Officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, this country lies between India and South-East Asia. It's people and culture are neither quite Asian nor quite Indian. It was partially occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, it became a British colony in 1802. Known to the western world as Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; the name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972.
This tiny island nation (65,610 sq.km.) packs a big punch, given its size, with endless beaches, timeless ruins, welcoming English-speaking people, oodles of wildlife, rolling surf, cheap prices, famous tea and flavourful food! It is perhaps the cleanest Asian nation we've ever been in.
Few places have as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites (eight) packed into such a small area. With a population of 22 million people, Sri Lanka's 3000-plus years of culture can be discovered at ancient sites peppered throughout the country.
The country is mostly low and flat to rolling plains but the interior comes with mountains rising to 2,524 metres. Similarly, the climate is mostly tropical but changes dramatically from the coastal belt to the central highlands. It also has two moonson seasons.
We will spend the next two weeks exploring the island with our first destination being the ancient city of.......
Anuradhapura
This UNESCO World-Heritage city is a pleasant albeit sprawling city; a small city that feels more like a large village.
The ruins of Anuradhapura are one of South Asia’s most evocative sights. The sprawling complex contains a rich collection of archaeological and architectural wonders: enormous Stupas, ancient pools and crumbling temples, built during Anuradhapura’s thousand years of rule over Sri Lanka. Today, several of the sites remain in use as holy places and temples and respect and consideration of this is a must.
We spent a day exploring the ancient 'sacred city' with our first stop being......
Sri Maha Bodhiya
The main reason the historical city of Anuradhapura became a 'sacred city' was because of the Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred fig tree. It is said to have come from a cutting of the southern branch of the historical Sri Maha Bodhi tree in India under which Buddha attained Enlightenment. It was planted in 288 B.C., making it over 2000 years old, and is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world. Today it is one of the most sacred relics of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka and respected by Buddhists all over the world.
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| in the 1700's, to protect the tree from roaming elephants, a wall and temple was constructed with a gold-plated fencing atop of it. Yes that is GOLD!! |
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| In the early 1900's, during violent storms, two branches from the sacred tree were broken. Gold-plated scaffolding (YES THAT IS GOLD) was put in place to protect the tree branches from further damage. |
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| Devotees flock here by the thousands to worship, pray and make offerings to Lord Buddha. |
We continue along the way and pass the ruins of a 3rd century Alms Hall....
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| A white egret stands guard to the ancient entrance of the Alms Hall. |
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| During its time, the Alms Hall feed close on 3000 monks. This huge trough was for cooking the curry, a similar 45 foot trough nearby, was for the rice. |
Next stop within the sacred city is one of the world's largest ancient monuments, standing at 103m and with a circumference of 290m, the........
Ruwanwelisaya Stupa
The Stupa, built in 140B.C., is considered sacred to Buddhists all over the world because two "quarts" of Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, which is the largest collection of Buddha relics anywhere.....bar none.
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| The Stupa, still a functioning religious site since 140BC.......WOW! That's 2160 years of continuous worship....WOW!! |
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| A lone monk walks along the Stupa's boundary wall featuring hundreds of elephant head sculptures. |
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"Abstinence from all evil and development of merits, complete the purification of the mind."
Buddha
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| It's amazing all this for two "quarts" of relics buried deep within. |
Other sites around the Sacred City.....
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| Demonstrating the finer points of using an ancient royal shitter! |
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| The Selfie Miesters in our happy place! |
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| Rice fields surround the ruins and temples of the ancient sacred city. Still got to feed the monks! |
We aren't done with the Stupa's yet.....
Lankarama Stupa
Built in the 1st century BC, this Stupa with its 88 pillars is considered one of the eight sacred places where Buddha visited while travelling in Sri Lanka.
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| Apparently, part of Lord Buddha's belt, is enshrined in this Stupa. They certainly passed ole Buddha around!! |
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| The 88 pillars once supported a roof structure over the Stupa, now they seem to precariously stand waiting for one good earthquake to topple them. |
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| I could be standing exactly where Buddha himself may have stood!! |
We continue exploring the vast Sacred City, including the 'original' Temple of the Sacred Tooth......
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| When Buddha passed on to the other side and was cremated, someone swiped a tooth from the funeral pyre. Buddha's tooth was then smuggled to Sri Lanka and a temple was built here in the Sacred City to house said tooth. The said tooth has since been moved to a more modern accommodation in Kandy..... |
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| .....and the original Temple of the Sacred Tooth has now been relegated to a backdrop of foraging cows. |
Other sights......
