Trekking and Beach Adventures in Sri Lanka
The sunrise in Sri Lanka is worth getting up for...
I'm not sure when I first decided that Sri Lanka was high up on my list of places to visit, but for as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to go. So, in April 2015, we packed our bags and off we went.
Our flight landed in Sri Lanka in the middle of the night and we headed directly to our hotel to get a few hours of shut-eye before our trekking guides came to pick us up in the morning. Following a big breakfast of dosa's, dahl and coconut sambol (which happens to be my new favorite condiment) we were ready to hit the road.
We spent most of the afternoon in the back of a van while our driver navigated the heavily trafficked roads. At one point we stopped along the side of the road for a refreshing King Coconut (a bright orange coconut which is indigenous to Sri Lanka). Our guide said it was a welcome drink and a great way to combat our thirst and we couldn't have agreed more.
At around 5 pm that evening we arrived at our destination, which happened to be a beautiful home stay nestled high up in the hills just outside of Kandy. Our lovely hosts (a local Sri Lankan family), showed us to our rooms and then set about preparing dinner. We relaxed upstairs on balcony and watched the sun set over the hills while waiting for the rest of our group to arrive.
Dinner was not only delicious, but it was an absolute feast for the senses. We dined on eggplant curry, coconut sambol (which is made from freshly grated coconut, onions and chilies ground into a fine paste) and several other delicious Sri Lankan specialties before heading off to bed. Breakfast didn't disappoint either and after we were finished, we thanked our hosts, piled back into the van and drove off in the direction of the Knuckles Mountain Range.
We spent the next three days exploring the beautiful countryside, wandering through tea plantations, rice fields, camping, singing by the fire, navigating slippery slopes, watching the sun rise, jumping off of waterfalls, and most importantly (depending on who you ask), fending off the leeches. Yes leeches. Those tiny little blood sucking creatures kept us on our toes for us for the duration of the trip. They weren't as bad as I had initially anticipated and luckily, having done my research, I had come well equipped with leech socks and Dettol (soap). By the end of the trip we had the 'leech thing' down to a science. Someone would shout 'leech' and before you knew it, our lovely guides were right there by our side, spraying us with Dettol and, just like that, the leech was gone.
We had a wonderful three days of trekking in Sri Lanka and I would highly recommend it those of you who are interested in visiting the countryside. The trekking company who organized our trip was very professional, the guides were lovely and best of all this particular trek gave us the opportunity to explore a very remote part of Sri Lanka, away from major tourist attractions. We were also lucky enough to have Ian (the founder of Moonstone Expeditions) join us on our trekking adventure.
Following our trek, we headed down to Galle (in the south) to spend a few days exploring Galle Fort and visiting some of the local beaches. I won't bore you with the details of our long car journey from Knuckles down to Galle, but let's just say that car journeys in Sri Lanka are not for the faint of heart. We spent a wonderful few days in Galle zipping through the busy streets in Tuk Tuk's, wandering through the Fort and relaxing on the beautiful beaches.
I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and I hope that one day, I will have the opportunity to go back again. The people were very friendly, the food was delicious and the country was a colorful mix of cultures, sights and sounds.
Trekking: Moonstone Expeditions http://www.moonstone-expeditions.com/index.html
Flights: Emirates (we flew directly from Singapore to Colombo, Sri Lanka)
Accommodation in Galle: The Sun House - I highly recommend a stay at the Sun House - a gorgeous hotel with lovely staff, beautiful interior design, a great bar and amazing food - breakfast, lunch and dinner (I am still dreaming of the breakfast...)
Hotel Website: http://thesunhouse.com/sunhouse.html
Restaurant Tips In Galle: Mamas Galle Fort - gorgeous views of the city and delicious food! http://www.mamas-galle-fort.com
Wijaya Beach - a great place for a day on the beach and a swim - plus they have a great pizza restaurant right on the beach http://wijayabeach.com
Shopping: Mimimango in Galle Fort has beautiful dresses and jewelry http://joedenmimimango.com