Sri Lanka - A frenzy of wild beauty
Having already experienced the student 'Mecca' that was Bali, I felt like something a little quieter and laid back. I’d later come to discover Sri Lanka was neither of those things, but what a beautiful frenzy it turned out to be! Untouched beaches, mountains, wildlife, culture, good food, parties and even better people were all promised, and oh boy did the ‘teardrop island’ deliver.
LEFT: A fisherman tries his luck at sunset in the Rekawa Lagoon. RIGHT: Waiting for our train at Ella Railway Station.
MIRISSA
After eventually making it from the airport to our homestay in Mirissa after our driver pulled over for a nap (is that normal here?), we were greeted at My Whales Guest House by a family of smiles who were eagerly waiting to welcome us into their home. If you’re looking for a place to stay it’s in a great location, 500m from the town centre and 500m from the beach in the other direction. It’ll have everything you need so long as you aren’t expecting a 5-star experience, or even 4 stars for that matter, depending on your standards. Whatever they lack in facilities, they certainly make up for in hospitality and helpfulness.
What to do, eat & say around Mirissa
We had a tip-off from the homeowner about a certain “Secret Beach” nearby which we eagerly agreed to check out first. It’s quite a steep hill to walk there but you can stop for a coconut on the way if you need to quench your thirst (which was 100LKR or R8). The little bit of exercise is well worth it though when you stumble upon a quiet, unspoiled stretch of beach, fit with a rope swing and hammock - as if straight off an Instagram reel. You can choose to soak up the afternoon sun, doze off in the hammock under the palms or go for a snorkel and marvel at the life beneath the crystal clear surface - stripes, colours spots and spikes aplenty - just watch where you put your feet! This is also where I learned not to order coffee in Sri Lanka - I was charged about R50 for a cappuccino which tasted worse than the crappiest of instant coffees from back home, it’d be tea for me for the rest of the trip. Pack your own coffee, Castaways.
Feeling refreshed, but also half starved we walked into the town and roamed the streets for a bit before coming across a roti shop full of locals. When in doubt, eat where the locals eat, right? That’s just what we did. I wish I could remember the name of the place, but I have a habit of not paying attention to those details. We were served with our first cup of Sri Lankan tea - black of course - followed by vegetable roti and fish Kottu (a delightful mashup of chopped roti, vegetables & spices) and with some coconut hoppers to finish, which are traditional Sri Lankan bowl-shaped pancakes. The spread all came to a grand total of about 1000LKR or R80 and left me wondering how on earth I was going to eat again.
If, like us, you can’t bear the thought of walking home with your belly dragging along the tarmac, hire a bicycle at Pinky’s Hotel. They’re wobbly and rickety but you won’t have far to go. This is also where I learned to avoid men with pet monkeys and baskets containing venomous snakes.
ABOVE: Sunsets at Secret Beach feel like you’re on your own private beach.
Mirissa & Weligama Beach, Parrot Rock & Coconut Tree Hill
It would be amiss of me to not mention Mirissa’s beaches - the epicentre of this busy town - lined with restaurants, bars and the odd guide wanting to take you snorkelling, diving, whale watching, surfing or fishing. If you don’t catch your own fish, pick one of the many restaurants dotted along the shoreline for a seafood feast. Not for the first time, we filled our faces with crab, prawns, calamari, a full snapper, chips, rice and salad for a mere 4000LKR, or R315. Bars take turns to host a party every night during the festive season so if you stay for a few Lion Lagers, you can walk along the beach and follow the music to join your fellow sunburnt, tipsy strangers. Dance the evening away or until the firecrackers signal midnight, which is exactly what we did on Christmas Eve. With happy hearts and tired legs, we scooted home (Eek!) for some much-needed rest.
Parrot Rock is also worth the short walk. You can only reach it at low tide, but the views looking back along the main beach and out to sea sure are worth it. Another good spot for the views is coconut tree hill, it’s great at sunset but gets busy with everyone wanting to get their angles right for Insta – and yes, I can say that because I was one of them…
Weligama is another surf-crazy beach that’s just a bike ride away if you’re looking for something a little more laid-back. This was where I hired a board, strapped a GoPro to my wrist and took to the waves… Unsuccessfully. Safe to say I’ll practice a little more before the next trip. The surfboards were cheap and the locals are happy to help. If it’s still there, head over the road to Mr Surf Rotti Shop for lunch or a mango lassi, a traditional & delicious creamy delight made with frozen yoghurt, fruit, milk and sugar – perfect for Sri Lanka’s rather sweaty climate.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sippin’ on coconuts on Coconut Tree Hill; Looking back over Mirissa Beach from Parrot Rock; Having a well-deserved rest at the bar after a failed surf mission in Weligama.