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| Water Buffalo on the march. |
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| A vast man-made lake within the Sacred City. |
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| Toque Macaques lounging around picking flees off of each other. |
Our last Stupa in the Sacred City is......
Abhayagiri Stupa
Dating back to the 1st century BC, this colossal Stupa was the ceremonial focus of the 5000-strong Abhayagiri Monastery. Originally over 100m high, it was one of the greatest structures in the ancient world, its scale only matched by the pyramids of Giza.
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| Apparently a statue of a golden bull containing relics of the Buddha is buried in the core of this Stupa. Well that just seems stupa. |
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| The Selfie Miesters and friend! |
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| Getting a cleaning; all 2.3 million bricks at a cost of $530 Million ($2 per brick). They will probably have to dig up that Golden Bull just to pay for it! |
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| Right next to the Abhayagiri Stupa is the man-made Elephant Pond, so named because of it's gigantic size. It is equal in area to 6 modern Olympic swimming pools joined together. It is 500 feet in length and has a breadth of 150 feet and a depth of 30 feet. |
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| The pond is said to have been built to store water for the large congregation of 5000 Buddhist monks at the monastic complex of Abhayagiri. |
Our last stop in the Sacred City is to visit the......
Isurumuniya Rajamaha Viharaya Temple
Built around 300 B.C., it is connected to a cave and is known for its ancient stone carvings.
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| The impressive Isurumuniya Rajamaha Viharaya Temple......say that 5 times REALLY fast. |
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| The 'Man & Horse' carving considered the oldest stone carving in Sri Lanka |
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| The world famous 'Isurumuniya Lovers' stone carving.....The woman, seated on the man's lap, lifts a warning finger, probably as a manifestation of her coyness; but the man carries on regardless. The figures represent the King's son Saliya and the lower caste maiden Asokamala whom he loved. It's known that he gave up the throne for her. Similar to British King Edward VIII abdicating the throne for his marriage to divorcee Wallis Simpson. Love hey, foolish or wha?!?! |
The next day our driver took us on another adventure, with our first stop being the....
Medicine Tree
Actually, a 'Strangler Fig' tree, the aerial roots of this tree were deliberately sprayed out to form an enclosure-type 'temple' by a Buddhist monk that lived to be 105 years old, making him and the tree revered by devotees.
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| I've seen Strangler Fig trees in other parts of Asia, but this one is so large a picture can neither capture it nor portray it. |
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| The entrance to the 'temple'. |
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| Wandering around the inside of the massive Medicine Tree 'temple'. |
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| "So Melanie you know I saw a really really big spider in there." |
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| Similar to Christain Saints that are bured beneath cathedrals, the 105 year old Monk has his remains beneath the Medicine Tree. |
Our adventure continues and we move on to our next destination, the......
Mihintale
A temple complex that holds a special place in the annals of Sri Lankan lore. In 247 BC., King Tissa of Anuradhapura was hunting a stag on Mihintale Hill when he was approached by Mahinda, son of the great Indian Buddhist emperor, Ashoka. Mahinda tested the king’s wisdom and, considering him to be a worthy disciple, promptly converted the king on the spot. Mihintale has since been associated with the earliest introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Who knew?
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| It is 1840 steps to the top of Mihintale from the base, which of course means it is 1840 steps to the bottom OR you can now drive most of the way up, if you're so inclined. |
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| Although this is a very significant religious area we came here mainly to climb Mihintale Rock (in the background). |
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| The Selfie Miesters are high enough up to get a good view of the surrounding countryside.....there's also a breeze that offers a respite from the steamy heat of the lowlands. |
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| And dere she be bye! Mihintale Rock! Its real name, Aradhana Gala, means Rock of Invitation. |
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| It's a steep climb up about 30 metres. There are well-worned steps that are carved into the rock face but, because this is still part of an operating Buddhist compound you have to climbed in bare feet. |
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| The Rock is also a very important pilgrimage place for Buddhist Monks. |
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| Nearing the top! |
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| Just a few more steep steps to go. The views of the surrounding countryside from here are awesome! |
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| At the top was the singing group, the Monkettes.... (I'm going to hell for saying that)! |
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| As the sun sets, I capture a panaramic shot of the Mihintale's two Stupas and its giant Buddha. |
We were starting to get a little Buddha'd-out so we leave Anuradhapura and head south to the laid-back village of.......
Sigiriya
Rising dramatically from the central plains, the enigmatic rocky outcrop of Sigiriya is home of the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and is perhaps Sri Lanka's single most dramatic sight, the 'Lions Rock'. Near-vertical walls soar 200 metres to a flat-topped summit that contains the ruins of an ancient civilization, thought to be once the epicentre of the short-lived kingdom of Kasyapa. Declared an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982 (and our 2nd site in Sri Lanka).
