The island of Sri Lanka is sometimes called the tear that fell from the cheek of India. This country really looks like purified India, sparkling in the sun, with its famous elephants, tea plantations and smiling people. The stunningly beautiful beaches deserve a special mention – with white, yellow and black sand, rocky shores on which waves crash, and, of course, endless tall palm trees casting shadows on the bright blue water. A holiday in Sri Lanka is worth spending on the coast, but you should definitely go to the center of the island for a few days. Today we want to offer you a route for a three-day trip around Sri Lanka by car: a 500-kilometer circle from the beach to the cool mountains and back through the most picturesque places in Ceylon.
As a starting point, we chose the South-West Coast – the popular tourist areas of Weligama and Mirissa (on the map). This is a good place to settle down for a beach holiday: a long sandy beach, quite a lot of cafes and restaurants, and places for yoga and surfing. When you rent a car for your trip, check the terms of the deal, as in Sri Lanka the common driving limit is 100 kilometers per day, and additional charges apply for exceeding this limit.
Day one: elephants, waterfall, tea factory
First destination – Udawalawe National Park (on the map). The journey from Mirissa takes approximately 2.5 hours, so it is better to leave early, as it gets very hot in the park around lunchtime, and the animals hide in the shady corners of the forest. A safari around the park costs just under $30 plus jeep rental $30 for a group of up to 7 people, it lasts two hours. This park is home to elephants, deer, buffalos, crocodiles and many different birds. How many and what kind of animals you will see depends to some extent on luck, but you will be able to admire the fabulous beauty of the local trees in any case.
After the safari, the road heads north towards the town of Ella. The city itself is a couple of small streets filled with cafes and restaurants in the lowlands, and all the most beautiful things are in the surrounding area. Already at the entrance to the place, the panoramic views of the mountains begin to take your breath away, but the most amazing thing awaits you around the next turn of the road – Ravana Waterfall (on the map). A stormy stream of water pours literally from the center of the rock, breaks against the stones and turns into a small lake and a noisy river flowing from it. In this place the road has wide shoulders, so there are no problems with parking. You can and should take a swim in the waterfall; the cool water will perfectly refresh you after a long journey. But don’t waste too much time, because you need to catch a tour of the tea factory!
The Heritance Tea Factory (on the map) is located a 15-minute drive from the city center, up a steep serpentine road. A large building with barred windows may not seem very welcoming at first, but this impression is deceiving; visitors are welcome here. You can walk around the factory on your own, see how bags of tea are loaded onto a conveyor belt and delivered to workers who pour out the leaves and sort them by hand. If you want to learn more about the process, you can take a tour and listen to how different types of tea are produced and how they differ. At the end there is a tasting and, of course, a tea shop. Prices at the factory are lower than in the city, so feel free to buy for yourself and your friends.
We stay overnight in the city of Ella. Hotels from 450 ₽ per person per night.
Day two: Little Adam’s Peak, Nine Arch Bridge, lake
In any hot country, the best time of the day is early morning, and Sri Lanka is no exception in this sense. Those who get up at 6 am admire the gentle dawn gilding the tea plantations and have breakfast in the cool fresh air. Today, the plan is for a lot of walking and it’s worth starting from Small Adam’s Peak (on the map). A simple road up the slope will take about half an hour, and the dizzying view that opens up would be worth a more serious effort. A panorama of mountains and tea plantations, a winding serpentine path along which small cars drive like toys, a steep drop down… At this point, only one question arises in my head – why don’t people fly?
The next point on our independent excursion is the famous nine-arch bridge (on the map). This bridge is a railway bridge and you can’t get very close to it. Park your car on the side of the road and turn onto the small path down. On the last section you will have to go down a steep slope, so there is no need to change your shoes after climbing the mountain. You can only take a photo while sitting on the parapet of the bridge from the edge, and then very carefully. It’s not crowded, but if there are other tourists nearby, don’t hesitate to ask them to sit down for a minute so you can take a “alone” photo. According to the schedule, the train crosses the bridge twice a day: at approximately 12:00 and at 15:00, but it is often late or even canceled altogether.
If you get up early, you can even finish the above-described program by lunchtime, but we advise you to only have a light snack and postpone a full meal until the next city – Nuwara Eliya (on the map). Just two hours’ journey – and you will find yourself in a high-mountainous region, which in appearance is very reminiscent of Europe: neat, bright houses with small gardens, wide streets, fields for horse riding. The city surrounds a large lake with a beautiful park, so it’s better to have dinner right in the center, on an open terrace overlooking the water. If you have any energy left, you can end the day with a walk in the park, on foot or on a bicycle rented here.
We stay overnight in the city of Nuwara Eliya. Hotels from 600 ₽ per person per night.
Day three: botanical garden, strawberry farm, the most beautiful serpentine
Today you can get a good night’s sleep, especially since the cool air is conducive to this, and the program of the third day is not so intense. Let’s start with the botanical garden (on the map),
which is located 15 minutes from the city. Entrance costs $10, and from the very first steps you find yourself in Pushkin’s fairy tale with the huge paws of ancient spruce trees and centuries-old oak trees. Of course, these are most likely other trees, but their wide trunks and winding branches look magical. The garden has a rose garden, a cactus pavilion, a separate section of ferns, similar to Jurassic Park, and many flower beds with a wide variety of flowers. Sweet aromas and the buzzing of bees mingle in the air, and time flies by.
After the walk, you can set out on the way back, but since it is not close, about 5 hours, we will plan a couple of stops on it. The first one will be in about an hour and a half – still in a cool mountainous area. You won’t miss it – on the left side of the road there will be a small pavilion and a huge sign with a painted strawberry. This is a cafe near a strawberry farm, where you need to drink a strawberry milkshake and try a surprisingly tasty dish – pizza with strawberries.
The next short stop can be made in about an hour. Again, you won’t miss this place even without a point on the map: the road will begin to meander like a snake between endless tea plantations, and clouds almost always creep onto the tops of the mountains on the horizon. There are a few shoulder extensions along the road here where you can park to stroll around, take in the last of the rich smell of tea, and take some cool photos.
Acting according to plan, you will return to the ocean right at sunset. It is advisable to do this, if only because after a busy trip, driving a car in the dark through heavy traffic in the coastal area will not be very comfortable. It is much better to have time to take a shower and watch the sunset while sitting on the beach.
