Travel Guide to Sri Lanka for Backpackers

A little over a week ago we just landed from our last great trip. It was a great adventure with which we had a different and very special Christmas that we have spent touring Sri Lanka for 7 days, ending with 5 relaxing days in the Maldives paradise. For some time now, we were eager to visit Sri Lanka, an island in the south of India. It is small but full of attractions. We were lucky enough to find affordable multi-destination plane tickets to include another country on the trip.

 

In Sri Lanka, the routes that travelers make are usually very similar. Unlike usual, we started in the south, an area where incredible beaches abound. We did it that way because at the end of the trip we were going to go to the beaches of Maldives. But if you do not go to this country it would be logical to leave them for the end, as a break from the trip.

 

When does all the adventure begin? The moment you buy the tickets, when you start packing, when you step on the airport, when you get on the flight or when you arrive in the country of destination. This new trip officially begins taking the first of the three flights that we would have to reach our final destination: the old Ceylon. We arrive at the airport two hours in advance. We arrived and passed the first immigration checkpoint. We have 4 long hours of waiting.

 

We walk by the duty-free, we navigate with the free half hour of wifi that we have. We read magazines, we get bored, we have dinner before getting on the plane and so the expected time arrives. It is inevitable to feel nerves before starting any great trip. You always have that feeling of joy, stress, happiness. A medley of feelings and sensations that we like to feel as inveterate travelers as we do. Ahead we have a long day of airports, planes, queues, waiting, and reading.

 

We take the longest flight of this day. And we just have to pass them in the middle seats. We have not got an aisle or window, a discomfort that makes us not sleep during all the time the journey lasts. So we are dedicated to watching movies and resting. This journey is very fast, and without realizing we were planted in Sri Lankan lands. We have finally arrived! What we wanted! The first step as in all countries is to pass the immigration control in which we present the visa to enter Sri Lanka.

 

Already with our new stamp in our passport, we go to the baggage claim area but not before passing through the peculiar duty-free area of the Colombo airport. Have you ever seen washing machines, refrigerators, and blenders sold in airport stores? Welcome to Sri Lanka!

 

Our backpacks arrive without any problem and with them, we pass the exit door. They say it is the country of smiles and it did not take 15 minutes and there were many smiles that had been given to us. We ruled out the options of moving in a tuk-tuk or public transport and chose to travel with a guide and driver. With the baggage in the car, we begin our first journey together with what will be our travel companion.

 

We go to Negombo, which is about 30 minutes from the airport. That's where we will spend our first night of this adventure. It is very strange to be in a country surrounded by palm trees, where it is hot and listening to Christmas carols and seeing how people buy Christmas decorations in street markets. The world is wonderful!

 

As we have forgotten to change money at the airport, we stop in the middle of the city of Negombo. Right there we exchange rupees and the truth is that the change is not bad. The first time in our life that we change money in a jewelry store. Traveling is one of the things that teach you most of life.

 

It did not take us long to get to our hotel or apartment. It is a guesthouse and as the owner does not live in it. We have to call him and wait until he comes to receive us. It does not take long, he receives us and we check in. After checking in, we went up to our room located on the first floor of the house. There is a huge room, with a bathroom, its own kitchen, and a small balcony. It's not bad at all.

 

Well, we left our backpacks and although our first idea was to see the sunset on the beach of Negombo, we have been late and we do not have time. When we leave the house towards the main street that is less than 5 minutes away, it is almost night. A pity! But hey, we still have many days of travel ahead to see spectacular sunsets. We also go to the beach, step on it even at night, and then stroll through the streets of Negombo.

 

As we have been traveling almost without eating for a day, we decided to have dinner soon and we got into a bar that we see is full of people. If there are people, it cannot be bad. It has a very varied menu, with international food and local food. Tonight, for being the first, I prefer something more normal. So we ordered a beer, some noodles with prawns and rice with mix fish.