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| Sigiriya Rock, A.K.A. Lions Rock, is perhaps the most visited tourist destination of Sri Lanka. |
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| You'll have to climb a series of vertiginous staircases attached to sheer walls to reach the top. Not for anyone suffering from vertigo! |
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| Due to China's outbreak of the coronavirus, the ever-present gaggles of Chinese tourists were absent, which is a good thing, cause I'm not sure how many people these rickety walkways can hold. |
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| Nothing below us except thin air! |
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| On a small plateau about halfway up the side of the rock is built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion with a pair of colossal lion's paws carved into the bedrock. Originally, the gateway was designed in the form of a huge stone lion, whose feet have survived up to today but the upper parts of the body were destroyed. |
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| We used the modern steel steps to get to the top, however right next to these are the original hewn-carved steps used by the ancients. Yikes! |
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| Oddly, we were quite literally the only people going up to the citadel summit. Bonus! |
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| Almost there!!! |
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| A view of Sigiriya's sister rock, Pidurangala. |
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| A view of the gardens of Sigiriya, constructed at around 450AD, are among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. |
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| The selfie miesters on top. We were the only people here....true story! |
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| The palace and fortress complex is recognized as one of the finest examples of ancient urban planning in the world. |
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| Built by King Kasyapa in 470AD, son of the King by a lesser queen, hence his right to the throne was not a strong one. He assumed the kingship in a palace conspiracy, which led to the execution of his father. Kasyapa chose to make Sigiriya his seat of administration and reigned for 18 years. The capital city was short-lived and ended abruptly, when Kasyapa's half-brother Mugalan, the rightful heir to the throne, succeeded him. |
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| The terraced top of the rock covers 1.6 hectares. At one point in time it was covered with buildings, but only the foundations remain today.....except for the workers shack....that ain't original. |
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| The 80's pop group Duran Duran recorded part of their video Save a Prayer here! True story, although I'm not sure why anyone would need to know that. |
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| A 27m x 21m pond hewn out of the rock looks for all the world like a modern swimming pool..... |
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| .....whereas a lesser pool that appears to be used for water storage. |
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| The only tourist on the summit was us and this fella. |
We head back down to the Royal Gardens with their lily-pad-covered moats, water gardens and cave shrines which only add to Sigiriya's rock-star appeal.
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| Somewhat like Peru's Machu Picchu, Sigiriya was completely abandoned by the 13th century and was swallowed up by the surrounding jungle, forgotten and quite alone in its glory. |
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| Cobra Head, a rocky projection that earned its name because the overhang resembles a fully opened cobra's hood. |
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| The boulder garden, with the unique 'Audience Hall', where a five-metre long main throne and other low level seats are carved out of the rock. Even the King needed to have a soapbox once in a while. |
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| The underbelly of 'Audience Hall' boulder. |
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| The boulder gardens consist of several large boulders linked by winding pathways and passages....... |
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| .....just about all the boulders had a building or pavilion upon them once upon a time. This boulder, called the 'Cistern Rock', had a water holding tank carved into the rock on the top. |
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| A setting sun on the Lions Rock and part of the 'water garden'. In keeping the symmetry of the place, there is another similar garden opposite of this one not yet excavated. |
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| As part of the 'water garden' are four symmetry arranged 'L'-shape ponds, creating an island in the middle. This special water feature is found in ancient gardens around the world and, apparently, this one is the most ancient of the ancient! |
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| There are ruins of an old palace on this island but getting there requires wading across the crocodile infested moat so Melanie wouldn't go, and hence, I guess I couldn't go. |
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An old strangler fig tree on site....
"The past is already written. The ink is dry."
Three-Eye Ravin, Game of Thrones
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After a hard day in 30C+ heat we head out for a refreshing meal....
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| Typical Sri Lankan food. Rice and six curry dishes.....yum yum yum!!! Oh, and the food was also pretty good! |
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| And now a 'Person-You-Meet-Along-The-Way' moment. This is Samir (with the funky doo), our rastafarian tuk-tuk driver in Sigiriya. We originally waved him down for a ride as we were walking along the road....he was driving a French girl around at the time, but still stopped and picked us up. He got our business for our remaining time in Sigiriya. |
The next day we head for the Lions Rock sister......
Pidurangala Rock
Located just a few kilometres from Lions Rock, Pidurangala is less grand but far more difficult to climb and, because of this, it is often overlooked by the touristy swarms. Perfect I say!
