ELEPHANTS AND ANCIENT RUINS

The Cultural Triangle is the the heart of Sri Lanka. A five-hour train ride from Colombo (although it took us eight) and you are in Habarana. We used Dambulla as our base for what we had originally intended to be two nights but extended to three.If you're planning a trip Sri Lanka be prepared to spend more money in the Central Province due to higher rate hotel and entry to sights.

GOLDEN TEMPLE OF DAMBULLA

I’d originally allowed half a day for the Golden Temple, but upon check-in to our hotel we were told we’d be able to do it in a couple of hours. After settling in to our room we headed off down the road to check out the temple around 4pm (it closes at 6pm). This turned out to be the perfect time to visit as the tourist buses had long gone and temperature had cooled. The temple itself is the largest cave temple in Sri Lanka. Made up of five separate caves each containing stunning Buddhist statues and paintings which are believed to have first been created over 2,000 years ago. I would recommend visiting the caves in reverse order starting at 5 as the last two caves are in my opinion the most magnificent.

LIONS ROCK, SIGIRIYA

ions rock was the most expensive sight we visited in Sri Lanka, costing around 30 USD for foreigners. We arrived at the rock around 9am just as the tour busses were starting to arrive. Surpassingly I was actually quite glad to join the end of the winding queue up the rock side, it gave me the opportunity to have regular rest stops. At the top of the rock lay the ruins of an ancient palace complex, built during the reign of King Kasyapa (477AD – 495 AD) and surrounding rock is the Royal Garden. I overheard a tour guide say that rope and bamboo would have been used to move/ lift the materials used to build the palace. 

THE ACIENT CITY OF POLONNARUWA

Sorry for the poor quality photo - battery on the camera ran out

After spending the morning in Sigiriya we visited Polonnaruwa. The Ancient City is a lot bigger than I had expected and spread out over several sites. History buffs could easily spend a whole day here. For us, just knowing the main facts and absorbing the surrounding was enough, so half a day was fine. Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 to reunite the country once more under a local leader.

At the heart of the city lies the royal palace complex, to the north are the city’s most important cluster of religious buildings, the so-called Quadrangle, containing the finest group of remains in the city. The largest monuments are found in the northern part of the city, comprising the buildings of the Rankot Vihara, Menik Vihara, Alahana Pirivena and Jetavana monasteries, including the famous Buddha statues of the Gal Vihara and the Lankatilaka shrine. To the west of the city lies the great artificial lake, the Parakrama Samudra.

KAUDULLA NATIONAL PARK

We’d never intended to do Safari in Kaudulla National Park, but after hearing November was a great time to visit for elephants we quickly booked a jeep with the hotel. It wasn’t long in to the safari before we spotted a lone bull elephant trampling through some bushes. I assumed the whole trip would just be spotting the occasional elephant, and I was more than happy with that. Once the lake came in to view, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hundreds of elephants, big and small, grazing together and playing in the water. All the jeeps were very respectful and kept their distance. However, the ground was very wet and the number of jeeps that must go out daily have sadly turned areas of the park in to a quagmire.

What are your travel plans for 2017?