For those of you following my route across the globe, you might have guessed that the next destination would be a country easily accessible from India and Sri Lanka was to be the final stop on my 3 month world tour. Known for its natural beauty, tourist friendly attractions and beaches Sri Lanka has long been on my list of countries to visit and as the flight from Cochin, India to Colombo, Sri Lanka is just over an hour it made logical sense to add it in as my last country.
My flight from Cochin to Colombo went smoothly and after clearing a slightly disorganized customs area (an online Visa application is required for entry but their system was not synching with immigration control, so everyone in line had to scramble to fill out a manual form when they reached the immigration que) I was off to meet my driver.
Upon exiting the airport I was immediately hit by a bit by a surprising throng of Russian tourists; unbeknownst to me, it was one of the few countries open to Russian tourism during the ongoing conflict. After 2 weeks of crowds in India I had hoped for something a bit more peaceful and off the tourist path, but I didn’t let it quell the excitement for my travels and soon located my driver who was waiting for me with a sign and a pretty flower necklace.
As Sri Lanka’s train and public transportation system is not very connected and notoriously late, my pre-visit research determined that I would be best off hiring one driver for the majority of my trip. Car & drivers for hire are common and easily found with a little internet research. I connected with a company called Sri Lanka Private Drivers and decided to do an 8-day tour, making it the only country where I followed a pre-set itinerary. My tour rate was ~$50 USD/day for an air conditioned 4-seater car; I only paid for the driving service and choose to select and book my own hotels and activities/entrance fees separately.
From the airport it was a 3-hour drive to the first tour stop – the city of Sigrigla, located in the northern middle section of the country known for its safaris, temples and hiking. As I had already been traveling for most of the day, there was just enough time to make a pitstop at the Dambulla Cave Temple on the way to Sigrigla before heading to my hotel for the night.
Dambulla Cave Temple is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka, towering 160 meters above the surrounding plains. Similar to Thailand, temples in Sri Lanka are filled with huge Buddha statues and paintings; dissimilar is the amount of hiking you have to do to reach them! All temples require patrons to remove their shoes and cover their arms and shoulders before entering, so it is advised to keep a shawl handy. Additionally, it is considered disrespectful to take photos of yourself in front of the statues, so no posing in front of huge Buddha feet for me!
After a few (statue only) photos it was time for me to head to my hotel, the Goddess Garden. Finding the property was a bit of an adventure as the directions led my driver to a dirt road located on farmland in the seemingly middle of nowhere. However, once we arrived and the gate opened I was welcomed by a beautiful small boutique property designed in plantation style with breathtaking surrounding grounds, including a small lake with peacocks, cows, chickens, caribou and other animals roaming around. All for a whopping $35 a night! I enjoyed a beautiful sunset and light meal at the on site restaurant and then settled into my room for the evening.
The next day, after a delicious breakfast (included in my room rate), my driver picked me up and we set out early to climb the famous Sigiriya Lion Rock, one of the most famous attractions in Sri Lanka. The Lion Rock is an ancient fortress made of a column of rock ~200 meters high and dates back to 400 AD. Accessing the rock requires a very steep and hot climb up a series of staircases that emerge from the mouth of the gigantic carved lion. The hike up was definitely a bit challenging with the heat but the views from the top were worth it, especially since there were monkeys just hanging around to amuse visitors and steal your food.
After Lion Rock we set off for Minneriya Safari Park, a national park known specifically for wild elephant sightings. To visit the park, one must take a safari ride tour that takes place in what one would imagine safari vehicles look like in Africa. As I was a solo traveler I had an entire jeep to myself, which meant that I could stand up during the ride and observe from the roof! The safaris are pretty popular and only take place twice a day, so there were about a dozen or so jeeps on my tour, all following the same path trying to spot elephants. After about an hour of bumpy riding and spotting nothing other than some foliage we finally spotted our first group of elephants – a family of 5! It was so amazing to see these wonderful creatures in the wild! In total we probably spotted over 20 elephants during the safari tour, and while it wasn’t exactly Africa in the wild it was still worth the $65 tour fee.
After the safari the last stop of the day was yet another hike up Pidurangala rock, located opposite the Lion Rock and famous for its 360 degree view; a perfect spot for sunset watching. The second hike of the day was even more challenging than the first as the 200 meter path up Pidurangala was not as well paved and tourist friendly as the Lion Rock. Some areas of the path even required getting on my hands and knees to crawl through and up small crevices. The view from the top was definitely rewarding, but there were so many tourists there that I decided to leave before the sunset to beat the crowds down and head back into the city for a well deserved meal.
