Day 1:
We arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport late afternoon and after clearing immigration we met with our driver Nishanta from Ceylon Escapes in the arrival hall. Our first night stay was at Bentota, about 110 km from the airport.
We reached Bentota in about 2 hours and checked into our homestay at Shangri-Lanka Villa. We were fairly tired after traveling since the morning that day and went to bed early
Day 2:
We left after having breakfast and made our way south. First up was Bentota Beach.
The beach was very clean and the water quite warm for December.
After Bentota Beach, our driver drove us south to Kosgoda Beach. There is a turtle conservancy project right by the beach but we were not impressed and skipped that tourist attraction and decided to walk the beach instead.
After spending about 30 minutes at the beach we drove south about 30 km to Hikkadua Beach.
The statue of standing Buddha at the Tsunami Honganji Vihara, near Hikkadua Beach, is in memory of the worst train disaster in world history during the 2004 tsunami. The statue is a replica of the Bamiyan Buddha that was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The height of the Buddha statue is 54 ft, the same height reached by the second wave of the tsunami that obliterated the train passing by that area on that fateful day.
We drove further south for about 20 km and reached Galle cricket ground, an international cricket stadium near Galle Fort.
After spending a couple of hours in Galle Fort, we drove 30 km south to Weligama Bay where we were going to stay at the Marriott Weligama Bay Resort.
Day 3:
This was a long day of driving north from Weligama to Nuwara Eliya.
After driving for about 3 hours northwards we arrived at Ravana Falls. This falls is considered to be the widest in Sri Lanka and named after Ravana (villain in hindu epic Ramayana). Legend has it that after Ravana abducted Sita, he kept her hidden in a cave nearby.
Driving north for 30 more minutes we passed by the town of Ella and decided to check out the famous 9 Arches Bridge. Our driver dropped us off at a designated point and we took a tuk-tuk to the final stop. After very steep stairs (probably 40 steps at least), we walked over a railway track to the bridge.
Apparently its a thing to see the train cross the bridge. The train timings are “flexible” and some folks had been waiting for 3 hours!!
We did end up seeing the train cross the bridge (very underwhelming). Walked back over the tracks, up steep stairs and then took the tuk-tuk back to the car.
After more than 2 hours of driving we finally arrived in Nuwara Eliya. It was quite late and we checked into our hotel, Ruvidee Villa.
Day 4:
Nuwara Eliya is a hill-station and we were not going to leave without seeing at least a couple of tea gardens and tea factories. Two of the most famous tea gardens in this town are the Pedro Tea Factory and Damro Labookellie Tea Factory.
We drove to the Pedro Tea Factory. This is NOT a working factory and therefore we decided to skip the factory tour and instead walked part of the tea garden.
After spending a couple of hours at the Pedro Tea Factory, we drove to Seeta Amman Temple. According to Ramayana epic, this is the place where Ravana kept Sita in captivity.
After spending an hour at the temple we came back to the hotel to take some rest. In late afternoon, we drove nearby to the majestic Grand Hotel. Nuwara Eliya is called “Little England”. One of the top English experiences here is enjoying high tea at the Grand Hotel. The event occurs daily between 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM and costs 10$ USD per person. Its basically unlimited Ceylon Tea (wide varieties) and 6 small portions of appetizer/dessert.
We drove by Lake Gregory and decided to check out the park surrounding it. It was crowded but we walked around for an hour anyway.
It was soon getting dark and we drove back to the hotel.