Take a day trip to Galle Fort
With a longer journey planned, we decided to ditch the rickety bicycles and trade them for a scooter. We told the owner at Pinky’s that we didn’t have a license, to which he replied, “If you get stopped by police, just say hello with 1000 rupees.” With that valuable piece of information, we left early and rode to Galle Fort. Driving the roads was baptism by fire and not for the faint-hearted. Busses seem to have right of way so stay clear of those and you should be okay! If you arrive in one piece (or you’re smart enough to just take a Tuk Tuk), spend some time walking the streets of Galle. Within them are the most amazing colonial buildings that have been converted into shops, restaurants and museums teeming with the finest paintings, spices, teas, ornaments, gemstones and textiles along with smiling shop owners eager to invite you in. We stopped for the most amazing cinnamon-spiced black tea, followed by some lunch from a street vendor which included a delicious fried egg & vegetable roll with noodles.
With full tummies, we headed to Galle Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1588 and fortified by the Dutch in the 17th century. The fort itself is amazingly well kept, and the views are even better – the town is down to your left, the ocean to your right and out in front sits Galle Cricket Club, a famous ground for those who are fans of the sport.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Walking the vibrant streets of Galle; The dregs of our spiced cinnamon tea; Galle Fort, a great place for a selfie apparently.
TANGALLE
Just like myself, you may want a break from the hustle & bustle of a town as popular as Mirissa. Tangalle is a bit of a hidden gem in that respect. After basically getting kicked off a heavily laden bus because our luggage was so large, a Tuk Tuk driver was conveniently waiting to offer to take us to Tangalle. It was a bit off the beaten track, but boy was it worth it. We stayed at Lonely Beach, which was aptly named as we were seemingly the only people there. The two-story houses were literally on the beach, with the restaurant looking over Rekawa Lagoon. You can make use of the Kayaks and fishing rods free of charge which is exactly what we did on our first two days here. Take a bottle of wine and pull up on a bank in the lagoon for a picnic. The birds and wildlife here were amazing too, you may recognise a few from home.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Stopping on the banks of Rekawa Lagoon for a wine picnic; Fishing at sunset in the lagoon mouth at Tangalle; Looking back on Lonely Beach Resort from Tangalle Beach.
It felt like I could have spent a week here, re-generating, soul-searching and soaking up the sun. However, while you’re here it’s a great opportunity to visit Wewurukannala Vihara – hard to say but easy to appreciate. This temple is divided into 3 parts, the first was modestly built in the 18th century, while the second is Sri Lanka’s biggest statue – a gigantic golden Buddha. However, to appreciate it up close, you must walk through the Tunnel of Hell – a chamber with statues and paintings of sinners being sawed in half, boiled in water and force-fed pork – enough to send more than a chill down your spine. It’s an eye-opening experience and well worth it if you have the time. Having enjoyed more than our fair share of breathtaking sunsets and secret beaches, we started making our way inland for a Sri Lankan safari.
LEFT & RIGHT: Wewurukannala Vihara Temple, where you can see Sri Lanka’s largest statue
UDAWALAWE
If you have time in your itinerary, book a Sri Lankan safari, either at Yala or Udawalawe National Parks. I was told that Udawalawe is quieter, but it sure didn’t seem that way! We caught a bus from our accommodation to Udawalwe National Park, where we waited in a bumper-to-bumper queue for the ticket office to open – every game vehicle wanted to be first in the gate! The frenzy calms down a bit once you’re in the park rattling along the bumpy roads where you have an opportunity to see Sri Lankan elephants, as well as a vast array of other wildlife and birds. Being South African made me realise just how lucky we are to have these experiences right on our doorstep (far less chaotic and certainly more impressive, might I add, although it could be my South African bias), but it was still good to see a variety of new species, including water buffalo and the national bird of Sri Lanka, which just looks like a chicken…?
On the way home, you can also stop at the Elephant Transit Home where they take care of all the orphaned baby elephants, as well as elephants with injuries. If you go at the right time you can watch the babies being fed their daily milk. I liked that it wasn’t like a zoo, the ‘orphanage’ opens out onto the Udawalawe Reserve so the elephants are free to come and go as they please.
ABOVE: A family of Asian ellies grazing as we watched on f rom our safari vehicle.
