SRI LANKA
We spent nearly 3 weeks in Sri Lanka between March and April 2023, just before it went into the rainy season. It’s safe to say that we fell in love with this place and we were truly amazed by the abundance of its wildlife.
Just like Vietnam, Sri Lanka is another very affordable country to visit! It’s easy to get around by using the Uber/Pickme app which you can use to book tuk tuk or taxis!
We travelled around the country in a big loop.
Here is our 3-week itinerary :
We started in the capital city Colombo, where we did a lot of touristy stuff such as visiting the Gangaramaya Temple and Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque. After Colombo we headed down south to the beautiful Galle Fort for a couple of nights at Fort Bazaar and from there, we took a tuk tuk to Mirissa for the whale watching tour and walked around its beautiful beaches.
Next up was an amazing stay at Amanwella in Tangalle where we discovered one of the most incredible beaches - Silent Beach. At the far end of the beach there is a local restaurant, The Lobster Pot - Unakuruwa, which serves catch of the day right on the sand. It was amazing!
One of the main things we wanted to do was to visit Yala National Park to do the safari tour. Yala National Park is close to Tissamaharama. We found a cute homestay, Ariya Tissa, which was hosted by the nicest family! They also helped us to arrange the safari driver. 100% recommend!
Next we headed north for a quick one to Ella before catching the scenic train. In Ella, we visited the famous Nine Arches Bridge and climbed Little Adam‘s Peak. We then made a crazy decision to take the train to Kandy which took about 7 hours. It was the famous scenic train that everyone takes when visiting Sri Lanka. Pictures from the journey always pop up when you search Sri Lanka on Pinterest. It was absolutely incredible!
We had a short stop in Kandy to break up the journey to Sigiriya. In Kandy, we walked around the Kandy Lake then visited the Temple of the Tooth Relic. We even had a little sip of that Ceylon tea at the Ceylon Tea Museum! Make sure you bring some tea home, it’s delicious !
After Kandy, we went to Sigiriya to climb Pidurangala Rock. We weren’t sure if we should climb Sigiriya Rock or Pidurangala Rock. Lots of people set off for the climb before sunrise, but we couldn’t hack another early get-up! By the time we were up and had breakfast it was super hot and we realised that we wouldn’t survive long without any shade, so we went for Pidurangala Rock because the route has more tree cover. Plus the view from Pidurangala Rock is breathtaking and you can see Sigiriya Rock in the distance.
On the road again, in order to break the long journey up, we stopped at an ancient city - Anuradhapura. If you are a Buddhist or into Buddhism, you will find this place very interesting and full of Buddhist history! Some places to visit while you are in Anuradhapura: Siri Maha Bodhi, Ruwanweli Maha Seya.
Popping all my recommendations below and hope my little guide helps you to enjoy your time here even more!
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