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| The bare rock face of Pidurangala sticks out of the surrounding rice fields. Don't look too imposing from this angle......easy peasy I'd say. |
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| The first stage of the climb is actually well shaded with irregular stairs. Kinda similar to a walk in the park. |
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| Pidurangala Rock has been occupied by Buddhist monks for 2,500 years so it came as no surprise when we came across this extremely large (12.5 metres) reclining Buddha. Apparently; when it was constructed, it was the largest Buddha in the world. |
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| After leaving Buddha behind we start the second stage of the climb. This part is kinda NOT similar to a walk in the park. |
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| The literature that they pass out for this stage of the climb states: "This is predominately uncharted territory. It has no clearly defined paths or stairs. It should only be attempted by those who are fit."......... |
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| ........the hand-out literature continues to state: "Your size and fitness becomes a major issue here because you have to clamber up steep boulders and creep." And yes, it would be a tight squeeze for a person of larger size that had to creep. |
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| If you make it to the top you are rewarded with a great view of Lions Rock. |
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| Creeping about on the sloping bare-face rock of Pidurangla. I got to say, this is starting to creep me out ! |
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| And now a moment from our sponsors the 'Selfie Miesters'. |
One of the main reasons we came to Sri Lanka was to search out the elusive.....
Wild Bologna
This wild creature is indigenous to only two places in the world, our island province of Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada, and this island nation of Sri Lanka. We were told that there had been recent sightings of the Wild Bologna in the eco-park of......
Hurulu Forest Reserve
Designated by UNESCO as a bio-sphere reserve, this forest reserve is part of the bigger Ritigala nature reserve, and two flood plains reserves of Minneriya-Girithale and Mahaweli. The reserve is an important habitat for the Sri Lankan elephant, Wild Bologna, and Sri Lankan Leopard.
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| We sign up for a safari and set out in search of the wild bologna. |
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| We quickly come across a herd of wild Sri Lankan Elephants. It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. Unfortunately because of the tall grass, sighting a wild bologna may be a difficult task. |
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| The average herd size in Sri Lanka ranges from 12-20 individuals or more. It is led by the oldest female, or matriarch. Today, the Sri Lanka elephant is protected under the Sri Lankan law and killing one carries the death penalty. |
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| Bum waddle waddle bum waddle waddle! |
The above is a short video.
If you look real close, we think we spot a wild bologna briefly in the tall grass!
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| Our hopes of seeing a wild bologna is dashed by all of the friggin' elephants, so we move on to another place where our driver swears a wild bologna was recently spotted. |
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| Melanie climbs up on a large rock hill for a better look, perhaps from this vantage point we'll spot a wild bologna? |
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"See arn' one Mel?"
"Narn' one, B." |
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| No problem seeing elephants.....the place seems to be over-run with them. They should post an 'Elephant Crossing' sign as they stopped traffic for a considerable time while crossing the road. Prompting us to ask that age-old question: 'Why does an elephant cross the road?" |
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| We are not the only ones looking for the wild bologna. Our driver has been in contact with the other drivers and apparantly no one else has had any luck in spotting the creature. It seems all the elephants have scared them away. |
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| There are close to 6,000 wild elephants in Sri Lanka, but no one knows for sure how many wild bolognas there are. Regardless, we vowed to come back again sometime to continue our search for this elusive creature. |
After a disappointing search for the wild bologna, we figured what we really needed was to have more of Buddha on our side, so that prompted us to make a pilgrimage to.......
Dambulla Cave Temple
Also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla, it has been designated an UNESCO World Heritage site (#3 for us). Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area, but the major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings.
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| The cave-temple is situated at the base of a 150 metre rock and it is a bit of a huff & puff up a series of steps to get to it. |
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| Despite its slightly commercial air, this remains an important holy place with views of the surrounding countryside. |
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| The Dambulla cave monastery, built in the 2nd century, is still functional and remains the best-preserved ancient edifice in Sri Lanka. |
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| Within the caves there are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. |
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| I'm about to have a game of checkers with Buddha. The guy in pink is explaining the rules: Rule #1: Buddha always wins. Rule #2: In the event Buddha loses, refer to Rule #1. |
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| Oh my Buddha(s)! |
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| One of these are not like the other. |
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| The largest cave, known as the Cave of the Great Kings, has 16 standing and 40 seated statues of Buddha. True story cause I counted them. |
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| Distinctive tempera paintings on the cave ceiling depict scenes from Buddha's life (it would seem he did a lot of sitting) and covers a whopping area of 2,100 square metres. |
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| "Hmmm.... look kids, someone sent me a flower!!!" |
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| Hanging with the big guy. |
We leave the Dambulla Caves and continue our journey. One of the things I should point out is when you rent a car in Sri Lanka, you also rent the driver of said car, who in many cases will act as a tour guide whilst driving you. So our driver took us to the.....