The next day I was set to visit the ancient town of Polonnaruwa, however, after a long 2 days in the car and multiple ancient city visits in India and throughout my 3 months, I decided to skip the tour and instead have a day of relaxation at a traditional Ayurvedic Village, one of the practices Sigriya is famous for. The village is comprised of about a dozen rounded dirt and straw huts where your private treatment takes place with a specially trained therapist. While there are a variety of treatments available, including oil cleansing, I opted for a 1.5 hour massage and traditional steam bath. The massage was excellent and the steam room was a great experience in itself – a small wooden room covered with special leaves, heated by wood and water. My treatment was just what my tired legs needed and I left feeling refreshed and ready for the next day’s 2-hour drive to Kandy, a city in the center of the country.
After a leisurely start to the morning, my driver and I reached Kandy and my Airbnb, the Gangula Villa at around 2 pm. I had just enough time to stretch my legs for a quick walk in the neighborhood before it started to pour rain. Luckily, the rain was short lived and we headed off for that day’s activities of a local cultural show and the Buddha Tooth Temple. After the quiet town of Sigriya, the bustling city of Kandy was a a bit of culture shock and I had to fight tourist crowds in both the temple and cultural show. The Tooth Temple was historical to see but neither that nor the cultural show really held much unique interest for me and the crowds of tourists were off putting. The next day, rather than visit any other popular tourist sites I decided to just walk around the city and enjoy the pretty central lake, experiment with traditional Sri Lankan street food and even managed to get a pedicure, which was one of the best I’ve ever had albeit taking place in a somewhat sketchy back room of a local salon.
The next day I was off to the town of Ella, a 2.5 hour drive from Kandy. I could have taken the popular train ride from Kandy to Ella, but at 6-7 hours, driving was much more appealing, plus, along the way my plan was to try to fit in a water activity – rafting, rappelling or canyoning as there is an area along the route famous for adventure water sports. As a solo traveler, I hoped to find a group to tag along with, but unfortunately most of the tour operators had very few tourists that day so I opted for a canyoning activity that I could do solo with a guide. I had done canyoning in various countries previously and found it fun to rappel and hike through rivers water. Unbeknownst to me, the Sri Lankan definition of canyoning was far different than other countries. After outfitting me in a life vest and helmet my guide led me to the river and showed me my first water jump (not hike), which required climbing across a steep, slippery rock with fast rushing water and no safety rope! He assured me it was perfectly safe and being adventurous, I cautiously went along and followed his lead. The jump wasn’t too bad, but as we continued our hike through the waters, the jumps became higher and more precarious, each without much in the way of footholds, with extremely fast rushing water. Towards the end of the 1.5 hour long ‘canyoning hike’, we reached the final jump, which would require me to leap across a rock to land on the very edge of another rock (both extremely slippery) and jump off into rushing water with a very small pool of water surrounded by jagged rocks. I decided that, despite my adventurous nature, the jump was even a bit risky for me and had to instead climb the rock wall with the use of a single vine to get across to the other side. I managed to make it out alive, but then, when we reached the end of the river, I looked down at my legs and saw 3 leeches stuck to them! Luckily I was able to quickly brush them off but the bleeding would not stop (leeches have anti blood coagulation properties in their saliva). Surprisingly, my guide seemed pretty unconcerned with my profuse bleeding and we walked back to the staging area. Inside I began to panic a little, concerned with potential blood infection and the fact that I was covered in blood. My driver (who was one of the kindest people I met on my travels), took one look at my legs and said, “don’t worry ma’am, I have a treatment.” He then proceeded to light some newspaper on fire, blow the flame out and dab the ash on my legs. Amazingly the bleeding stopped right away and off again we went to drive the remaining hour to Ella – noted Boy Scout trick for leeches folks!
After the water adventure it started to rain heavily and unfortunately did not stop, even pouring harder once we arrived at my hotel, in Ella, the Cao Ella by Sans. My hotel was a small 4 room property located high up on a hill next to a popular hiking route and the Ella train station. However, with the rain there would be no hiking or exploring for me for the rest of the day, so I just dried off and ate a home cooked meal for dinner at the hotel, enjoying a bit of playtime with their resident puppy.
The rain continued throughout the night and into the next afternoon, but let up around 1pm and my driver and I quickly set out to squeeze in a visit to the famous 9 arches bridge, hike Little Ella and see some of the town. Ella is a quaint backpacker town, with lots of little shops and restaurants, albeit full of tourists, like every other place I had visited in Sri Lanka. Many people who visit Ella go specifically to hike Adam’s peak, but the rain and tourist crowds swayed my choices to just hike Little Ella and visit the bridge, both of which were pretty underwhelming, but nice to see all the same. Afterwards I enjoyed a great meal in town and poked around the shops for a bit before heading off to bed and my final night in Ella.
