We are Srilankan'ed

We are grateful for the happy memories we have made in Sri Lanka. This country has it all: beautiful (surfing) beaches, extreme nature, unique National Parks with various safari options, fresh waterfalls, great food, a rich tea tradition, colonial (Dutch) heritage and beautiful temples, where you can experience the generous Buddhism. We can say wholeheartedly: “We got SriLankan’ed!!” 

Here is our itinerary ⬇️

Read our full blog ⬇️

Day 1: Colombo-Negombo

We arrived around midnight in Colombo and arranged a transfer to our hotel in Negombo. Since it was already quite late, we went straight for a night swim and went to bed. The next morning, we ate breakfast and swam until checkout time.

Day 2: Negombo - Kandy

Around 11am, our private driver picked us up for our next destination: Kandy. We have chosen to travel with a private driver because it is the best way to see Sri Lanka. During the ride to Kandy, we saw from the car how green Sri Lanka is, so many palm and banana trees along the route. We stopped somewhere for lunch along the way. After a drive of 4 hours, we arrived in Kandy at sunset, just in time to overlook the city from a beautiful viewpoint. We ate at 'Slightly Chilled', a place where many backpackers come. Wonderful evening!

Day 3: Kandy-Sri Dalada Maligawa Temple - Nuwara Eliya

We awoke at dawn and enjoyed the beautiful view over Kandy! After breakfast, we visited the highlight of the city: Sri Dalada Maligawa Temple or the ‘Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic'. This Buddhist temple, opened in 1595, is located in the former royal palace of the Kingdom of Kandy and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1988. We were welcomed with a loud drumbeat and we were allowed to visit the rooms of the temple under the guidance of a guide. We just loved the carvings in the temple. The temple is worshiped by many Buddhists worldwide as Gautama Buddha's left tooth is enshrined there. Seeing this 'total surrender' gave us a bit of a culture shock. 

After our visit, the driver picked us up again and we went for our next destination.

After our visit to Sri Dalada Maligawa temple, we went to Nuwara Eliya. This part of Sri Lanka has a milder climate and therefore attracts many tourists all year round. It is located at an altitude of about 1800 meters and is considered to be the main place where tea is grown and harvested. Again we enjoyed the beautiful view, the landscape is picturesque and that, together with the milder temperature, made it a very pleasant day.

On the way, we visited the Ceylon Tea Plantation. We all enjoyed this interesting tour and the tea tasting afterwards. After this visit, we had lunch at one of the many food trucks along the way.

Our next stop was Ramboda Falls, where after a 15-20 minute climb, we arrived at the beautiful waterfall with a height of 109 meters. This fall has a natural swimming pool (basin) at the bottom of the fall. We all had a great swim!

After a drive of about 3 hours we arrived in Nuwara Eliya and we brought a short visit to Lake Gregory, where we saw the sunset. Then we drove on to our overnight address at almost the highest point of Sri Lanka. We were warmly welcomed by our host and allocated 2 cabins, both with amazing views! We didn't feel like going into town for dinner anymore, and the host was kind enough to order pizzas for us. Brrr, it was very cold here and a ditto night followed...

Day 4: Nuwara Eliya - Ella

This morning, we did a little hike and had a marvelous, local breakfast. Then, we continued our journey by train (Nanuoya-Ella). Our driver took our bags in the car and we were suppose to meet him again later that day in Ella. The train ride is in the top 10 of best train journeys in the world and was truly impressive. Unfortunately, almost all tickets were sold out, we could only get tickets for class 3, this means no seats but open windows and doors and breathe fresh air! It was very crowded in the train, luckily we could find a place near the door where the children could sit on the step. They had the best time with their legs dangling outboard.

Due to delays and a broken train unit, the journey took almost 4 hours (only for a distance of about 70 km). What stiff legs we had… But honestly, this was a amazing experience, and very rewarding due to phenomenal views. We drove past tea plantations where you can see the ladies pecking, small villages where children happily waved to us and picturesque train stations.

We arrived in Ella at 3 o'clock and the driver was already waiting for us. The small village is popular with backpackers and travelers, so all the restaurants here are full of people from different backgrounds, creating a wonderful, laidback and relaxed, atmosphere.

We had lunch at Cafe Chill (recommended!) After lunch, we took the tuktuk to the 'Nine Arch Bridge' which is a true landmark for Sri Lanka. The bridge, also called the Bridge in the Sky, was built by the British in 1921, and is characterized by its 9 high arches. It is one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country. That evening, we slept again in a cute cabin with an amazing view over the valley, Ella Rock and the railway and had dinner in a cozy restaurant in Ella (One Love cafe).

