Why You Need to Visit Sri Lanka

A population of roughly 21 million, lies below India in the Indian Ocean, there she basks under the sun: Welcome to Sri Lanka

In a nutshell, Sri Lanka looks almost similar to West Malaysia in terms of scenic and mountain views. It is certainly an exciting holiday destination to be in.

Getting to Sri Lanka

Getting to this beautiful country cannot be much easier with direct flights offered by Emirates and Sri Lanka Air with a flight time of approximately 4 hours from Singapore. No visa is required for Singapore passport holders for short visit. The best time to go is October to April when the climate is cooler and avoid the monsoon raining season.

Why visit Sri Lanka

Why not Sri Lanka then? This country marks one of my must visit destinations after the long civil war have recently ended in Year 2009. What better place than to visit a country that has been closed to the world. . . Everything there was authentic and yet to be influenced by the outside world.

Moving around Sri Lanka

One of the popular way of travelling within Sri Lanka was the engage of private car with the driver acting as a guide throughout. Many tourists there travelled in small vehicles. As such, you could see many cars parked outside tourist spots. When you step out of Colombo Airport, one could see touts offering car transport service. One could hire them for few days and they will be your private driver cum guide for the trip. However as they are not trained, do not expect much information from them on the history of the attraction.

Kandy Hill 

Situated 115km away from capital city of Colombo and witnessing a journey through spectacular scenery, one would arrive at one of the must visit tourist places named Kandy Hill. The Mediterranean weather here is drastically different from hot & humid Colombo. Average temperature hovers around mid 20s Degree Celsius. In the wee hours and late at night, one require jacket.

Kandy Hill is a nice place to relax due to its scenic environment with birds chipping away. .Below is the resort that allows one to rejuvenate and recharge for the trip.

In Kandy, one would also visit the Holy Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa). My suggestion is to visit the temple at night too to witness its beautiful decoration lights. 

The beauty of touring in Sri Lanka is that as you have your own driver, one can visit beautiful gardens along the way.

Pluck Tea leaves along the way. People here are generally friendly and warm!

Sigiriya

The next highlight in Sri Lanka would be the Golden Dambulla Rock Temple situated in Sigiriya. Its a sight to behold. In it, there lies Buddha statues.

Not far from it, lies Lion Rock citadel. Be warned, it is a tough climb all the way up. What’s more frightening would be when you are coming down the flight of stairs. However, the view on top was worth. It certainly looks like you are the only one standing on the highest point over looking the jungle area. 

Beaches 

The beaches in Sri Lanka may not have crystal clear seawater but the long stretch of white beaches certainly make up for it. Not far away from Colombo Airport is the sea paradise. Huge waves and strong wind are often the case here. That’s was how I lost my cap to the sea.

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

This is an orphanage and breeding ground for wild elephants which is situated northwest of the town of Kegalle, Sri Lanka. I have never seen so many elephants at one time bathing and doing their daily stuff.

If you love elephants or even if you do not fancy them, head down to this national park and learn more about them. The need to protect our earth and seeing other species living together with us. Seize the opportunity to feed the baby elephants and your love for them will grow. . .

Sri Lanka Crabs

Till this date, I could not understand that the locals do not know that the big fleshy crabs in their country are eaten by many in this part of the world (South East Asia). I was asking the locals and my guide if they could bring us to eat famous Sri Lanka Crabs but all I got was small little crabs.

Locals were surprised when we show them what we wanted are these crabs…”So big?! Really from Sri Lanka?” were their initial reaction.

To sum it up, visit Sri Lanka now before it gets too touristy!

Categories: Asia Region