Srilanka – Harrytinkers travelog

Beautiful Gardens in Sri Lanka

Posted on February 19, 2021March 15, 2021 by harrytinkers

For Nature lovers Sri Lanka is the best place to enjoys the nature’s beauty. The whole country is blessed with lush greenery. On your visit to Sri Lanka do visit the below places:

Tea Estate: Nuwara Eliya

Tea gardens are always very enchanting because its mostly situated in the hilly regions with misty ambience. Everything looks so dreamy around them. Being a Bollywood fan, I get reminded of lots of songs shot in Tea garden and every time I visit a tea estate, I hum these songs, Super filmy you know.

One such place was the Blue field Tea estate in Nuwara Eliya. We had a tea factory tour in which we were familiarized with the different grades of tea leaves and the process of making the export quality tea leaves. The tea gardens were beautiful as always. What we loved the most is the tea cake which was served with our complimentary varieties of tea

Royal Botanical Garden: Kandy

Being a nature enthusiast, I have fond of flowers and gardens to an extensive level. My happiness level automatically jumps to 100% when I’m with the flowers.

We happen to visit Royal Botanical Garden in Kandy. The total area of the botanical garden is 147 acres and the entrance fees is 1500 Sri Lankan Rupees. The botanical garden welcomes you with sky high tree on either side of the footpath. You can hear birds chirping, squirrels playing, bees and butterflies swarming everywhere. It was a totally magical place for me. I wanted to capture each and every moment in this garden, that’s how crazy I become.

The garden is renowned for its orchid varieties and palm framed pathways and has a dedicated space for the same. A small and neat orchid house built inside the Royal Botanical Gardens exhibits some of the best orchid species.

It’s the oldest gardens in Sri Lanka dated back to 1300s. this spectacular garden is enclosed on three sides by a large bend in the longest river in Sri Lanka: Mahaweli River.

It is the best botanical garden in the whole of Asia. The gardens are attached to the National Herbarium of Sri Lanka. It’s said that The Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya was used as the South-east Asian Headquarters of the Allied Forces during the Second World War.

You would probably need the whole day to explore the gardens extensively. The garden is divided in 30 different parts namely Double coconut, Pinetum, Palm collection, Cooks pine avenue, Orchid house, spice garden and many more. We just had Half a day to explore this so we couldn’t cover most of the area.

Timings: 8 AM – 6 PM

Spice Garden:

Never ever thought about visiting a place like this, a garden full of spices. Also, it truly resembled like my grandmother’s backyard garden with all the plants and trees famous for the spices, We visited Sirilak spice and herbal botanical garden Kawudupelella, Sri Lanka.

Got to observe many new plants which I never knew about so it was a good learning experience. Me being a plant lover I m always keen to enlighten myself with more and more plant knowledge. The best one was Vanilla plant.

We were also offered a spice tea which we were little skeptical about and surprisingly it was super delicious.

Do visit a spice garden on your visit to Sri Lanka.

A visit to Sri Lanka is incomplete without visiting these beautiful gardens
Harrytinkers

adventure activity, Srilanka, things to do

Bentota

Posted on February 12, 2021February 2, 2021 by harrytinkers

Bentota is a beach town in Sri Lanka and if you are beach baby then this is a place which you will love. We chose bentota because all five of us were beach crazy and wanted to wend the last two days of the bachelorette relaxing near the beach and that’s what we did.

We were really lucky to have visited Sri Lanka just after the Bomb blast incident and there were merely any tourists in the place where we stayed. It was scary to think that we were the only tourist in the whole coastline near our resort, but frankly speaking we loved the experience of having the whole beach just for us.

Madu Ganga

Madu Ganga is the second biggest wetland/ Backwaters in Srilanka

The Madu Ganga is a shallow river in the south-west of Sri Lanka, which flows into the sea at Balapitiya. According to the story, there are 64 islands in the Madhu Delta, and most of them are submerged and only 25 islands are reported out of which 15 islands have a larger land mass.