We stayed at Eagle’s Nest in Udawalawe, and the following day this was where we experienced Sri Lankan breakfast done right. Fit for at least 4 people, the two of us gorged our way through hoppers and jam, biscuits, and these yellow pancakes (or Panipol) with a desiccated coconut sugary filling which, for the remainder of the trip and beyond, I haven’t been able to get off my mind. The Castaway team made the recipe too and it came out just as good as I remember, try it out here if you want:
LEFT & RIGHT: Breakfast Sri Lanka style at Eagle’s Nest - hoppers, coconut pancakes & biscuits with jam.
ELLA
If you’re brave enough to take on the Sri Lankan public transport system (I say that, but it’s probably more reliable than ours at home), take the bus from Udawalawe to Wellawaya and then catch the bus from there to Ella. We stood for the whole of the first leg, but honestly, it felt like the safest form of transport – the buses with their horns and fearless drivers rule the roads. We made friends with an old lady on the bus who didn’t speak English, but she gave us a mango from her big bag of fruit and signalled to us when to hop off the bus. And then there was Ella. Oh, Ella! The little town with a big personality. Her streets are littered with tea stops, spice shops and quirky shops & restaurants. After walking the streets, we eventually settled on a place to eat before heading to our hotel, Ella Okreech Cottages. They have cute units on the hillside overlooking the town, Little Adams Peak and Ella Rock.
Ravana & Diyaluma Falls
There are loads of things to do in and around Ella. I’d recommend hiring a scooter which makes all the worthwhile attractions nearby a little more accessible. Otherwise, Tuk Tuks are never in short supply. We hired a scooter at our hotel and headed back down the road to Ravana Falls which we caught a glimpse of from the bus on the way in. It’s a spectacular sight but be warned, it’s swarming with posing tourists during the busier hours in the afternoon. If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, wake up early and go to Diyaluma Falls. It’s about a 1km walk from the parking area (Ignore the desperate tour guides warning you about “dangerous wild elephants”) and if like us you go early enough, you can hike to the top of Sri Lanka’s 2nd highest waterfall and have it all to yourself for a bit. It feels like a secret spot, with its cascading rapids and crystal clear pools surrounded by dense forest. Swim in the pools, relax and do the jump off the mini waterfall, if you’re crazy.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Riding the bus to Ella; The view of Ella’s town f rom Ella Okreech Cottages; Having a dip in Sri Lanka’s 2nd highest waterfall.
Visit a tea factory and spice garden
If you’re a foodie, there are two things in Sri Lanka you can’t miss: tea and spices. Take a trip to Ella Spice Garden. Here you can have a guided tour of the gardens for 100LKR (Just R7), to see and hear how they get from plant to product. I bought some spices to take home from their shop, but you can also take a Sri Lankan cooking lesson while you’re here. We also visited the Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory where you can have a tour of the Factory and be shown how they turn the leaves into tea, but make sure you go on a production day. If not you can still taste the different teas here for free, and the view of the surrounding mountains from the balcony is spectacular. It's also a great place to do some shopping for gifts to take home if you haven’t filled your suitcase already!
9 Arches Bridge & Little Adams Peak
Speaking of spectacular views, 9 Arch Bridge is another impressive feat of colonial architecture near Ella. Again, if you go early, you can get here before it gets busy and walk along the railway lines before the crowds pull in. We watched a few trains go by and stood in awe of this colossal bridge that seemed to descend into the tea fields for miles below it. More recently there have been reports of bee swarms in the arches so be careful if you go, especially if you have an allergy like myself! Once we’d admired the bridge for long enough, we headed to Little Adams Peak (Aptly named as it’s the smaller lookalike of Adams Peak). It’s a short hike to the top with well-marked trails through the tea fields and well worth the views when you get there. If you’re tired or feeling like a thrill, you can choose to zip line back down. Apparently, the sunrise hike to the larger Adams Peak is also impressive, but we didn’t have time to do it unfortunately.
LEFT: Nine Arch Bridge in all its glory RIGHT: Atop Little Adam’s Peak.
A cancelled stay, the kindness of strangers, and the world’s most scenic train ride
Having thoroughly enjoyed Ella, we were sad to book our train tickets to head to Kandy on New Year’s Day. However, a bit of a medical emergency on New Year’s Eve (A story for another day!) meant I spent the night in a Sri Lankan hospital with my partner. It was terrifying, to say the least: crowded wards, lack of bedding or pillows and being surrounded by very sick individuals in a foreign country on no sleep is no joke. The kindness of the Sri Lankan people really shone through though – we were provided with food, drinks and cake from other visitors who acted as translators, mosquito swatters and emotional support, without knowing a thing about us. We called up our hotel and they even let us stay another night and carry on using their scooter to go to and from the hospital, free of charge.
