Sri Lanka is a great holiday destination with something for everyone. It has a good balance of history, nature and adventure. Our trip was for 9 nights and 10 days.
Colombo
We landed in Colombo in the afternoon and we took an Uber to our hotel Taj Samudra. We stayed for 2 nights in Colombo. We visited the Gangaramaya temple and the Beira lake, Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara and the area around the Dutch hospital.
Colombo has some very good restaurants. Definitely try them out.
1. Ministry of Crab (this serves sea-food and is run by the famous duo Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara along with Dharshan Munidasa). It is among the world’s 50 best restaurants. For more information visit their website.
2. Gallery café. It is one of the most beautiful restaurants in Colombo. For more information, go here.
3. Nuga Gama. This restautant is in Cinnamon grand hotel, Colombo. The decor is like a Sri Lankan village and the ambience is great. Click here for more information.
In Colombo local transportation is either auto or uber and is quite reasonably priced. We hired a car for the rest of our trip. You may also take trains from Colombo to Anuradhapura/Kandy.
Anuradhapura
Our next destination was Anuradhapura. Colombo to Anuradhapura takes approximately 4 hours by car. The sacred city of Anuradhapura is a UNESCO world heritage site . Hotels here are limited. We stayed at Lakeside Nuwarawara.
Some of the important sites worth visiting in Anuradhapura are Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Ruwanwelisaya, Isurumuniya, Abhayagiri vihāra, Jetavanaramaya, Thuparamaya Dagaba, and Kuttam Pokuna. The sacred fig tree at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is said to be a branch of the sacred tree from the historical Sri Maha Bodhi in India’s Buddha Gaya.
If you have time, you can head to Mihintale or Polonnaruwa.
Dambulla
Next we headed to Dambulla. Anuradhapura to Dambulla takes about an hour or so. We checked in to our hotel Jetwing Lakeside, Dambulla. Jetwing is a Sri Lankan hotel chain. On the first day we climbed up the rock-cut steps to the Dambulla cave temples. It was well worth the climb. The cave temples are beautiful and well preserved. This was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1991.
Sigiriya
Next day was challenging. We went early morning to climb the rock fortress at Sigiriya, one of Sri Lanka’s top places to visit. The rock fortress is atop a rock that dramatically rises about 200m from the plains of central Sri Lanka. The climb is not for those who are afraid of heights. Be ready to climb 1200 steep steps to reach the top. On the way you will see some amazing frescoes and the lion’s claw sculpted in the mountain. Enjoy the views throughout the climb. It is advisable to carry some water as both water and washrooms are not available once you have started the climb. At moderate pace, the climb will take approximately 50 minutes. We went back to our hotel in Dambulla.
Kandy
From Dambulla, we proceeded to Kandy. Kandy is renowned the world over for the tooth temple – the temples that has the holy tooth of Lord Budhdha. Kandy is a beautiful city. We stayed at the Mountbatten Bungalow just outside Kandy city. The stay at the Moutbatten bungalow was in itself a great experience. One can opt to stay at the main bungalow or at the beautiful chalets. We opted to stay at the chalet.
We started our day with the main attraction of Kandy – the temple of the sacred tooth relic. Kandy lake is just next to the tooth temple. We then visited the Kandy botanical garden. We did not go to the Kandy cultural dance show as we found these shows to be very touristic in other places.
Nuwara Eliya and Ella
We left early morning from Kandy. Our next night stay would be at Mirissa. There are two routes that one can take from Kandy to Mirissa. One route goes straight down to Mirissa and is shorter. We took the long scenic route which passes through Nuwara Eliya and Ella. Many forums have suggested a train journey from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. However, since we had the car with us we had no options. The journey is very scenic passing through well-manicured tea gardens, winding roads and waterfalls.
Mirissa
The journey from Kandy to Mirissa took approximately 8 hours with stops in between and some sightseeing. We opted to stay in Mirissa as we wanted to do whale watching. Sri Lanka is one of the few places in the world where whales can be spotted. Don’t miss the chance!
I was a bit apprehensive as reviews said that the sea is often rough causing seasickness. But I mustered courage. The sea was moderately choppy and there were a few on our boat who were seasick. Nevertheless, it was extremely enjoyable. Imagine spinner dolphins swimming alongside your boat, spinning in the air before diving back into the water once again. Not one or two but about 50 of them! Then came Moby Dick. Yes, the crew spotted the blow of the sperm whale ! Luck was on our side as the sperm whale is difficult to spot because it can remain underwater for a long time. The skipper quickly steered close to the sperm whale and we saw it swim by - breathing in and then blowing out till it had inhaled enough to fluke its tail and dive back into the deep blue. And that's not all. The stage has only been set for the hero's entry. A blow in the ocean is heard and the crew is excited. They tell us to look out for the blue whale. Yes, the largest animal on the planet! And there it is in all its splendour, about 30m long, swimming at a short distance from our boat. The sound made by it's blow in an otherwise silent atmosphere was like a roar - the roar of the lord of the seas. It made my day.
We took the tour through Whale Watching Club, Mirissa.