It has a high ecological, biological and aesthetic importance, home to 303 species of plants from 95 families and 248 species of vertebrate. It is the last remaining tracts of unspoiled mangrove forests in Sri Lanka.There are crocodile and other reptiles in the river so you have to be careful.

Some of the islands are inhabited and all are covered with forests and shrubs. One of the larger inhabited islands, ‘Koth Duwa’, has a Buddhist temple that dates back to the days of the oldest kings of Sri Lanka.

The main source of income for the locals of the Madu Ganga (River) region is the cinnamon industry. The fresh cinnamon is brought here to be peeled. This also means that here cinnamon can be purchased at the best quality at reasonable prices. They also explain the process in detail which was very interesting to watch.

Those who are not in the cinnamon industry live from fishing of River safari as occupation. The fishermen sit either on large branches, which are planted in the water and get fish with sticks. Or they bind nets between the branches that are planted in the water to catch fish.

An interesting thing to be visited of the area is the Open-Air Fish Massage. The fish massage is quite popular around the world, especially in East Asian countries. The unique factor about this massage is that the fish are held in their natural environment, the river. A large space is sectioned off by nets tied between poles; restricting the fish from leaving that area. Other than that, they are free to move around. The client simply sits on a pier and dips his or her feet into the water.

The mangroves form a very intricate formation with its dried branches which attracts most of the social media friendly tourists. Some places look spooky because of the branches and also you can have a sudden visit from the reptiles as well.

We also got to witness a place where the backwaters meet the ocean.

If this is your first visit to a mangrove you would love the experience and want to visit more

Turtle Hatchery

Sri Lanka is really famous for its turtle conservation project and we also got an opportunity to visit one. We visited Ahungalla Sea Turtles Conservation Project. It was so mesmerising to see the baby turtles. Some of us were also got to hold them and they are damn heavy.

We also saw some adult turtles who were rescued from the sea being stuck with the material waste we humans throw in the sea. It was really overwhelming to see how polluted and unbearable we humans have made the sea for these innocent creatures.

Stop littering the sea and your surroundings it’s a humble request from us. We are meant to preserve the nature and not ruin it

Bentota is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the nature in Sri Lanka
Harrytinkers

Srilanka

Nuwara eliya

Posted on February 5, 2021March 15, 2021 by harrytinkers

Nuwara Eliya is a city in the hill station in Sri Lanka, also called “city on the plain (table land)” or “city of light” and “little England. The city is famous for its landscape and temperate climate. It islocated at an altitude of 6,128 ft and is known as the tea capital of Srilanka Nuwara Eliya has cool climate and one of the coolest areas in Sri Lanka.

The city is surrounded with tea gardens and hills. The city gives a British village feel amalgamated with colonial-era bungalows, Tudor-style hotels, well-kept hedges and neat gardens.

Nuwara Eliya or Seetha Eliya or Little England of Sri Lanka is well known for is forest looking ambience all around. The temperature is towards a lower side in this city as it’s a hill station. The climate is very pleasant in the daytime and its starts turning quite cold at night. Nuwara Eliya is blessed with nature’s bounty and that’s the major reason it attracts plenty of tourists per year.

Aadishakti Seeta Amman Temple

Sri Lanka is known since our Indian Epic Ramayana. As soon as you think of Sri Lanka the first picture which comes to my mind is of Ravana, and a series of imaginations pops up in my mind thinking about the times when Ravana used to rule Sri Lanka.

And to my surprise I got to witness some evidence of places where Ravana kept seetha in hostage. Not any of my imaginations could give this place a justice for its beauty, Sita was really lucky to have stayed in the beautiful valley (even though in hostage).

There is a temple dedicated to Seeta here in Nuwara Eliya which is known as Aadishakti Seeta Amman Temple. This temple is unique because it’s the only temple dedicated to Sita in Sri Lanka. The temple is painted orange with golden highlights on all the sculptures on the temple. There is no entrance fees for the temple.