Centre of Sri Lanka
Known as Nalanda Gedige, it is an ancient stone temple and its original site was considered as the centre of Sri Lanka.....and that's all I got to say about that.
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| About to take the long walk to the centre of the universe..........or at least the centre of Sri Lanka. |
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| Off the beaten track, the building was constructed over a 1,000 years ago and is indeed smack dab in the middle of Sri Lanka. Like how did they figure that out a 1,000 years ago???? Hell, I wouldn't be able to do that today with a map and GPS. |
We are on the road again and again we stop along the way, this time to see the making of Batik clothing. An art form that began in Indonesia....
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| Brought to Sri Lanka by the Dutch, it is an ancient art that has been practiced for 2,000 years in southeast Asia. The process uses dye-resistant wax to create elaborate patterns and designs..... |
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| ....the wax is then washed to reveal the batik pattern. |
Of course, part of the hard sell is to have us model some of the apparel.....
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| Today Melanie is wearing a infused-lime-green wrap-around-sarong perfect for the harsh cold Canadian winters. |
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| Something new for me...."I'm out there Melanie, and I'm loving every minute of it." |
We're not done with the factory tours yet 😎😎 as our driver-tour guide takes us to the Isiwaya Ayurvedic Spice gardens....
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Spices are what put Sri Lanka (Ceylon) on the early explorers map with western countries all trying to find the quickest route to this oriental spice island. If it wasn't for the Sril Lankan spices much of the world would still be unexplored.
"Here missus smell dat." |
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| Harvesting the bark of the cinnamon tree, which is indigenous to Sri Lanka, and is legendary in cooking for well over 2000 years. Sure if it wasn't for Sri Lankan cinnamon we Westerners wouldn't have sticky buns and Neil Young couldn't have written Cinnamon Girl. |
Finally, we arrive at our next destination for a couple of days, the last capital of the ancient kings' of Sri Lanka, the hill city of......
Kandy
The second biggest city in Sri Lanka, after the capital Colombo, and an UNESCO World Heritage site (#4 in our travels). I must admit we were a little bit disappointed by Kandy. We were told that Kandy was sooooo beautiful, and without a doubt, some parts of the city were nice, but as a whole, it was a fairly typical busy, and noisy city.
We take a stroll down to Kandy's #1 attraction, the Lake....
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| The lake was created in 1807 by the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy. The serfs initially objected to digging the lake, but those who objected were ruthlessly put to death on stakes in the lake bed. Alrighty then.....guess they weren't unionized. |
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| We were walking around the lake, minding our own business, when suddenly we spot this 'thing' near the banks of the lake. It's a 'Water Monitor Lizard' and they are the second largest lizard in the world (next to the Komodo Dragon). This heafty brute is about seven feet long and had a get-out-of-my-way attitude. |
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| Now we are curious. Are there more of these Water Monitors around??? Stay tuned for the answer...... |
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| ....yep. This one seemed even larger!! Their bite is venomous and, like the Komodo Dragon, the Water Monitor will often eat carrion. They have a keen sense of smell and can smell a carcass from far away. They are known to feed on dead human bodies. True story. |
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| The Queens Bathouse, situated on the lake, was used by the wives and concubines of the former King for bathing in the lake. |
We strolled around the city and took in some of the other sites.....
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| Kandy's clocktower, built in 1950 (a relatively new addition to an ancient city) as a memorial to a loss son. |
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| The 160-year old British built 'Queens Hotel'. We were going to stay here but their beer wasn't cold. Right then, cheerio! |
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| There are not many drinking establishments in northern Sri Lanka, but just up the street from the Queens Hotel there is one, aptly called the 'Pub', which we were to find out is the name of most of Sri Lanka's drinking establishments. |
One of the things that make Kandy an UNESCO World Heritage site is the.....
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
The famous temple that houses Sri Lanka`s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha himself! You don`t, however, get to see the real tooth in the temple, as it is hidden in a golden casket. Maybe I'm amazed.....and maybe I'm not.
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| The Temple is housed within the royal compound of the former King of Kandy but because of lack of signage one is hard-pressed to distinguish where the Temple ends and the palace begins. |
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| Butter lamps, which according to Buddhist tantra, help to focus the mind and aid meditation, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights". |
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| No signs anywhere.....so what is this place? Good question? Don't know? Perhaps they don't know either, hence the absence of signs? |
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| The Royal Moat with the Royal Palace to the far right. |
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| Somewhere here or close to here is a tooth, but only the tooth fairy knows where for sure! |
We finish off our time in Kandy by visiting the largest botanical gardens in Sri Lanka, the......
