Sri Lanka

A small island nation of the southern coast of India, Sri Lanka held a mystique for us and we were eager to visit. It was cost prohibitive to try to ship the truck there but flights from Mumbai were relatively cheap and since we thought we would never again be so conveniently positioned to visit the country, we should go.

We did our research on the highlights (mostly reading Lonely Planet and Googling), and chose an eleven day route to take them all in. As we starting to look into rental cars, we discovered it was actually cheaper to hire a car and driver than drive yourself. No problem, Andy was ready for a break after a month driving in India. We booked a driver through an online agency called Digital Tourism and hired a driver for $60 a day which included gas and his accommodations and food.

Sri Lanka is developing its tourism infrastructure and is a comfortable and easy place to visit. Hotels and food are reasonably priced and there is a range of choices from budget to high end. We chose the mid range route and the hotels were lovely. We pre-booked all our hotels on Booking.com and the average was about $50 a night for the two of us, including a hearty breakfast. Our total cost for an eleven day trip for the two of us was $2400 (not including airfare). The highest cost was our driver followed by hotels at $500 and then tours and cultural site fees for about $500. There is definitely a tiered system with cultural sites charging a premium for foreigners as are hotels and restaurants designed for tourists. A savvy budget traveler could definitely spend a lot less.

For a small country, Sri Lanka has an incredible range of experiences to offer tourists. With ancient Buddhist temples, including eight Unesco World Heritage sites, jungle, mountains, beautiful sandy beaches, and national parks with a range of wildlife it has something for everyone. It is the only country other than Botswana that we have had the thrill of running into wild elephants walking down the road.

We landed in the capital Colombo, and the next morning set off with our driver Dhammika. With decades of experience in the tourism industry, he was knowledgeable, gently making suggestions for improving our experience, informative about local customs and culture and really enjoyable to be with 6-8 hours a day.

Day One - Colombo to Anaradhapura, 200 km and 4.5 hrs

Our first cultural site to visit was Anaradhapura, the center of the early rulers of the country for 1000’s of years beginning in 360 BC. The ruins sprawl over acres with temples, stupas, and statues of Buddha. Buddhism started in Sri Lanka in about 250 BC in Anaradhapura and today Buddhism is the official religion of the country. Sri Lanka is the oldest continuously Buddhist nation in the world and you could see and feel people’s faith in the culture..

Today Sri Lanka is peaceful and the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese people live harmoniously alongside the Hindu Tamil people. But the civil war following independence from the British was not that long ago. In what is becoming a sadly familiar story, colonization caused rifts between the island ethnic groups and war ensued after independence. The majority Sinhalese came into power following independence and the renaming of the country from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. Under British rule, the Tamil people had become strong English speakers and were overrepresented in universities and public sector jobs which caused resentment with the Sinhalese. There was also fear that the Tamil ties to India (many traced their heritage back to South India) could lead to being culturally overtaken by their large neighbor.

During the 1970’s the Sinhalese political leaders passed laws favoring Sinhalese for admission to universities and government jobs and the ethnic civil war was born. The Tamil Tigers were formed - advocating for an independent Tamil state. By 1983 things had escalated and the Tigers ambushed and killed 13 Sinhalese soldiers which was followed by a reprisal resulting in the death of almost 3000 Tamil people. The civil war lasted a total of 25 years and claimed 100,000 lives, finally ending in 2009.

We had memories of hearing about the war on our local news sources and had a vague idea of the countries troubles. We had a sense that in the past Sri Lanka had been a “dangerous place.” But we appreciated learning more about what actually happened and the root causes. In fact the country felt extraordinarily safe, people were hard working and welcoming.

Day 2 - Anuradhapura to Sigiriya, 75km and 1.5hrs

Along the way Dhammika asked if we would like to visit a local village and be shown how traditional food is prepared. We agreed, thinking it sounded like fun.

The village of Sigiriya was tucked into the jungle with the highlight being Sigiriya rock - an important cultural and spiritual place for the Sri Lankan people.

It was a relatively warm and muggy afternoon so we decided to climb the smaller, Pidurangola Rock that day and save the bigger Sigiriya rock for the cooler early morning. It was a steep climb up Pidurangola Rock but worth it for the statues along the way and the amazing views across the valley to Sigiriya Rock.

Early the next morning we made our way up Sigiriya Rock (also known as Lion Rock). The trail was well traveled and actually less steep than the Pidurangola trail of the night before.