These wonderful people all helped so much in putting that blip in the trip behind us. Early the next morning we went to the train station, deciding to do a day trip to Nuwara Eliya in the highlands as it was closer than Kandy. This is known as the world’s most scenic train ride for a reason. Winding its way through Sri Lankan mountains, forests, tunnels and tea plantations, the ride is a photographer’s dream. If you book middle class it's still very cheap but not as crowded as the lower class and you can still lean out the doors to see the views, which you’ll wish would never end.
Nuwara Eliya itself is like a slice of colonial England, earning it the nickname “Little England.” We walked around Lake Gregory, and after getting very lost, eventually asked a Tuk Tuk to take us to Lover’s Leap, a tea farm we were trying to find on foot. The climate is a lot cooler here so we warmed up our hands on some black tea before walking around the plantation and meeting a few of the tea pickers which we spoke to in broken English about their own lives and what they do. By this stage we were cold by Sri Lankan standards and called it a day, taking a taxi for the long trip back to the coast for our last couple of nights.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Views on the world’s most scenic train ride; A tea picker agrees to a quick picture; Walking the tea fields at Lover’s Leap.
BENTOTA
We arrived late at a homestay we’d booked, I couldn’t even tell you the name – but for our 3-day stay we were treated to the most amazing fish & vegetable curries for dinner, as well as pancakes, hoppers, eggs and fresh fruit for breakfast. We didn’t even feel the need to go to restaurants, there’s something even better about being cooked for and so well looked after by a local family.
Visit a Turtle Hatchery
Bentota is well known for its sea turtles and conservation of them in the area. If you visit, it’s worth visiting a hatchery. We were lucky to go on a day when some babies were hatching, and they let us help move them from their sandy home to a new tank. Here they also have a few bigger turtles, mainly ones that are blind or disabled that wouldn’t survive in the wild. We came back that evening and carried a couple of the babies down to the beach that were ready to start life in the big wide world. We were allowed to release them and watch them tumble off into the waves. The beach itself felt so quiet and private and treated us to another of Sri Lanka’s finest sunsets which we spent swinging on the palm tyre swing and having sundowners.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Moving some baby turtles to their new home; A fisherman plying his trade as we cruised past on our river safari; A hidden temple in the mangrove forest.
Barberyn Lighthouse
The following day we caught a bus into town to spend some time at Bentota’s main beach, which is lined with endless palms, white sand and turquoise waters. We lazed around for a bit before heading to Beruwala, where we negotiated a boat to Barberyn Island and back. We felt like real Castaways on this tiny slice of paradise – exploring abandoned buildings at our own free will and using the cheap snorkels we’d bought to discover more of the amazing sea life beneath the waves. The lighthouse itself was impressive too, and apparently, the views from up top are incredible if you feel like paying the fee to climb it, which we didn’t. Take a picnic if you make the trip, we ended up getting hungry and having to go back to the mainland.
Go on a River Safari
While in Bentota, it’s also worth going on a river safari - A car takes you to a dock in the mangroves where you and a couple of others board a small boat that chugs along the river at dusk. We saw monkeys, monitor lizards, magnificent flocks of egrets, as well as local fishermen hoping for the evening’s catch. We also stopped at a riverside temple as well as a “massage” spot. It turned out to be pools of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet, not for the queasy or ticklish type! With the grumble of our stomachs being masked by the engine, we headed back slowly for curry, rice and whole grilled fish – one of our last ‘home-cooked’ meals in Sri Lanka.
LEFT: One of the abandoned buildings on Barberyn Island. RIGHT: There’s no shortage of rope swings in Sri Lanka, perfect for your Insta shots.
And that’s a wrap, folks! Remember – like I said: the idea to travel to Sri Lanka came to a younger, more naïve, pre-COVID version of myself. After this trip, the entire world went on lockdown. We couldn’t leave the house and were left with only the memories from a trip of a lifetime. I was one of the few lucky ones left with no regrets… Moral of the story? Travel while you still can. You’ll always have excuses and yet at the same time, there is no time better than the present, whilst you’re healthy & (hopefully) wealthy. Āyubōvan mitravaruni, until next time.