Royal Botanic Gardens
Covering over 60 hectares these gardens date back to 1371 and includes more than 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees. The gardens attract over 2 million visitors per year.
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| Palm Avenue with the 21 metre high palm trees. |
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| Melanie strolling next to the exotic Giant Java Almond trees with their massive fan-roots. |
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| And now for something completely different....the huge Cannonball Tree. These seed pods are the size of a real cannonball with an outer shell that is perhaps as hard as a cannonball. Other than that, I have no idea why they call it the Cannonball Tree??? |
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| An artistic moment. |
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| And you thought that all palm trees looked the same. |
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| Lets get to the root of the situation here. |
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| "Jeeze Freddy, how did you get so many fleas.....look here's another one." |
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| Another artistic moment! |
Our journey continues as we make our way further south to the town of......
Nuwara Eliya
Known as Little England, Nuwara Eliya is a hill country retreat where the British colonialists (back in the day) could immerse in their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting, horse racing, polo, golf and cricket. The name of the town means "city of light" and, because it sits at an altitude of 1,868 metres, it has a temperate climate. It is considered to be the most important location for tea production in Sri Lanka.
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| A stop along the way for some refreshing 'King Coconut'. |
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| The colonial Nuwara Eliya Post Office, still in operation since the 1800's. |
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| I feel like I used too much dry shampoo. |
Sri Lanka is perhaps most famous for its.....
Tea production
In1824 a tea plant was smuggled to Sri Lanka by the British from China and was planted in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kandy. Two hundred years later, the tea industry employs, directly or indirectly, over 1 million people. If you're a tea drinker, chances are you've drank tea grown in Sri Lanka and the best teas comes from the Nuwara Eliya region.
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| The selfie miesters in a sea of tea. |
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| And now a 'Person-You-Meet-Along-The-Way' moment. This is Sanka, our driver and go-to guide. His 'coffee-brand' name seems odd as he describes the production of tea.....go figure! |
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| Well you know we got to try some......"Only in Sri Lanka you say....pity." |
Our main reason for coming to Nuwara Eliya was to see and hike in the famous.....
Horton Plains National Park
Designated a national park in 1988 and an UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010 (#5 in our Sri Lankan travels), it is covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. The park sits on a plateau at an altitude of 2,100–2,300 metres and is rich in biodiversity and has many species that are endemic to the region. The Horton Plains plateau hike is circular 9.5kms. and comes to a sudden end at World’s End, a stunning escarpment that plunges 880m.....with a name like World's End we just had to see it!
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| The sun rises and the mist clears within the park on two barking Sambar Deer (venison on the menu tonight). |
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| 'Montane' grasslands or 'high altitude' grasslands make up 60% of the National Park...... |
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| .......subtropical 'montane' evergreen forests make up the remaining 40% of the park. |
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| After about 3.5km of hiking we come to 'Little World's End', which plummets 220 metres to the valley floor, and apparently is smaller than World's End......hence the name 'Little' I guess! |
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"Its the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine."
R.E.M. Its the End of the World as We Know It
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World's End - 880 metres down.
The Park had to put razor wire at the edge to keep the Chinese from getting to close taking their selfie pictures. I figured the Park should just let nature take its course: I call it the Darwin Effect - survival of the fittest or weeding out the gene pool. |
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| The hiking is great here as the high altitude keeps the temperature reasonable. Not saying you won't work up a sweat, just not as much a sweat. |
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Tussock grass line the path.
We passed a lot of people heading for World's End but they seem to run out of steam once they reached it, making this part of the hike fairly crowd-free, which is good, because the path is narrow and tussock grass can be a tad sharp. |
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| Rhododendrons grow at these altitudes and it is the predominant tree species in the park. Unfortunately we missed the red flowering by about a week. |
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| The next point of interest on the trail is Bakers Falls, however to get there, you gotta put a little effort into it..... |
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| .....and with that effort you are awarded with this view! |
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| From Bakers Falls it is an easy 3.5km hike back to where we started. |
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| These fern trees are an invasive species. The only other place I've ever seen them was in New Zealand, so I'm going to say that they may have come from there. |
With nightly temperatures dropping down to single digits, we decided to leave the high-country of Nuwara Eliya behind and head to lower elevations and the hill-country village of......