According to the story Lord hanuman had Burned Lanka during his first visit which has turned the soil here in Black colour. There is a stream by the side of the temple where that runs from the hill, catered to the needs of Sita Devi during her stay at Ashok Vatika. She is also said to have bathed in this stream. About a century ago of three idols were discovered in the stream.

Temple timings

Morning 8AM to 1PM
Afternoon: 2PM to 6:30PM

Interesting Fact: There are few depressions on the rock besides the stream which is believed to be foot prints akin to Lord Hanuman’s. Some are of small size (resembles human feet) and some are of large size (resembles monkey paw),

The water flowing from the stream is sweet in taste as we tasted it during our visit.

Gregory park

Gregory lake or Gregory reservoir is situated at the heart of Nuwara Eliya city. It’s a beautiful park with Gregory reservoir being its major attraction. The Park is filled with exotic flora. The garden is huge and tourists love to relax here.

You can enjoy various water sports in this lake namely speedboat and jet ski. The charges of these activities totally depend on your bargaining skills. We paid 1000 Sri Lankan Rupees for jet ski and 600 Sri Lankan Rupees for speed boat per person. The entry fee for Gregory lake is 200 Sri Lankan Rupees.

The park timing is 6am-6pm.

The ambience of the park is very refreshing and you can relax here along with the view of enchanting Gregory Lake.
Harrytinkers

Srilanka

A Road trip from Kandy to Nuwara eliya

Posted on January 29, 2021January 28, 2021 by harrytinkers

We travelled by road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya and its scenic beauty is incomparable. We are glad that we took this decision to go by road. Lots of tourists prefer travelling by train, the only reason we chose by road journey because we wanted to visit Ramboda Falls.

Ramboda falls

Ramboda falls is 11^th highest waterfalls in Sri Lanka and 729^th in the world. Its 109 m (358 ft) high Its also called the Y shaped waterfall because of its look. You have to trek for about 30 mins to reach the viewpoint. The entrace fees is 50 Sri Lankan Rupees.The passage is muddy with steep and broken steps in between. You can witness beautiful bamboo forest and some interesting bamboo formations on your climb uphill. Also beware of the slippery stones because of the waterfall droplets in the air makes its marshy.

You can see some concrete steps by the time you are about to reach the Falls. The trek is easy but be careful on your steps. The waterfall is very enchanting, and the water is pretty cold. The flow of water which forms a cascade looks mesmerizing. The place in total is very peaceful and you can spend some time just with nature.

Mlesna St Claire tea castle

This is something we found on the way to Nuwara Eliya. We had a pitstop as a view point for Devon falls and the Tea castle is just opposite to the Devon falls view point. St Claire tea castle is one of the largest teashops in the world. Amidst the tea estates and hills the tea castle looks nothing less than a fairytale. This place serves wide variety of aromatic teas and the ambience is bright and comforting.

Devon falls

Devon falls aka “veil of the valley” aptly named because it’s a hidden treasure in the beautiful valley. Its named after Devon (a pioneer English coffee planter) whose plantation was situated near this fall.

Shri Bhakta hanuman temple

A hanuman temple situated at the top of a hill in Ramboda. This temple was built by Chinmaya mission in Sri Lanka. This temple is devoted for Lord Hanuman. The timings are 7 am -1pm, 3;30 pm -6:30 p.m. reached at this place at 2pm so we had to wait till the temple was opened. It exactly looks like temples in India with stalls offering puja items near the temple. Apart from the 16ft tall hanuman statue carved in granite in the temple, one would love the scenic beauty from the top of the hill. You can also relish onto some traditional Indian meal from the onsite restaurant. Photography is prohibited inside the temple premises.

A memorable road trip with a view filled with tea estates , hills and misty atmosphere is a treat for soul
Harrytinkers

Srilanka, things to do

Kandy palace

Posted on January 23, 2021January 18, 2021 by harrytinkers

The name Kandy has been derived from the Kandyan empire which ruled Sri Lanka for almost four centuries. We all wondered why this place is called Kandy, and all our doubts were cleared after visiting this place.

