Sri Lanka - Day by Day
During the summer 2023, my mom and I flew to Sri Lanka, a destination that has always been dear to her heart for many years, to spend 2 gorgeous weeks on an island that has SO MUCH to offer. For my part, I had never been to this side of the globe before, so it added to the excitement.
In this article, you’ll be able to read a (trying to be) little summary of my holidays, find links to specific articles and some photos of my favourite moments.
Don’t hesitate to comment any questions you might have! You can also find all of my videos on my Instagram highlights.
DAY 1: From Paris to Habarana, Sri Lanka
The flight with Sri Lankan Airlines had a small pit stop in Frankfurt, but overall, it was enjoyable, and I managed to sleep through it all. We arrived in Columbo, the capital of Sri Lanka, early in the morning, and met with our guide for the trip, an amazing local named Shanta. Driving there can be tricky and scary, or even dangerous and I can not emphasize enough to have a driver if you intend to travel the country in a car.
Because the journey was slightly long, we had organized a small resting stop in a wonderful property called The Notary’s House (a former Lawyer’s office) to take a needed shower and have a filling breakfast. I didn’t hesitate and ordered the typical Sri Lankan breakfast. It was A LOT of food, but MY GOD everything was delicious and tasty: so many different spices!
Once back on our feet, it’s time to hit the road again and drive to our beautiful hotel in Habarana called Taru Villas Maia, located next to Dambulla, at approx. two and a half hours from the Notary’s House. This place is so peaceful and surrounded by natural wonders: birds, trees, monkeys. The rest of the day was all about taking some strengths back after the journey, relaxation, enjoying the pool and the diner, to get ready for our adventures to come.
DAY 2: The Lion’s Rock
We woke up at 4AM to be in the car at 5AM and drove towards the Lion’s Rock, or Sigiriya, an impressive mountain which used to be the location of an important kingdom.
According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Cūḷavaṃsa, this area was a large forest, then after storms and landslides it became a hill and was selected by King Kashyapa (AD 477–495) for his new capital. He built his palace on top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure; Sīnhāgiri, the Lion Rock.
The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century.[3] Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.
The goal was to hike and climb before 6AM to see the sunrise. And there are a LOT of steps.
It is sweaty and out of breath that I sat on a rock, facing what should have been a shining orange sphere that was now hiding behind some clouds. Nevertheless, the view from up there is mesmerizing. Shanta took us through the ruins of that kingdom, explaining what used to be an impressive construction.
After that, we went for a gorgeous picnic by a lake before enjoying an Ayurda massage Athreya, a steam bath and a cinnamon tea, and heading back to the hotel.
DAY 3: Dambulla’s caves temple and Kaudulla Elephant Safari
Finally a full night! Once ready for the day, we got picked up by Shanta and drove to the Dambulla’s Golden cave Temples.
Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include Vishnu and the Ganesha. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square metres (23,000 sq ft). Depictions on the walls of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's first sermon.
Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.
After that, we hopped in a jeep towards Kaudulla Elephant Safari.
I am torn regarding this experience. On one hand, being in this gorgeous natural reserve, surrounded by wild elephants and seeing so many of them was like a dream coming true (see Africa), but I was chocked to see SO MANY JEEPS! There were literally more cars than elephants and it is at this point that I asked my guide to keep driving. I didn’t want to participate in this shameful scenery. So, we continued driving, and kept respectful distances with the animals, to make sure that they were ok with our presence.
Back on the road, we saw a gorgeous sunset to accompany us on our drive towards the hotel for our last night here.
DAY 4: PLONARUHA
We left our hotel in the morning to drive one hour towards Polonaruha, a Unesco World Heritage site with the best kept temples.
Polonnaruwa was the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993. It comprises, besides the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.
For lunch, we stopped at the Farmer’s market.
We kept driving towards the west coast, to check in our sensational hotel Karpaha Sands.
We spent a couple of days here to simply enjoy the sunsets and the sunrises, the fresh sea food and the wild dogs as well as the perfect example of a glamping experience and an outdoor shower.
DAY 8 and 9: Gal Oya National Park
We arrived at Gal Oya Lodge, a beautiful resort lost in the jungle, away from any city, any data, any disturbance.
Here, we went on two amazing experiences. The first one was a wilderness walk with a Thutha, the chief of the Forest Village. He taught us how they were using nature in the best way, to make money, heal, feed his community and live the way they do.
The second one was a safari through the national park. We left at sunrise and hopped in a comfortable JEEP for 5 hours. There, we spotted SO MANY different species of birds, butterflies, dears, wild boars, elephants, insects…
The hotel gives a lot of beautiful opportunities to learn more about the Sri Lankan wildlife.
Now a refuge for wildlife, it’s said that the region surrounding Gal Oya, in the east of Sri Lanka, once provided sanctuary for Sinhala Kings.
In the 2nd Century BC, King Tissa is thought to have fled to Digavapi, a site visited, it’s claimed, by Lord Buddha and one still attracting thousands of pilgrims today.
Established in 1954, administration of the Park was given to The Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1965 and considerable efforts have been made to protect both the animal populations of the Park as well as the habitats - often threatened by illegal logging and grass burning - that are their homes.
Off-limits for much of Sri Lanka’s civil war, the Park has attracted growing attention and increasing numbers of visitors since the early 2000s.
DAY 10: Ella
We left our beautiful getaway in the jungle to drive around 3 hours uphill towards Ella, the city in the mountain.
After a lunch break at 360, we checked in the hotel called 98 Acres.
DAY 11: 9 arches bridge and Ravana fall
I woke up before the sun to hike to Little Adam’s Peek to see the sunrise. After that we walked down to 9 arches bridge to see the old train cross it at 10.50. We took a tukutuku up the hill towards Ravana falls and I gathered some fresh water and bought some souvenir.
After being back at the hotel, my mom wanted to hike to see the sunset, se we went back up there, but there was quite a bit of clouds.
DAY 12: Back to Columbo by train
After waking up at 5AM, we drove to Ella train station to catch the train at 6.30AM. It was CROWDED so I strongly recommend reserving your seat. Otherwise, there are high chances that you’ll be standing all the way.
For three hours, we rode in the mountain, mesmerised by one landscape after the other, bonding with the locals and laughing with the children. It was a beautiful experience, and WHAT A VIEW!
We hopped off at Nanu-Oya to meet Shanta and drove with him down to Columbo to catch our plane later that night! What a day!