Day Three - Sigiriya to Polonnaruwa - roundtrip 50 km and 1 hr each way (layover night in Sigiriya)

Polonnnaruwa was the second ancient capital, established when Anuradhapura was abandoned after repeated raids by the South Indians. In general, we appreciated the sites at Polonnaruwa more, probably because they were newer they were more intact and impressive. The city was the center of the Sinhalese Kingdom from 1017 to 1232.

After a day of cultural enlightenment we returned to Sigiriya for a second night. This was our only layover night. For most people planning a trip to Sri Lanka we would recommend extending the time and doing more layovers. As usual, we were working toward a tight timeline (this time to cross Tibet with a group of fellow overlanders) so we shortened our trip. We were also feeling a little conflicted, on the one hand being driven every day, completely cared for, staying and nice hotels and eating every meal in a restaurant was amazingly relaxing. On the other hand, it felt counter to the way we had committed ourselves to traveling the world, doing it on our own, making our own way, sleeping in our own vehicle and cooking our own food. But we managed to get over the conflict and enjoy the sheer luxury of the experience for eleven days.

Day Four - Sigiriya to Kandy, 136 km and 3.5hrs

Also along the way, with Dhammika’s help we stopped off to take a free spice and herbal medicine tour. It was fascinating and informative - also free (tip based).

Kandy was a beautiful town, built alongside a forested lake. The main attraction is the Temple of the Tooth - the palace where Sri Lanka’s most holy relic is housed - Buddha’s tooth.

Dawn also talked Andy into attending a cultural performance featuring the traditional music and dance of Sri Lanka. The variety of dances, music, costumes and masks made for an entertaining hour.

Day Five - Kandy to Sri Pada (or Adam’s Peak) 67km and 2 hours

Andy was on a mission to buy some ebony from a licensed source for his woodworking artist friend Oliver. So first thing in the morning, Dhammika helped us track down a woodshop which was able to sell us some. Then we were on our way to the town at the base of Sri Pada (translates to Sacred Footprint) also known as Adam’s Peak in the Christian world. We planned to climb the peak the next morning.

Day Six - Sri Pada to Horton’s Plain, 60km and 3 hours (slow road)

The pilgrims’ tradition is to set off at about 3am to reach the top of the sacred mountain for sunrise. But we are just not that hardy so we left at about 6am. One of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Sri Lanka, the peak is well set up for a lot of traffic. Most of the climb is on steep concrete steps (5500 of them) and the way is lined with tea and snack shops.

It was exhausting and hard on the knees but we felt a huge sense of accomplishment, returning to our hotel by midday to continue our journey.

Day Seven - Horton’s Plain to Ella, 45 km in 2.5 hours

Our next stop was the highland Horton’s Plain National Park. It was very a very different landscape from what we had seen so far in Sri Lanka - wide sweeping views. Once again we set out early in the morning for our hike.

Our goal was to hike the World’s End loop - a nice easy mostly flat 9km loop trail.

We were happy to have done the hike, it was a great way to stretch our sore muscles and a beautiful new landscape to explore.

Day Eight - Ella to Uda Walawe National Park, 124km in 3 hours

Ella was a sweet mountain town, lots of cafes and shops and well set up for tourists. Dhammika had the suggestion that we visit 9 Arch Bridge, an iconic bridge for the local train so we drove and then walked up a steep mountain track to check it out.

Day Nine - Uda Walawe to Mirissa, 104 km 2.5 hrs

The next morning we woke early to go on a safari in Uda Walawe National Park - known for elephants. Another benefit of traveling with a driver is that he was easily able to book these experiences in advance for us - we have never had it so easy.

Our next stop was the beachside town of Mirissa. The beaches were gorgeous - white sand with crystal blue water. But we were a little dismayed by the number of tourists on the beach. Dawn managed to find a solo beach walk away from the bars and restaurants - but it was not a long one.

Day 10 - Mirissa to Colombo, 60km and 1.5 hrs

Day 11 - Fly back to Mumbai

That was our time in Sri Lanka. Many thanks to Dhammika who made the trip so much better than if we had done it on our own. If anyone is interested in contacting him as a driver his number on WhatsApp is +94 77 329 0722 It was a different travel experience, a bit of a splurge for us but worth it. Soon we will get back to more overlanding stories, Nepal and Tibet are coming up. Thank you for reading!