The Kandy Palace is also known for the temple of sacred tooth relic, wherein the tooth of lord buddha was brought in by Princess Hemamali and Prince Danthakumara and thereafter preserved here. It is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country.

There is an entrance fees of 1000 Sri Lankan Rupees. We were so exhausted travelling the whole day that we were actually not interested to go inside. But our Guide insisted us to visit this even if we are tired and we are so glad that we did.

The palace garden is grand and in between one would find statues of the brave souls and famous individuals of Sri Lanka. The Kandy lake besides the palace is beautiful and relaxing at the same time.

The entrance also known as the Mahawahalkada, welcomes you with this beautiful and intricate stone carving which amazed me as an architecture lover.

So I researched about it and it’s called the Sandakada Pahana, also known as Moon-stone, an elaborately carved semi-circular stone slab is a unique feature of the Sinhalese architecture and is usually placed at the bottom of staircases and entrances.

The palace is huge and is divided into various areas to perform different activities.

As soon as you enter the palace premise, there is a stairway which leads you to the sacred tooth relic temple, the hallway and the entire temple interior is painted white, which symbolises purity.There is a tunnel passage which is inticately handpainted, something which i was extremely mesmerised.

Ornately decorated golden inside; the temple is magnificent and so peaceful. You can find the Buddhist five colour flags along hallway with huge elephant tusks guarding the main chamber where the relic is placed on a gold lotus flower and enshrined inside a nested seven layered jewelled casket.

On Kandy annual festival this casket is paraded around the streets of Kandy on the back of an elephant (sacred animal of Lord Buddha). The main shrine is a two storied building.

According to legend, there was once a severe drought and the Tooth Relic was taken out of its shrine and a great procession was held for seven days. This ended the drought and started the tradition of the Perahera Festival in Kandy thereafter.

This precious relic attracts white-clad pilgrims, bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani mostly on Wednesdays. Every Wednesday there is a special ritual performed in the temple which attracts plenty of devotees to the temple. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.

We were so lucky to have visited on a Wednesday, and witness this special ritual. The flowers offered by the devotees are beautifully and symmetrically decorated on the golden platform in the front of the main temple also the whole complex is wonderfully scented with flowers and incense. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings.

the music usec in the video is the religious tune played during the ritual

The Magul Maduwa or Royal Audience Hall, constructed with finely carved wood, is where the king met his ministers and carried out his daily administrative tasks. The building was also known as the “Maha Naduwa” or royal court which was utilised for religious and national festivities connected with the Kandyan Court. This building pretty much reminded me of Temples in Kerala with sloping roof with shades of brown being the prominent feature.

We next headed towards the building adjacent to the temple. The golden decorated, magnificent hall inside has a Golden buddha statues along with the paintings of stories of how the tooth relic was brought to Kandy.

Then on our way to the museum we saw a buddha statue which was gifted by India as a sign of friendship for the 2600^th anniversary of enlightenment of Buddha.

Talking about the museum its beautifully made and maintained and I must say the presentation is also aesthetically appealing. The museum consists of artifacts, weapons, costumes of Kandian era. Also, there is a separate section for Buddha statues and their representation in different countries. I must say that this is one of the most beautiful museums I have ever visited. I was really mesmerised by the glittery golden decoration on each and every art of the display. Photography is prohibited here.

Next to the museum there is a huge building known as the Rajah tusker hall which beholds the stuffed remains of Rajah, A national treasure of Sri Lanka. He was the chief elephant for 37 years who carried the sacred casket during the annual festival in Kandy. Thanks to Taxidermy Rajah looks alive in the museum.

The last attraction near the palace building is the ancient fountain which was constructed by the coffee planters on the visit of Prince of Wales Edward & in 1873. Its built in the shape of a coffee flowers and is said to have manufactured in Glasgow and later assembled here .

