is known about this island country. However, it punches above it's weight and makes you notice it's natural & cultural splendour.
I am an Indian citizen and I have no qualms in admitting that I underestimated Sri Lanka as a travel destination. It was a mistake though on my part and me admitting that speaks volumes about the place.
I had 8 days available to myself for a vacation in which I planned an adventurous offbeat trip to Sri Lanka and a luxury relaxed holiday in Maldives. I booked by customized 5 day Sri Lankan trip through Eden Lanka Tours - The Sri Lankan specialists.
Here, in this post I'll share with you the Top 10 things to do in Sri Lanka.
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN SRI LANKA
1. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Situated in Kandy, this place a refuge for orphaned elephants & a must-do if you're a wildlife enthusiast. I mean even if you aren't, the elephants are adorable and not going to hurt you.
I remember I stepped into the orphanage, walking on the side path and suddenly I felt this calm yet thundering sensation of footsteps. Next thing I see is a herd of elephants marching on to their destination.
The elephants are taken care of and are sheltered in an extremely well maintained environment. Infact, you can even feed the elephants by purchasing the fruit basket for which you can pay at the ticket counter itself. I might look scared (I was, I thought he'll trunk punch me) but I enjoyed feeding one of the elephants.
If you walk across the road to the opposite side of the orphanage, then you can see them taking a leisurely bath in a river stream.
The elephants are cool about it and won't complain about invasion of privacy. You can also shop from the many local shopping stores on your way to the river stream. The stores have some good clothing options & wooden artwork.
2. See the Kandyan dance and cultural show
If you wish to get a sneak peek into the local arts & craft, then visit the Sri Lankan handicraft making complex in Kandy. The complex comprises of the arts and craft centre, silk factory and gem emporium.
At the end of your tour, is a small Kandyan dance and cultural show that's organised for the visiting travellers. Kandyan is an amalgamation of various traditional dance forms native to the region of Kandy. Performers - decked up in beautiful costumes, perform some skillful moves and entertain you for almost an hour. The grace and elegance on display enthralls you and gives you a fine taste of Sri Lankan culture.
3. Temple of Tooth Relic
Considered as one of the most holiest shrines in the Buddhist world, this Buddhist temple in Kandy is a UNESCO World Heritage site. I recommend you to hire one of the guides at the entrance of the temple (they'll find you, even if you don't) so that you are acquainted with the history of the temple.
The Temple of Tooth Relic played an important role in local politics. It was believed that whoever held the relic, held the governance of the country. The Temple complex has a beautiful courtyard garden along with a museum next to the temple building. Right from the entrance containing frescoes to the interiors, the temple has some classical architecture.
The Main Shrine is a gorgeous section. You can actually sit in front of it, while the priests are performing a pooja. Viewing the vessel in which the tooth relic is placed is pretty fascinating. It's a spiritual experience with the lighting, the number of people, the traditional music being played. Stay aware of the few monkeys around though.
There's a separate enclosure for offering your prayers with camphor, candles and incense sticks. There's also a small museum (next to the temple building) for the loyal Royal elephant Raja who served the King for decades. The statue inside it is a stuffed one, with the outer skin that of the original dead elephant.
Make sure you're dressed properly as sleeveless tops and shorts/capri pants aren't allowed. Visit the Kandy lake post the temple and enjoy the serene surroundings the place has to offer.
4. Visit the Ceylon tea-factory and plantation
Visiting Sri Lanka and not doing a tea-factory and plantation tour is simply criminal. Here is where you get the taste of the world renowned legendary "Ceylon" tea.
First you are greeted with this aromatic fragrance of tea in the air, as you enter the tea-factory. At the entrance itself there'll be a person who'll greet you and guide you through the works. You'll be explained the entire procedure of how the tea is processed, refined, dried and finally packed to then enter our cups and delight us with it's taste. The scale at which huge quantities of consumable tea is produced is worth appreciation.
Besides that we were shown different types of Ceylon tea and informed about how variation in their colour and texture resulted in varying strengths of the tea. From the factory, you can go to the tea plantation outside. Endless stretches of green with terrace farming on hills provide for a sight pleasing to the eye. Walk along the narrow pathway between the 2 sides of plantation and immerse yourself in a sea of exquisite green.
Beware of this harmless looking woman/kid who come to you to get a picture clicked. They aren't there to promote cultural unity but to charge you, a second after you have committed the sin of clicking a picture with them. Present near the tea-settlement (comprising the factory and plantation) is the tea-store from where you can purchase tea of all kinds, flavours, textures, colors and strengths.
5. Ramboda Waterfall
About a 2 hour drive from Kandy on your way to Nuwara Eliya, you reach a parking area at the top of the paved driveway which leads to the Ramboda hotel. From there you take the elevator down and follow the walking trail to the falls. It is a short distance from the hotel so you don't have to be in great physical shape to do it and it's all downhill so that's a plus!
You can walk right to the base of the waterfall and see it in all it's glory. Two parallel white streams cascading over the rocky outcrops give you an impression as if there were multiple waterfalls emanating from the top. The water flows nonchalantly into a stream below that runs into the forest. Each drop of water was competing in a race to hit the rock below first, turn into beautiful white mist & make the loudest sound, as it was the only thing any of us could hear.
Since the area surrounding the waterfall is all foresty, the waterfall provides for a wallpaper perfect picture. The base of the trail has a railing so you can stop there for some photos.
