Srilanka in 5 days (draft)

 

Total cost for 2: INR 75,000 including INR 35,000 for flight tickets and visa

Itinerary:

Day 1: Pinnavala elephant orphanage and Kandy city

We landed at Colombo airport at 5:30am. We took a bus till Colombo Fort. It took us about 2 hours to reach the bus stop. Colombo Fort is the main bus stop of Colombo. Both buses and train till Kandy run from there. We took the bus drive as our next stop was Pinnavala elephant orphanage. Though the bus drive is long, but the scenic beauty on the way compensates for the pain 🙂 .By the time we reached Rambukkana, it was already 10:30am. You need to get down at Rambukkana to go to Pinnavala

PRO TIP:

• If you are looking for a simcard for data, try to buy a “Dialogue” sim card, which is 200 SR as opposed to Airtel simcard being sold at the airport for 2000SR.
• Tuk tuk till Pinnavala orphanage should charge 100 SR. Even buses are available that take hardly 10 – 15 SR, but they are less frequent.
• Beware of local tuk tuk folks as they might try to take you to a privately run elephant center. The orphanage has over 85 elephants while the local ones have hardly 3 or 6 elephants each).
• Try to reach there before 10am if you want to see the first round of elephants going for bath. It is quite a ceremony to follow them. The next round of bath happens at 1:30pm.
• For Indians and SAARC nationals: Don’t forget to take the SAARC discount. While the normal entry charges are 2500 SR for foriegners, for SAARC people it is 700 SR.
• You can feed the elephants while they bathe without even paying the exorbitant amount inside the orphanage.

As we had missed the first round of elephant bathing, we had to wait till 1:30 to see the next batch. So we enjoyed in Pinnavala till 2:00pm . We had some food at the snacks counter opposite to the orphanage and took the bus till the main road. There are very frequent buses from the main road till Kandy. We reached Kandy at around 4:00pm, where the host of the homestay that we booked was waiting for us in his car. After a warm welcome with welcome drinks and eatables, our host took us around Kandy in his car. We visited the tooth temple, the Lake by the side, viewed the Buddha statue from a distance. We skipped the traditional dance, but you can add it to your list if you want.

Day 2: Ramboda falls and Nuwara eliya

We started early morning from Kandy (at around 8am) and took a train till Nanu Oya. Ramboda falls falls in between Nuwara Eliya and Kandy if you travel by road. As we weren’t aware of the train route and that the 8o’clk train is an extremely slow train, we had to go back from Nanu Oya Railway station to Ramboda falls. But the entire train journey was extremely scenic. We went past amazingly beautiful St. Clair Minor and Major falls, so we didn’t realize how long it took. The road journey will Ramboda falls is extremely scenic as it goes along the tea plantations. We skipped visiting the tea factory as we had a tea factory experience in India in Wayanad ( read the blog post on wayanad for more details).

Pro Tip:

• Kandy railway station is extremely crowded as the no. of trains running to nuwara eliya are very less. So, if you want a seat, you need to push your luggage through the window, as people get down.
• For vegetarians: If staying at home stay, try eating hoppers with dahl curry and potato curry. Also ask for banana pan cakes, a local delicacy, the yummiest desert on our trip.

By the time we reached Kandy, it was already 2:30pm, (as opposed to a close to 3 hour journey by bus). We took a tuk tuk in 100 SR and reached Nuwara Eliya bus stop from where we took a bus to Ramboda falls (75 SR per person). It took close to an hour to reach the Ramboda falls from the main bus stop. We dropped our luggage at a nearby house on request and went till the top of the falls and took bath there which also became one of the highlights of the trip. We then took a bus to the Nuwara eliya bus stop (75 SR per person) and then took a tuk tuk from there till the railway station (200SR). Luckily that day there was a 7pm train, which is basically a luggage train with just one coach for passengers. It was getting complete dark. The compartment had a carrying capacity of hardly 24-30 people. It was a wooden compartment and the windows were completely open, without any

Day 3: End of the World trek

Pro tip:

• Ensure that you reach the world’s end entry gate by 6am. It is a 10kms trek and you need to be at the world’s end view point by 8am to ensure that the mist doesn’t cover the entire view.
• The best place to stay for doing the world’s end trek is Ohiya. It is half an hour away from Ohiya. If you stay at Nuwara eliya city, you might end up paying huge amount to tuk tuk guy along with losing your morning sleep as it is pretty far from Nuwara eliya.
• Take the left turn on the bifurcation so that you can cover the places in the order -> mini world’s end -> world’s end -> Baker’s fall.

The right path is longer and takes you through baker’s fall first, which you can cover anytime. You need to ensure that you cover the World’s end before the mist covers it.

Day 4: Yala national Park

Pro tip:

• Book Safari with a guide who knows English. The safari is a long one and you would want to hear interesting stories of the national park on you safari.
• Don’t go with an expectation that you will find a leopard for sure. It is sheer luck J
• Try taking express bus between cities. Saves lots of time and are more comfortable.

There are 2 ways to go to Merissa from here: by taking a detour via or else is a direct “express” bus to go to Merissa. Though the direct bus costs a little high, but we found it most convenient way to reach mirissa. The time taken by express bus is lot lesser and the busses are comfortable and less crowded. (Take a local’s help for catching the bus. Sometimes it is difficult to recognize which one is an express bus and what is its stop).

Day 5: Snorkeling / Surfing/ whale watching at Merissa , Colombo.

Pro tip:

• If interested in surfing, go in the evening itself to Weligama. There is an express train from Mirissa railway station till Weligama.
• For vegetarians: try roti (which tastes similar to samosa patties) and kuttu paratha at Dewmini Roti shop (there are many roti shops in Mirissa, trying to copy it ,but nothing can match Dewmini).
• Try to stay closer to the beach.

Day 6: Back to Colombo.

Mirrissa railway station is pretty close to the beach. Take a train from Mirrissa to Combo for the most scenic route. The train goes along the sea shore which make the journey immensely beautiful. You can take a tuk tuk to reach the train station.

Pro tip:

• Take the express train that goes in the noon.
• Try to get the seat on the left side when facing the direction of the train movement.

Once you reach colombo, you can explore the city, do shopping, visit a park.

Review on hotels/homestays:

Acco at Kandy: Hantana Home stay (recommended) (host 10/10, accommodation 7/10).

Acc at Ohiya: Hill Safari lodge (good) ( host 8/10, accommodation 7/10).

Acco at Thissamarahamara : Hotel River front (highly recommended) (host 9/10, accomodation 9/10)

Acco at Mirrissa:  Moon glow Guest (ok for last minute crashing. Hosts 9/10, accommodation 6/10)