The next day was the last day with my driver and we had about a 3 hour’s drive to my final destination, the small coastal beach town of Tangalle. Along the way we stopped at Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home to catch the daily Baby Elephant Feeding. The transit home is where lost baby elephants are raised until they are old even to live on their own and then released into the wild in the national park. While I had seen elephants on my safari (and even along the highways in Sri Lanka!), nothing compared to seeing baby elephants run to get milk from a funnel and even cry when they want more! They were absolutely adorable and well worth the few dollars for entry.
The unseasonable rain (rainy season in Sri Lanka is April – September) continued to follow my route all the way to Tangalle. Fortunately, I had decided to splurged a little ($126/night) on my beachside accommodations, at the small boutique hotel, Villa Blue which meant that I could watch the ocean and rain from my luxurious bedroom suite that included a huge walk in bathroom and full stand alone tub. I also happened to be the only guest on property that night so I had the entire place to myself!
I bid a sad farewell to my driver in Tangalle, who at that point had become somewhat of a friend and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Traveling as a solo woman and being hit on constantly by tuk tuk and taxi drivers during my travels it was so refreshing to have a driver who was beyond respectful and attentive to my best interests. During our 8 day tour he shared with me how he became a driver, falling from grace to bring himself back up in the world and we discussed many thoughts on the meaning of life. He even showed me his hometown and stopped at little roadside stands along our route where he let me try local foods. Every day he showed up with the most positive and willing attitude, always with, “what do you need madam” and at the end of it all he gifted me some small magnets of Sri Lanka. If you are in Sri Lanka, I cannot speak more highly of Sri Lanka Private Drivers.
Finally away from all things touristy, the following morning, after a scrumptious breakfast in my room, the sun finally came out and I spent the next few sunny days walking the soft empty sands of the beach, feeding a small family of puppies, watching local fishermen pull in the day’s catch, eating locally spiced seafood and traditional Sri Lankan breakfasts.
After 4 beach days it was time to begin figuring out my journey back to the USA; however, there was one more stop on my agenda….read on to find out how I made it back home and where my final pit stop was!
Final verdict – how did Sri Lanka rate on the ‘Outlaw scale’?
FOOD: Very good, but also a bit pricier than expected. Sri Lankan food has some similarities to Indian food, but also has its own twist in spices, lending itself to Indonesian and Malaysian in some ways. All water is purified and cooking is held to high standards – the locals will even tell you so!
SAFETY: Very safe – I did not feel threatened at any time in Sri Lanka and found the people extremely polite and respectful, my driver was by far the kindest and most wonderful transport operator of my trip. The only things I had to watch out for were locals trying to sell me things at tourist sites, but my driver cautioned me ahead of any encounters.
LANGUAGE: English was widely spoken and I only came across a few communication hiccups in local shops and bus stations when I wasn’t with my driver, but easily found help from someone who could translate.
THINGS TO DO: Excellent – there is plenty of hiking, beaches and exploration – something for everyone!
TRANSPORTATION: Hiring a private car is the best way to get around – there are some bus options, but not necessarily direct, trains take almost twice as long to get anywhere you want and Uber/ride share is only present in the bigger cities.
MONEY: Cash by far the most common way to pay in Sri Lanka – only a small percentage of hotels even took card payments, but the US Dollar and Euro were also accepted outside of local currency.
VALUE: Excellent – the food is reasonable and varied (outside of red meat options); however, it would rate at at least double if not triple of the cost of food in India. Hotels and homestays are very reasonable, and of high quality, averaging $20-30 per day (a splurge is $100/day) and tourist activities are fairly priced with some ranging on the more expensive scale, but still at a reasonable cost.
OVERALL: While Sri Lanka is definitely geared towards tourism in the friendliness of its people, its cleanliness, the food, reasonable accommodations, and the size and variance of activities and things to do in the country, I found the amount of tourists and the tourist route so overvisited and overcrowded, it didn’t feel off the grid enough for me and I was honestly a bit bored with what it had to offer. I’m glad I went, but would not make a special trip to visit it outside of other places on the globe.
TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 1 car, 2 Ubers, 1 bus
TRAVEL MILE COUNT: ~400
TRAVEL CASAUALTIES: One laptop keyboard (had to use a plug in version, which was not very user friendly)