Tips : Its a religious place so short clothes are not allowed carry a sarong and jacket while visiting religious placex in Sri Lanka. We were not aware of this fact but luckily we all usually carry a jacket and a dupatta with us.

The Kandy palace will take you to the history of Sri Lanka in a luxurious way
Harrytinkers

Srilanka, things to do

Dambulla cave temple

Posted on January 15, 2021January 7, 2021 by harrytinkers

Dambulla cave temple or the Golden temple of Dambulla is Sri Lanka’s largest preserved cave temple. It is a world heritage site in Sri Lanka situated in Dambulla. Its approximately 160-metre-tall rock towers has almost 80 documented caves, among which only 5 are open for the tourists.

It’s the largest and best-preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka which has 157 statues. The cave is famous for its Buddhist mural paintings covering 2100 m²area. It’s also sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries and is well maintained.

The golden buddha statue is visible from quiet a far distance and it has a museum alongside. When we visited the face of the statue, which looked like a defect earlier later we realised its bee hive. This museum and statue is was bult much later.

There are Buddhist flags on the left side as soon as you enter. The five colours of Buddhist flag signify six coloured rays, viz., blue, yellow, red, white, orange, and the combination of all these five colours emitted from his body during his fourth week of enlightment.

Also, the first structure is the golden stupa, which is a Buddhist temple and thereafter you see the big golden statue.

The stairway to the cave temple is steep and there are close to 364 steps and the pathway is covered with trees from both sides and the steps are uneven so you have to be careful. Also, you will be interrupted by monkeys here and there. You will also notice few vendors selling flowers and some prayer items.

The entry fee is 1500 Sri Lanka rupees per person.

The entrance of the temple looks like an ancient Dravidian temple. These cave temples are very well preserved and their maintenance is done time to time. The uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that its carved by the monks out from rock.

The arched colonnades are one of the most unique and heritage features of the temple. Major attractions are spread over five caves which contain statues and paintings of Lord Buddha and his life. Buddha images were first to be painted here 2000 years ago, then subsequently the king added to and embellished the art furthermore.

I was really fascinated by the intricate and delicate paintings that cover the ceiling and walls, created with traditional vegetable dyes. The intricacy of the painting is commendable and the more you explore the more you will be fascinated. Especially, the detailing on the feet of the enormous buddha statue in the first cave. The statue of buddha is 14 metres tall and is carved out of stone and repainted occasionally. For an art and history lover like me, I was spell bound by these paintings.

The view from the top of the temple is as beautiful and scenic as inside the temple. After visiting these cave temples, you would definitely appreciate the talented monks who have put together the effort to create such a beautiful cave temple.

The one assurance I can give you is you will definitely be amazed on the fact of excellent artisanship of ancient era.
Harrytinkers

Uncategorized

Sigiriya rock

Posted on January 8, 2021January 7, 2021 by harrytinkers

Sigiriya is an ancient rock fortress located near the town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka is a popular UNESCO World heritage site and is known as one of the greatest inventions of ancient engineers and artisans.

I was really very much excited for this trek and have read about it so much. It’s a common notion that if you are in tourist famous destination it’s supposed to be beautiful as well as crowded. Well in our case we were lucky to visit this place with less crowd.

So, we reached around 4:45 pm and the ticket counter closes by 5 pm lucky enough!!

And the time for sunset was 5:50 Pm so technically we had only an hour to climb the rock.

The ticket costed us 2655 Sri Lankan Rupees per person.

There will be plenty of locals who would tell you they are tourist guides and would try to convince you to take them with you as a guide, I would Insist it’s better to take them, but bargain for prices as they tell you high prices initially. We did not take a guide because our Driver was also a tourist guide which was an added advantage for us.

There are approximately 1200 steps to reach the top of Sigiriya rock and it takes about an hour and half to climb them depending on your age and health conditions. The steps become steeper and narrower as you climb up.