Ella
Hidden between craggy peaks and mist-gathering tea plantations on the edge of the Central Highlands, at an altitude of 1050 metres, Ella is a world away from Sri Lanka’s hot and steamy lowlands. It's a great place to ease off the travel accelerator and spend a few leisurely days resting and doing some small hikes. Ella is a tiny place with one main road that is flanked by hotels, guesthouses and restaurants.
Apparently, according to all the tourist brochures, there’s really only one way to get to Ella: Train. Yep, the rattling rails of the Kandy-Ella line are nothing short of legendary in Sri Lankan tourism. In fact, some people only come to Ella to enjoy the train ride. It is soooo popular that when we arrived at the train station we couldn't get seats for the 6 hour journey, so we missed out.....damn the torpedoes (or should I say "Damn the trains").
While we missed out on riding the train we have the opportunity to see the train, and the best place for that is the.......
Nine Arches Bridge
Considered one of the most beautiful examples of colonial railway architecture in the world, with its nine arches (obviously), it bends softly through a gorge between Ella and Demodara. It spans 95 metres with a height of 25 metres and was built in 1921.
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| The selfie miesters waiting for the train....and waiting....and waiting.....and waiting...... |
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| .....WELL FINALLY. |
After the excitement of trainspotting I knew nothing else was going to compare, so I've included a few pictures of Ella area as filler......
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| School daze at the cricket field. |
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| And now a 'Person-You-Meet-Along-The-Way' moment. This is Mike from Alberta, who was born in New Zealand, but is currently living and teaching university in South Korea. Mike has been travelling to Sri Lanka for the last 20+ years and is wizened to their ways. We shared a few beers, stories and draws!! |
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| The writing is on the wall. Well at least on this bar wall, but really, no words from me needed! |
Next on the agenda in Ella was to climb the smaller version of Adams Peak.....
Little Adams Peak
If you fancy something, a little easy on the hamstrings but with jaw-dropping views, Little Adam’s Peak is your mountain. It gets its name from the actual Adam’s Peak because this mountain replicates its shape....same same only smaller. The Little Adam's Peak is only a hundred metres above Ella and takes about an hour to climb, look around and return back to the pub!!
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| A view of Ella Rock from Little Adams Peak. We'll climb that brute tomorrow. |
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| The view from Little Adams Peak of its two sister peaks. To get to the other two peaks you have to do a little ridge walking. |
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| Just hanging about, minding my own business. That's Ella Rock in the background. You'll notice the road through Ella Gap far below Ella Rock. |
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| Although it wasn't a hard walk, it did have its moments.....this being one of them when the trail skirted the side of the peak. |
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| Leaving peak #3 and heading back. Cold beer at the Pub is high on the list just about now. |
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| Cold beer at the Pub is even more highly placed on the list at this point in time!! |
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| Good looking young fella right there! |
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| Our hike ends where it began; at a tea plantation. |
Little Adams Peak was a prelude to a more intense hike, that being the climb up......
Ella Rock
When you look up information about hiking Ella Rock online, you will find hundreds of different opinions and hiking routes. A lot of people say that it is really easy to get lost and you should trek with a guide, whilst others say you can get a simple map from your hotel and it can be done easily! We read a number of blog posts to gather as much information as we could. We took screenshots of everything on our phone and felt confident that we would have no problem finding the trail(s). We still got lost!
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| The first part of the hike was easy, all we had to do was follow the train tracks out of town. |
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"I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since, I don't know when,"
Johnny Cash, Folsom Prison Blues
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"Even if you're on the right train track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
Will Rogers
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| So this is where things got a little dicey. A "farmer" told us we were walking in "his fields" and told us to leave. He told us to go this route (through the tall grass). Fair enough, but I'm certain he wasn't a 'farmer' and it wasn't 'his field', regardless..... As the grass got higher and the path got less travelled, we began to doubt our route, when suddenly he reappeared and offered to show us the way (for a price of course)....sneaky |
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| Across the Ella Gap is Little Adams Peak and its sister peaks. |
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| Once we had figured out our route and we had ditched the "farmer-turn-guide", we were able to reach the top with no further incident other than some huffing-n-puffing. |
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| Itchy - showing no fear. Perhaps he was thinking suicide would be better than being slowly consumed by fleas. |
We finish up our time in Ella and grabbed a 5 hour taxi ride to hook up with our travel-partners-in-crime, Terry & Pam, at the seaside town of.......
Panadura
Located approximately 27 km south of the capital Colombo, Panadura is surrounded on all sides by water; the Indian ocean, the Bolgoda lake and river. Panadura is most famous as the revival town of Sri Lankan Buddhism. Outside of that, there isn't much of a tourist draw here, but that is OK, as it gave our friends an opportunity to acclimatize and rest up from their journey coming from Canada.
