This was a completely unexpected trip. I had initially planned on going to Kerala, India. Unfortunately, four days before leaving I received an email stating that my visa application had been rejected. After shedding a couple tears I decided to book tickets to Sri Lanka, which was the cheapest and closest option for a last minute adventure from the Maldives, where I was living at the time.
I had no expectations at all and it turned out to be a fantastic 10-day trip.
I am lucky to have quite a few adventurers in my circle of friends, so I contacted my German buddy Sebastian with whom I studied in Taiwan and boom. It was on.
The only thing that I had planned was my first night in a hotel close to Colombo airport (Hotel Thilon), which turned to be a bit of a flop as the owner had not received my booking via booking.com, however he kindly drove me himself in the middle of the night to another hotel in the same area and Seb and I stayed at his place the night before flying out to repay his generosity.
For the rest of the trip we made plans day by day, asking locals for advice about where to go and what to explore. We found rooms when we arrived at train stations and we followed advice from guest house owners who directed us to places owned by their friends.
It was perfect.
Seb and I were not really interested in visiting Colombo, so I went to meet him at the airport the morning after my arrival and we got a train straight to Kandy.
When we arrived at the train station, there were a few men looking for travelers to stay at their guest houses, I think we picked the best one. We explored Kandy but what came next was far more interesting.
SIGIRIYA, UNESCO World Heritage Site
We hired a private car with a patient, polite and flexible driver who took us from Kandy to Sigiriya Rock. It was lovely walking up and around the site. It was drizzling on our way up to keep us cool, and sunny when we were exploring the gardens at the top.
THE ELEPHANT ISSUE
I refuse to ride elephants and I did not want to go to the famous Pinnawala orphanage either. I did a bit of research about the place, and did not like the sound of it at all. Behind the beautiful idea of saving baby orphans, it is a place for tourists and the elephants are not treated with as much care as you want to believe. A lot of them are in chains and they often end up being sold to buyers who use them for elephant rides.
That is one of the reasons why I wanted to see elephants in the wild only.
As travelers we should be responsible in the choices we make and spend our money wisely. It all comes down to personal decisions but I think that there is no better way to see animals than in their natural environment.
We went to Minneria National Park where we drove around in a jeep and saw plenty of wild elephants: It was a dream come true, I had stars in my eyes!
This was definitely one of the best days of my life.
TRAIN RIDES
The following days, we enjoyed dreamy train rides between our three destinations: Horton Plains, Adam’s Peak and Ella. This train route is known to be the most scenic in the world.
Taking a train in Sri Lanka is an adventure in itself, you can stand or sit in front of an open door and take in all the beauty of the country.
HORTON PLAINS
We left from Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains in the middle of the night and arrived at dawn. We started our walk into the grassland and forest graced by a soft morning sun.
It is quite a special feeling waking up in an unknown place and opening your eyes to such beauty.
ADAM'S PEAK, UNESCO World Heritage Site
We departed on our journey towards Adam’s Peak in the evening and started our hike up at midnight because we were told it would take us at least 4 hours to reach the peak and that we couldn’t miss the sunrise. However, Seb and I are pretty fit and we were at the top in just over 2 hours.
It was absolutely freezing and we had to stay barefoot so I started to feel quite uncomfortable. I was even considering going back down but we tried to stay warm in the middle of all the pilgrims and we were rewarded by a stunning sunrise. The blisters and runny nose for the following days were absolutely worth it.
I feel very honoured to have shared this moment with so many pilgrims. Sri Pada is the only mountain in the world considered holy by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
While most people had their faces toward the sun, I was lucky to catch the exact moment when the shadow of the mountain appears as a perfect triangle over the valley.
A magical morning light welcomed us on the way back down the mountain.
ELLA
I personally found it a bit overrated and there were quite a few tourists. It doesn’t have the authentic Sri Lankan vibe that we found in other places. It is still a super cute town though, we rested up and wandered around Little Adam’s Peak and the Nine Arches Bridge over the train tracks with our sore legs.
After enjoying the hills and mountains (I was really missing greenery while living in the Maldives… spoilt, sorry), we went down south to give Seb a bit of sunshine.
TANGALLE
One of my friends had recommended a quiet place a bit outside of Tangalle right on the beach, so we got down there with our backpacks only to realize it was a restaurant and not a hostel! Nevertheless, the very cool-looking owner introduced us to his friend who had an extra room in his aunt’s house.
This was our homestay experience, and I feel so grateful and touched by how warmly we were welcomed by Aunty Ariya, Amesh and their family.
GALLE
Final stop: beautiful fort city, chilled vibe and lovely shopping. I am definitely going back to Galle if I ever settle anywhere to buy decorations for my house!