Watch the video to know more

History

Sigiriya (means lion rock) is rock fortress built in 5th century AD by a Sinhalese king Kashyapa. He chose sigiriya to build his fort because of the special position this rock beholds in the midst of a lush jungle. The rock is 660 ft high which offers a 360^oview of the whole area. After king Kashyapa’s dynasty fell, the fortress was lost the jungle and later was discovered by the Britisher historians in 19^th century.

As in Sinhalese historical stories it is said that the lion is the mythical ancestor of kings and symbolises royalty, Kashyapa decided to build a lion shaped gateway in order to symbolise power.

Architecture

The kingdom was decorated with beautiful fresco paintings, garden and water fountains. The fortress is a best example of ancient Sinhalese urban planning.

Sigiriya has miniature and traditional water gardens considered to be the oldest in the world and their underground water ways are still functioning that’s so amazing. Water gardens utilizes a very complex ancient hydraulic system.

It’s a fort with a moat for its defence mechanism.

The ‘Lion rock’ got its name from the gigantic lion which greeted visitors halfway up the rock on a small plateau. Only the lion paws are remaining right now, but just imagine who beautiful it must have been back then.

Even thinking about it I get goosebumps; how marvellous the construction was also it would have been extremely meticulous to construct the whole fortress.

Frescos

Well this was something which was a surprise element for me as I have never seen such beautifully preserved frescoes. It’s mainly ladies which are depicted in these frescoes.Its painted with natural dyes on wet plaster. Well you have to climb a narrow spiral staircase to reach the cave where these frescos are preserved.

SIGIRIYA, POLONNARUVA, SRI LANKA – CIRCA APR 2013: Ancient painting on rock

Mirror Wall In The Sigiriya Complex

Originally the walls were so perfectly polished that the king could see himself whilst he walked alongside it. Made of brick masonry, the wall was covered in highly polished white plaster, used a technique that combines a unique combination of natural rock, brick powder, kaolin, dolomite and oil of a bark of Dorana tree. This walled path continued till the summit through the lion’s mouth.

As soon as you start climbing more and more, the scenic beauty starts increasing in your surroundings. When we reached at the top of the Sigiriya rock we could see the ruins of the old fortress, which takes you to an imagination of how grand palace would have been. One could see a 360 view of the surrounding areas which is breathtakingly mesmerising.

Beware of the bee hives on the rocks. Try not to make too much noise as the bees can get disturbed and attack you.

The climb down took only ½ Hour and it was quite dark and there are no lights to guide you. So, its always better to leave as soon as the sunset. Also, I had sprained my ankle while coming down as I missed a step and slipped.

With its ancient history, marvellous architecture and scenic view from the top Sigiriya is sure to leave a mark in your memories.

adventure activity, Srilanka, things to do

Millennium elephant park

Posted on January 1, 2021December 24, 2020 by harrytinkers

Sri Lanka is well known for its wildlife , especially for its massive herds of Asian elephants residing in forests and the national parks.

We started by 9 am from Colombo and it takes about 2.5 Hrs. (70.9 km) to reach Kagalle.

Millennium elephant foundation is a charity organization which rescues captive Asian elephants and take care of them.

There are different visiting package fares which you can choose from and it’s a contribution for the elephant welfare. We took the Tour package of 2000 Sri Lankan rupees which included elephant museum, elephant bathing and tour of the park.

This park is fascinating and huge. It offers a very natural habitat to the elephants. The elephant tamers are very kind towards the animals and look after them generously.

I am not very fond of touching animals and this time I got to touch an elephant which was a very different experience. What I noticed is they have very rough skin and have thick har on then which is merely visible because of their skin texture.

Elephants are very human friendly creatures and I find them to be super cute.

Check out our time at elephant foundation below:

The park is very well maintained and its takes about an hours’ time to take a stroll around the park. The park is covered with beautiful flowers and coconut trees.