A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka

Tripoto

Mountains and Seas , a one stop destination - Sri Lanka

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

All girls trip is our yearly ritual that my gang and I wait for. This time we had quite a few destinations on our list to choose and after a lot of negotiations and discussions, we were still confused between two places, Thailand – travelers favorite tourist spot and Sri Lanka- the underrated tourist country. Our neighboring country suddenly seemed very fascinating to us. We decided that it’s going to be Sri Lanka this time for our exploration.

This time we relaxed and let the third-party vendor plan the trip for us. We did our bit of research on different places, that are worth visiting in the country and got our customized vacation package done. Our package included commutation, accommodation, three course meals and visit to different tourist locations. Flight bookings were done separately

The excitement was high as this was our second international trip. :)

It was a 1.5 hours comfortable flight journey from Bengaluru to Colombo. We were welcomed by, fresh breeze of air as we landed and set out our foot in the foreign land. Our guide was waiting for us and escorted us to our car, which we would be travelling in for the next few days.

Day 1

Day 1: Our expedition began with high spirits to explore this island country. En route to Dambulla from Colombo airport we visited the Pinnawala elephant orphanage. This is an orphanage breeding Asian Elephants. It’s a treat to watch these gigantic animals being pampered. Every animal lover would love to witness the antics of these creatures.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - A herd of elephants enjoying their shower

Photo of Dambulla, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

Animals are love ...

Photo of Dambulla, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

After spending some time in this beautiful place, we continued our journey towards the main destination for the day.

We reached our stay which was at Amaranta Classic Retreat, a resort amidst a small forest. The place was magnificent with trees surrounding our cottage. A short nap was all we needed after a tiresome travel.

In the evening we headed to the Dambulla Cave temple which is famously know as The Golden temple of Dambulla. The temple has splendid architecture and it looks like, a cave is carved out, to design this sacred place. As we explored the caves, we found numerous Buddha structures and paintings depicting the life of Buddha. The immense positive energy of the place filled our soul

The Golden Temple of Dambulla

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

The real beauty lies in these paintings and statues

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel
Day 2

Day 2:

Waking up to an amazing sight

Photo of Sigiriya, Rock Front, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

The sunrays kissing our skin and waking us up is a refreshing feeling to experience in the morning. The day kick started with our visit to Sigiriya. The rock front was a marvel. The structure has a long history that takes us back to the era of kings. It required a lot of energy to climb up this rock and reach the top. On reaching the top, the view leaves us in awe and the effort seems to be worthwhile. The blazing sun and the cool wind create a magical atmosphere to experience

Lion's Rock @ Sigiriya

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

The view that leaves the tired rock climbers in awe

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

Our next destination was Nuwara Eliya. En route to Nuwara Eliya we stopped at Kandy, a small city amidst the mountains, famous for its scenic beauty and a gorgeous lake. The tooth relic temple is the famous Buddhist site in the town.

Beautiful Lake of a beautiful town - Kandy

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

Nuwara Eliya is the Tea town of SriLanka. The beauty of the town reminds us of our own hill station Ooty and Munnar. It was night by the time we reached our stay in Nuwara Eliya.

Our accommodation was arranged at Ramboda falls hotel https://www.rambodafalls.com/

Day 3

Day 3:What could be more pleasant than waking up to a view of the ever beautiful Ramboda falls. The falls was in its glory with the sunrays falling over the milk like water creating a rainbow. The view took our breath away. We enjoyed the sprinkling of water around the falls. After a scrumptious breakfast we set out on road once again to enjoy the hills and plantations. We visited strawberry farms and tea plantations. The travel through the twists and turns of the road were more like a roller-coaster ride.

Ramboda Falls

Photo of Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

Nature at its best - Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations

Photo of Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel
Photo of Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

What awaited us next was a thrilling river rafting at Kitulgala. My first river rafting experience couldn’t be any better than this.

A warm humid night welcomed us as we drove towards the sea. We reached Coco Royal Beach resort in Kalutara. The resort is a paradise for beach lovers as the sea is just a minutes’ walk away. https://www.cocoroyalbeach.com/

Day 4

Day 4:

Sitting on the shores of the beach, with the salty breeze caressing our skin, waves touching our feet, was a feeling of bliss. The silent communication between us and the sea is priceless. It understands that we need some moments of peace and serenity and happily grants it to us. The sun rising behind the seas implants a new ray of hope in our heart for a better tomorrow. Lost in the rhythm of waves our morning passed quickly. We had a delicious breakfast and set out on our journey. The first place of visit for the day was Madhu river. The river safari through the mangroves was a unique ride. We headed out to a Turtle hatchery to see the cute little turtles being nurtured. Bidding our byes to these cute creatures we continued our trip towards our last destination, the capital of the country Colombo.

The moon , the sea , the serenity - view from our room

Photo of Kalutara, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

My kind of happiness - Beaaachhhhh!!!!

Photo of Kalutara, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

The journey had tired us out, which called in a for a small break. The host for the night was Ceylon city hotel. http://ceyloncityhotels.com/

We spent our evening walking around the city along the sea exploring the local culture and authenticities of the city.

Day 5

Day 5:

Being our last day here, and with nothing much left to explore, we had a leisure hour in the morning.

Afternoon we visited the famous Gangaramayya Buddha temple. The temple is a holy place for Buddhists. Its sacred and pious. We also visited Seema Malakaya which is another Buddhist temple in a lake. The place is beautiful and calm with minimum visitors.

Gangaramayya Temple

Photo of Colombo, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

Seema Malakaya - A beautiful lake housing the holy temple

Photo of Colombo, Sri Lanka by Earth Angel

Food: Sri Lankan food being like Indian food doesn’t cause much of a problem to native Indians visitors. Its a heaven for sea food lovers.

Paratha and Coconut Poriyal

Photo of A Journey across the Land of Raavan - SriLanka by Earth Angel

Clothes: Ensure you dress modestly as most of the places demand clothes longer than knee length and, to avoid pointing looks from the locals

Other places/things that needs to be on your list:

Galle: Formerly Dutch ruled town. It reminds us of Goa.

Train journey from Ella to Nuwara Eliya.

Overall SriLanka is a beautiful country with mountains and seas and is worth a visit.

We bid our goodbye to this island country with a happy heart and a content soul.....