Sri Lanka- Wonder of Asia

Oldest Mosque in Colombo. Built with red and white bricks .

Its a must visit place in colombo.
Here we found different varieties of buddha statues and also idols of hindu gods and godesses. We could hear a monk reciting hymns in sanskrit. They have a kinda museum here showing us different statues and antique items.
Entry fee- 300 LKR

Independence Memorial Hall is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from the British rule with the restoration of full governing 

Galle face provides incredible view of the ocean.

Largest and the oldest park in Colombo

Largest museum in Sri Lanka

Its an captive breeding ground for Sri Lankan elephants. You can see elephants bathing in the river and then coming back to their captive place. You can also feed them here.

Entry fee  Rs 1000 LKR

Snake charmers are all around this place. Pics can be clicked along with cobras, pythons once you pay the snake charmer.

We got a very good hindi speaking guide here who explained us about various herbs and importance of ayurveda. Here you can find wonderful variety of plants and herbs in a small area. We were served a small cup of  Ceylon tea. We were given a list of the main herbal remedies with a description of their 'powers' and were asked to circle the ones we liked and later on we were taken to the pharmacy to purchase these.

Cinnamon, cloves, hair oil, balms ,massage oils were the ones we purchased and yes all these products are overpriced.

This was the place where we stayed at Kandy. Hotel with picturesque hill view. Dinner here was awesome with good live music

You can watch traditional kandian dance performance here. Main attraction over here is the fire dance and fire walking.

Entry fee- Rs 1000 LKR for a one hour show

We could see just amazing piece of art all over the shop. Here they explain and show you various types of wood available in Sri Lanka. We were also practically shown how natural colours are made using wood powder , lemon etc. Good place for shopping souvenirs.

This used to be royal palace of the king which later got converted to the temple of the sacred tooth relic. It is believed that buddhas tooth is preserved here. Complex contains a series of temples dedicated to lord Kataragama( Kartikeya) , Local goddesses etc.

Entry fee-1000 LKR

Initially we were taken into a room where we were shown a documentry related to gem mining. We were explained about the place called Ratnapura where they have their mines , different varieties of gems . If was a 20 min video which was very informative. Then later on we were taken to the workshop and then to the showroom. You can find lotta variety of gems which you can buy as per your choice or as according to your horoscope.

Entrance fee- Rs 1500/-
Its a huge garden spread over thousands of acres. If you walk you may have to walk for arnd 3-4 kms which would definetly be tiring. So we opted for a cart which took us around the garden for around an hour. We spent a pleasant time here. Fruit bats, Cannon ball trees, orchids were the main attraction.

Cart- Rs 2000/- for 6.

This temple was built by chinmaya mission it is located on a scenic hil. Well we reached here at the wrong time. It was half past one . Temple door closes at  1 PM. We could only climb the stairs uptil the sanctum and watch the picturesque view,but We could not enter into the main sanctum as it was closed.
From the top you can actually watch the entire stretch of the beautiful mountain range,  one of which as informed by the locals looks like a sleeping Hanuman.
Restaurant nearby serves South Indian food for Rs 750 LKR. To be frank food was not that great.

This tea factory is located between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. On the way you can find many tea gardens but this one is the best and most crowded. Tea tour here was very much informative and interesting.We were told about the different grades of tea and were explained about the process of making tea powder by our guide.Finally it ended with  with a nice cup of ceylon tea . Numerous varieties of tea are available here for but cost is on the higher side.

When we reached Nuwara Eleya it was freezing at 8 deg cel. This was where we stopped for the night. This hotel is on top of the hill , it surely stands on to its name with a super awesome view from the room.
Restaurant food and service was very poor.

Also known as Ashok Vatika, this was the place where it is believed that King Ravan had kept Seeta Mata in captivity. Good place around the mountains with a small flowing stream. Footprints of Lord hanuman can be seen here.

Small temple situated in the hills with a great view of tea plantations. There are numerous Shiv Lings over here and as informed by our guide these were brought here from Narmada River.

Entry - 1000 LKR

Here is the place where they take care of injured sea turtles. We were shown a wide variety of turtles and a few sharks. We were told how they take care of them. Here you get English, Hindi, Chinese,Arabic n Russian speaking guides.
Place worth visiting

Once we reached here we were served with a welcome drink  .
Then we were told pay Rs 11,000 LKR for a boat.
Boat can accomodate 6, but since we were only 3 we had to pay the entire amount.

This place is avoidable if you are a budget traveller. Instead visit Galle , which is around 60 kms from this place.

Its an 1 hour ride across the Mangroves. First they take you to a fish spa in middle of the river.

Fish spa- 200 LKR for 10 min

Here we could see a huge sized Monitor Lizard.

Then we were taken to cinnamon island. Here they show you how they extract cinnamon oil, powder a local demonstrates how they extract cinnamon from its bark.

Buy small packets of cinnamon oil, powder etc for Rs 300 LKR each.

Final destination was a small island with a Buddhist shrine.

Great sea facing resort with a pvt beach. Loved the stay and food here.