Travelogue from Sri Lanka: history, beautiful scenery and hospitality

In December 2018, Elisabeth travelled to Sri Lanka with her family. Read about what she experienced on the tour below.

We’d heard so much about Sri Lanka beforehand. Not only were the whole family of five excited when we landed at the airport early one December morning and were met by our friendly guide, Nishan, who would accompany us every day of our packed itinerary. But it was also the first time we would be away from home during the Christmas holidays, so, especially for the two oldest children aged 10 and 13, it would be a Christmas quite unlike the Christmas they are used to. Our daughter of three probably didn’t quite know what to expect …

We started out with a couple of relaxing days in Negombo to get used to the 4½-hour time difference. The beautiful beach and the hotel’s good facilities made it easy to get into the holiday mood! We stayed at Jetwing Blue ****.

On our arrival in Sigiriya, we had a challenge ahead of us: climbing the Lion Rock. Due to quite a lot of rain on the first day, the plans had been changed, so we had visited the old capital Polonnaruwa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the famous stupa/temple Rankoth Vehera instead. Barefooted and kitted out with umbrellas, we learned that we had to walk around the temple in a clockwise direction.

The next day, we got up extra early and were picked up by our guide at 7.15 am before heading to the Lion Rock. The cave paintings are impressive – it’s quite incredible to think they were done in the 5th century! A lot of steps, but doable, and the climb up (and down) was also a nice nature experience. When we were almost down again, we were lucky enough to see a grizzled giant squirrel right up close!

In Kandy, there was time to relax by the hotel pool. Then we went for a walk along the water, where the children fed the fish with popcorn, and we saw a monitor lizard on the bank, just a few metres from where we stood! This was followed by a visit to the Temple of the Tooth and its museum.

Another highlight worthy of a mention is the train ride on the old, diesel-powered train through the highlands. We boarded the train in Nuwara Eliya and got off at Ella. A nice change from driving, and the landscape that passes by outside the windows is stunning.

Finally, we went on safari in Yala National Park, where we were lucky enough to see elephants, peacocks, sambar deer, wild boar and the small yet colourful and eye-catching bird, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster).

After a long list of varied experiences, we had chosen spend a few days relaxing by the beach on the west coast, more specifically at the Cinnamon Bey resort***** in Beruwala – perfect for some less active days to round it all off and as a base for exploring the city of Galle, which dates back to colonial times. There was also time for a little visit to one of the nearby turtle projects, where they are working to re-release newly hatched young into the wild while also taking in and rehabilitating injured turtles.

All in all, a holiday packed with wonderful experiences that we will look back on and remember with great joy.

Elisabeth Simonnæs

TourCompass – From tourist to traveller