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| We rented a swanky house in Panadura and chilled for a week. |
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| Here in Sri Lanka they have an indigenous coconut known as the 'King Coconut'. This special nut is aptly named 'King' for not only it's richer taste, but also for being a coconut variant with naturally occurring electrolyte levels that is very similar to our blood plasma. The King is picked by these guys..... |
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| .....once the coconut picker reaches the top there is a rope highway that connects to the other nearby King Coconut trees, allowing the nimble-footed picker to move between trees |
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| The ladies chillin' on Panadura beach. |
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| Our humble abode was right next to the train track. Everyday (and just about every hour) that ole choo-choo would rumble on by. |
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| We did a lot of cooking at our spot but when eating out, nothing beats a good crab curry. I think this guy was still twitching! |
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| And now a 'Person-You-Meet-Along-The-Way' moment. This is Dharshana, our landlord and immediate friend. He and his wife, Aruni, are salt-of-the-earth people who welcomed us with King Coconuts and open arms. We put the lime in the coconut! |
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| The bustling crowded street outside of our house. |
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| The setting sun is the backdrop for a King Coconut picker as seen from the second floor balcony of our rented house. |
After a week of laziness, copious amount of consumption and major sleeping in, we hit the road and move further south down the coast to......
Galle
An UNESCO World Heritage Site (#6 on our Sri Lankan trip), this historic city is a delight to explore on foot, an endlessly exotic old trading port blessed with imposing Dutch-colonial buildings, ancient mosques and churches, grand mansions and museums. Wandering its rambling lanes you'll pass stylish cafes, quirky boutiques and impeccably restored hotels owned by local and foreign artists, writers, photographers and designers.
Built by the Dutch, beginning in 1663, Galle's core is the Fort, a walled enclave surrounded on three sides by the ocean. A key part of the Fort’s appeal is that it isn’t just a pretty place. Sure, tourism now dominates the local economy, but this unique city remains a working community: there are administrative offices and courts, export companies, schools and colleges.
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| Immediately upon entering the Fort we were accosted by the Keeper of the Bridge of Death: "Stop! Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see......What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Terry: "What do you mean? An African or European swallow?" |
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| Terry & Pam walking along the ramparts with the Galle Clock Tower in the background. The kids dressed in white are from a school outing and there were hundreds of them. |
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| We walked around the entire fort on the railess ramparts. We were left wondering how many Chinese have fallen over the side trying to get that perfect selfie. |
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| Terry trying to get the 'perfect shot', unbeknownst to him that I actually got the 'perfect shot' of him trying to get the 'perfect shot'. It was all perfect ! |
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| Galle is peaceful, quiet, full of color and texture and I feel this picture captures all of these attributes. |
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| The selfie miesters with Sri Lanka's oldest lighthouse and mosque in the background. |
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| Not sure what was more impressive, the old Wilson-model car or the tree with the drooping sky-roots. |
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| Only a few ways to get into the old city. |
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| Galle is like no other city in Sri Lanka, and wandering around through the narrow streets makes you even forget that you are in Sri Lanka. It actually feels like walking the streets of a medieval city in Europe, and this All Saints Church built in 1868 adds to the ambience. |
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| We were going to stop here for some food and a beer, except we weren't 'lonely'! Damn the torpedoes. |
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| Finally; a place where we could have a beer and it didn't require us to be 'lonely'. |
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| Catching the sunset on Galle's ramparts. |
We hit the road for the hour-long journey to our next destination. The following are some pictures on the way......
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| Outrigger fishing canoe. |
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| Fish market with Skipjack Tuna. These tasty fish are king here in Sri Lanka and appear on all the menus.....yummm tuna steaks. |
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| The Sri Lankan fishing fleet. |
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| Apparently there's a hotel on this island. Getting there one either has to wait for lowtide or hold your suitcase above your head. |
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| One of the most iconic images of Sri Lanka are stilt fishermen perched on their stilts. It is a method of fishing unique to Sri Lanka, where the fishermen sits on a cross bar tied to a vertical pole and driven into the sand a few meters offshore. |
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| Stilt fishermen are a dying breed with very few actually fishing, but rather, they are “actors” who pose as fishermen for photographers and tourists. |
Our drive from Galle leads us to the tiny beach village of.....
Mirissa Beach
A vision of tropical bliss, crescent Mirissa Beach boasts powdery pale sand and azure waters framed by an arc of coconut palms. Crack open a cold beer, throw on some Jimmy Buffet tunes and you can't get any closer anywhere to beach paradise!