Day 5: Ella - Kuda Ravana Fall - Udawalawe National Park 

We got up early to see the sunrise over the valley and Ella Rock. Then we went for a hike on the rail track. We saw many locals walking on the track and they merged from all sides. We understand now, as in this mountainous area, this is the only flat route towards the various villages. This is probably also why there are so many guest houses, coffee shops and restaurants along the route, because so many people use them.

When 'coming home', we woke up the children and joined the lavish home-made breakfast, served by our lovely host. What a treat! We checked out around 9am and drove to Ravana Waterfall. This fall is one of the widest falls in the country and has a height of approximately 25 meters. It is truly a beautiful waterfall and we took a refreshing morning swim. Afterwards, we bought some souvenirs in one of the pop-up shops that were set up here.

After swimming in Ravana Waterfall, we drove further south, to our end destination for that day 'Udawalawe National Park', a drive of about 2 hours. Udawalawe National Park (founded in 1972) is home to more than 500 elephants and much more wildlife, such as different species of deer, water buffalos, crocodiles, various monkey species, a small group of leopards and many different birds.

We booked a safari tour with a private jeep driver and nature guide. This 3-hour tour guided us through a beautiful savannah scenery and we saw several herds of elephants with little ones, they walked freely past our jeep. Simply fantastic! After the safari, we drove to our bungalow on stilts, located on the edge of the nature reserve, which we had reserved for one night. In the evening, we had a delicious meal in a restaurant of another resort nearby!

Day 6: Udawalawe - Galle - Unawatuna Beach

We had a relaxing morning at the pool in Eliyanth Udawalawe. Around 11 am, our driver picked us up and we drove further to our final destination of this trip: Galle (our hotel was at Unawatuna beach). Around 2pm we arrived at the hotel, we checked in and had a relaxing afternoon and evening at the beach.

Day 7: Habaraduwa-Unawatuna & Dewata (surf) Beach

We started the day with a walk on the beach to a nearby temple and some colonial houses and hotels. After breakfast, we had a relaxing morning on the beach. In the afternoon, we went surfing at Dewata beach. Lovely day!

Day 8: Rumassala-Jungle Beach

We had a relaxing morning on the beach and around the pool! In the afternoon we booked a snorkeling trip to Jungle beach. Unfortunately, the visibility was very poor so we didn’t spot many fish. The boat dropped us at Jungle Beach, mainly used by locals, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. We took the tuktuk back to the hotel.

Day 9: Galle

Today, we followed in the footsteps of the Dutch settlers. In 1663, the VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie-Dutch East India Company) discovered the strategically located port of Galle and developed a trading colony here. The export products of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, were: cinnamon, elephants, pearls (the pearl trade, like the elephant trade, yields about 200,000 guilders a year) and areca nuts. Cinnamon was by far the most important product for the Dutch East India Company because it was not supplied anywhere else.

The Dutch interfered until 1796, after which Sri Lanka came under English Government. Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948 and changed its name to Sri Lanka when it became a republic in 1972. We booked a guiding tour by tuktuk and visited all te remnants from that time:

*Dutch fort and clock tower; the Dutch fort is the center of the port town, the fort has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List for several years, partly because it has been so well preserved. The city still has a complete city wall that is very characteristic of the colonial era.

*Dutch church and cemetery; inside the church are many Dutch relics and at the cemetery you see Dutch names on the tombstones.

*Dutch hospital (now shopping area).

*VOC cash coins; we met a salesman who had many old coins, we bought a few. *And various bastions, street names, colonial houses, etc.

It is very well maintained and that is why we imagined ourselves back in the 17th century. We had lunch in a little restaurant in the heart of this former Dutch colony. This tour was a wonderful experience, we loved to see our Dutch heritage. On our way back to the hotel, we went to the Dutch market (fruit market) and stopped at the fish market to shoot some pics of the fishermen (Valentijn helped them with pulling the net, haha).

In the late afternoon, we went back to Dewata Beach to surf again. On the way back, we got off the tuktuk on the Yaddehimulla Road, to buy all kinds of cute souvenirs. In the evening, we packed our bags and went for diner at the beach in front of the hotel, which had become our favorite place to eat (Italian kitchen).

What a beautiful end of our holiday this day was…!

Day 10: Galle-Colombo -back to Dubai

We had to get up very early this morning! At 5:45am, our taxi was waiting to take us to the airport in Colombo. At 10:45am, our plane left for Dubai, where we arrived, with a delay, around 3pm.