Post your time at the waterfall, the buffet lunch at the Ramboda hotel is where you want to be. The dishes are fresh, hot, tasty, filling and the vegetarian spread along with the seafood is highly impressive. I recommend you to enjoy a hearty meal here before heading onto Nuwara Eliya. You can opt for a shuttle service that the Ramboda hotel provides which does a pick up and drop from the parking space to the hotel downhill
6. Gregory Lake
Situated right in the heart of the hill city of Nuwara Eliya, Gregory Lake strikes an alluring picture. The calm waters of the lake are inviting and will tempt you to take a dip in the lake but don't get carried away. I reached the spot when it was raining so I couldn't avail the boating service that the locals provide.
However, I advice you to take a boat trip to enjoy the lake and it's picturesque surroundings. You can see lush green hills from a distance. The area leading to the lake is well maintained and there's a nice grass bank where you can sit, admire the views & enjoy some fresh hot local tea and snacks from the line of food stalls behind the bank.
I was lucky to witness the magical rainbow ring view thanks to the weather and if you're visiting during Sep-Oct & are lucky, then you could get to view something like this too.
7. Wildlife safari at Yala National Park
Unlike other extremely expensive safaris, you don't have to sell a kidney to experience the wildlife safari at Yala National Park. Situated in Tissamaharama, the park, if you have realistic expectations as a visitor & don't expect to see flying unicorns, provides quite a satisfying and authentic wildlife experience.
On the way to the National Park, you'll see elephants walking across the road, peacocks wandering and it'll seem like The Jungle Book playing out in real life.
It's a beautiful forest with a great diversity of animals. You can spot deer, elephants, peacocks, crocodiles, monkeys, water buffaloes, sloth bears, storks, kingfisher, spoonbill, mongoose, and if lucky, then the rare kind of leopards.
It is one of those unique safari spots with the Indian ocean bordering it, that provides a really interesting geography to the entire place. The place has stunning plant life, rock formations, watering holes where animals like leopards casually come to have a sip of their energy drink and disappear before you can get a camera out.
The jeeps could be lesser in number during peak hours so that's an area that can be improved upon, but once you're there, the surrounding wildlife will have you engrossed and entertained.
8. Galle Fort
The Galle Fort is a charming place immersed in history. The Dutch fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sri Lanka and is huge in terms of the area it covers which provides for a leisurely long walk with the mind blowing view of the Indian Ocean for company. The robustness of the fort wall can be gauged from the fact that it's the same wall that withstood not only storms and calamities of the past but also the recent tsunami.
My personal favourite is the portion of the fort near the lighthouse where you see the beach as well as the entire wall guarding the fort opposite the Indian Ocean. The Fort is almost a living dutch city in itself and includes a lot of hotels, restaurants, shops and historical buildings. If you are a person who's soul finds peace in retail therapy, then the local stores and boutiques here will satiate your hunger for shopping. Besides that, it contains places of worship for all faiths, contributing to the secular fabric of peace that the place represents.
Though the entire place can be covered on foot, you can use the tuk tuk to traverse the place too. It's safe for children and epitomises the "cute little European city" in terms of exploration. You can spend an hour easily sitting at the fort wall, watching the huge waves crash into the rocks in the ocean.
It's breezy most of the time so the heat doesn't get to you. I advice you to wear comfortable shoes, since seeing the entire place involves a lot of walking. Seafood enthusiasts will have a blast here as the place boasts of restaurants that serve great seafood.
9. Boat safari in the Madu river Biodiversity Area
If you are into some offbeat activities, then this lagoon boat ride in Bentota-Sri Lanka, is the perfect break from the routine sightseeing. In this tour, you sail through the mangrove forests in a motor-boat and get to watch the diverse flora & fauna.
The lagoon houses a lot of local villages within it's many islands. You'll get to enter a lagoon island as a stop. There they'll show you how they extract the raw materials from plant barks and make local handicrafts and various kinds of medicine from the property available in the mangrove forests. The one I distinctly remember is the cinnamon preparation.
Besides that, you are taken to the various fish pedicure pools. So if you want a ticklish experience of your dead foot skin eaten off, then a fish pedicure in the middle of the lagoon is an activity you'll enjoy. You encounter several beautiful little islands in your boat-ride and the mangrove caves are a delight to see from the inside. The tour also involves bending your heads to avoid smashing against bridges so that's a 4-D safari experience you'll not want to miss out on.
The animal activity is more vibrant and noticeable in the evening, so I recommend you do take the tour just before sunset. End the tour with a refreshing local welcome drink.
10. Sea-turtle protection center
A short ride away from the Galle Fort is this little treasure of a place - a Sea turtle hatchery in Habaraduwa. The owner charges you a very small entrance fee which is mainly spent on the maintenance of the hatchery & taking care of the turtles. It's a small but well kept place where the rescued eggs & injured turtles are rehabilitated so that they aren't poached for eating.
You'll meet both, the big turtles as well as 4-5 day small hatchlings, one of which you can see on my palm in the picture. The hatchery has various species of turtles like Loggerhead turtle, Green turtle, Olive Ridley turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Leatherhead turtle.
Our guide in the hatchery was knowledgeable & explained us about how the turtles almost choke on metal, plastic & other waste material that people throw in the sea and die. You'll get up close & personal with several sea turtle species & it is a pleasant experience visiting this small but unique place. Gives you hope that mankind hasn't lost compassion for nature & it's beings just yet.
That was my list of the 10 best things to do in Sri Lanka. It's a vibrant mix of things including wildlife, nature, culture, history and offbeat adventures.
I hope you like the list and it helps you plan your travel to Sri Lanka in a better manner. Share it with your friends and family, so that it can help them plan their visit to Sri Lanka and contribute towards the growth of my blog too!
Happy travels!
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