During my childhood, Sri Lanka was largely connected to our ancient mythology Ramayana, where Lord Rama went to kill Ravana. As I grew into my teens, the perception was changed to beautiful beaches, amazing resorts and delicious coconut water. But Sri Lanka offers so much more than what I knew during my adolescent and I am glad to choose this destination for my early 2020 vacation.
Overview
Nestled right below India, this jewel shaped country is surrounded by Indian Ocean and is one of the world's most attractive and affordable island nation. Crystal clear beaches, majestic hill stations, adventure wildlife safari, scenic train journeys, cultural diversity and the local cuisine, it is difficult to fathom why this island is not in many tourists radar.
Since we only had a week's time in our hand we decided not to rush and restricted ourselves to 3-4 key places of our interest. Hence, we finalized Kandy (1 night), Ella (2 nights), Udawalawe (1 night) and Unawatuna (2 nights). Since we were 6 adults and 1 toddler, we decided to book a mini van for the entire tour. We made the bookings with Mr Ek of Sri Lanka Hill Country Tours, whose rates were superior to other tour companies and whose service we found exceptional (https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attraction_Review-g304138-d12868830-Reviews-Sri_Lanka_Hill_Country_Tours-Kandy_Kandy_District_Central_Province.html).
Kandy
Kandy is about 3-4 hours drive from Colombo and is also called the cultural capital of Sri Lanka. We stopped for a short break at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage en route to Kandy. Here we saw a number of Asian elephants being taken care of by the locals. We even got an opportunity to bathe the elephants which my daughter Shravya really enjoyed.
At noon, we checked-in at the Sevana City Hotel, which was 0.5 km from the city center. The most prominent landmark in Kandy is the the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, which is believed to house one of Lord Buddha's original teeth. The tooth is kept inside a golden structure in the middle of the temple and is worshiped by locals as majority of the population follows Buddhism as their religion.
There is also a lake located in the center of the city. In the evening, strolling on the outskirts of this lake at our own pace was a mesmerizing experience. There was also a cultural show performance at a theatre right next to the lake but we decided to give it a skip as wanted to spend more time in exploring the local market and delicacies. One can get a flavour of age old traditions by seeing the city's architecture and how locals have preserved it for so long.
Ella
Our next destination was Ella - a small charming hill station tucked away in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka - known for its cool climate, picturesque landscapes, gushy waterfalls and amazing tea plantations. But for me the most fascinating memory was the scenic train journey from Nanu Oya to Ella, which during my research I found was the best thing to do in Sri Lanka.
Nanu Oya to Ella Train Ride
One can also choose to board the train from Kandy (takes around 6-7 hours). But choosing Nanu Oya also allowed us to get a glimpse of Nuwara Eliya, another beautiful town which is flocked by many tourists. It took us 3 hours to reach Nanu Oya from Kandy and I could already see the station packed with foreign tourists waiting for their respective trains. We did not get first class reservations as these tickets vanish within seconds during peak season. However, the third class tickets are not too bad either and majority of the tourist will opt for this ticket as it allows them to hangout of the doorways.
An Important note here: you can not book tickets online and its difficult to get tickets on the spot at the station. So we requested our vehicle owner to book the tickets in advance.
As the journey commenced, the train passed via misty forests, exquisite tea plantations, colorful towns, waterfalls & lakes and gives travelers a chance to capture the real essence of this country. I was so awestruck on seeing some of the views that i did not get a chance to capture them. The atmosphere in our coach was lively too where there were large groups of people singing and playing.
It took the train around 3 hours to reach Ella and we headed straight to Hotel Laura which a stone's throw away from the city center. In the evening we went to the city center to taste the local delicacy - Rice & Curry - at the popular Cafe Chill. The cafe had a vibrant ambience, plenty of vegetarian dishes and an extremely well mannered staff.
Lipton Seat
Next morning we went to the famous Lipton Seat, one of the major view points in Sri Lanka. It is this place where famous Scottish entrepreneur Sir Thomas Lipton used to monitor his vast tea plantation empire. Today this place is open for tourists and on a clear day one can see panoramic views of hills across several provinces. Once can trek and reach the point by foot but we preferred to take a tuk-tuk for this steep route. On reaching the top, we saw sir Lipton's statue sitting on a bench in a corner. We had to put our jackets on owing to strong winds at that height. We enjoyed our cup of tea by just relaxing and looking endlessly towards the horizon.
Nine Arch Bridge
Adam's Peak and Nine Arch Bridge are two key landmarks of Ella. We could not go to Adam's Peak as it would have been extremely difficult to hike with a toddler. So our next destination was Nine Arch Bridge. There is some trekking involved here as well but we decided to give it a shot. While some members of our group manage to go to the bridge, others decided to see the bridge from top of a rock. The trains pass 4-5 times a day via this bridge but it is difficult to accurately tell a time as Sri Lankan trains time table is totally unreliable on this aspect. After waiting patiently for about 30 minutes, the train finally came and watching it pass through the bridge was a wonderful sight.
Ravana's Cave
Ravana's Cave is located just 2 km from Ella and as per the locals this is the place where Ravana kept Sita for a while. At first we were skeptical to visit this cave as it involves around 700 steps and a further hike on uneven rocks. But the curiosity to see the cave really motivated us to proceed. The path was very steep at some places and it was a daunting task to even walk on them as it was raining simultaneously. It took us about 30-40 minutes to reach the cave. It was a small and dark cave and we can go inside for only 200 meters after which the government has prohibited to go. Travelers who like history and adventure should definitely give this cave a try.
More information in the second part where I will share my experience about Udawalawe and Unawatuna.