 

We have dined very well and we went to our house taking a walk. We want to arrive and take a good shower because we have been traveling for the whole day and the body asks us to do so. And so begins the first anecdote of this trip. When we get to the guesthouse, we get in the shower and there is not a drop of water. We check the other taps and no water comes out. You can imagine our face to see that shower that we wanted and needed so much was not going to be possible.

 

We spoke with other guests and a very kind Scottish gentleman that we had as a neighbor tried to help us by calling the owner. But seeing that there was no solution and that the owner did not answer our calls, nor Whatsapp messages, we decided to look for an alternative. In the room there was a decanter with drinking water, so we thought about filling a small bottle of water and showering.

 

It was the only viable solution we had, that or go to bed without showering. And already clean, we put on our pajamas and at 22:30h at night we go to bed. This has been a journey in which we have practically not slept on the flight and we are really tired.

 

 

Day 1 - Pinnawala - Dambulla

 

The alarm clock sounds at 07:00 and what does it mean? It starts, now, our first day in Sri Lanka! We get up tired. I am very much because I have hardly slept all night. I hope to recover throughout the morning since I do not want to miss anything of this fantastic first day.

 

I have a shower, this time with tap water and you do not know how good it feels. I get dressed and collect everything. Our stay in Negombo has been short since we had read that it was not worth much staying here. So when we were planning the route we immediately discarded the option of staying another day.

 

On this trip we will take a fast pace, practically every night we will sleep in a different town. So every day it's time to pick up the luggage or rather, never undo it. We go down all the backpacks. But before we left, the owner of the guesthouse, having had the problem last night with the water, wants to invite us to a coffee and some coconut roti. We had read about this roti.

 

It is one of the typical dishes of the Ceylon breakfast. So we do not say no and obviously, agree to taste this invitation. And the roti is very good. After this mini breakfast, we said goodbye to our Scottish friend, our neighbor who tried to help us very kindly with the water problem, and we got into the car. First stop today is the Pinnawala elephant orphanage. We have approximately 3 hours ahead of us.

 

Along the way, we observe everything that happens in our path through the car window. We go through a village where the Kayu is typical and we stop at a small stand in the street to buy several packages of cashew nuts, the fruit of the Kayu. We like nuts very much and we buy several packages. The perfect snack! A rich and authentic Sri Lankan cashew nuts.

 

We arrive at Pinnawala and after buying the tickets, we go straight to the river near the orphanage because they are currently bathing the elephants. And in less than five minutes we arrived and there is, in front of us, a large group of elephants bathing and having fun in the river.

 

We cannot stop observing everything, all its movements. Some are covered with earth in the background, another is separated from the group, two others are given a lot of love, another is bathed by their caregiver. It seems that they are enjoying a lot, as much as when children have a great time during their recess time. But for us, I was there standing, gawking, wide-eyed, with a silly smile and an incredible body emotion. It's the first time in my life that I saw elephants and I was there literally hallucinating.

 

We were standing there on the riverbank for a while until it was time to go home. At that moment, a parade of elephants begins to walk past us, less than a meter away. They are really impressive! Afterward, we follow them as if it were a procession.

 

For living moments like these, it is worth moving to countries like this. And with a big smile on our faces, we go to the orphanage, the place where they care for these elephant specimens that currently live in the Pinnawala orphanage.

 

As soon as we enter, we go to the large esplanade where the vast majority of elephants are and there you have them all at less than one meter. We got so close that we could even caress a few. First time in life that we not only see elephants so close, but we also play with them! How nice, playing with his trunk that almost touches our faces, as if it were a human hand.

 

How such a big animal can transmit so much tenderness! We loved the experience, we were crazy! And after having a good time there watching, taking videos, photos we see the puppies that are separated from the older ones. In fact, they have them in another enclosure, like locked, something that we did not like so much. This left us with a bittersweet taste.

 

We have seen elephants and we have touched them! The first objective of this trip is achieved. Next stop is Dambulla. In this adventure, there is no time to lose and today a car is waiting for us. Now we have about two and a half hours more journey. The time that in the end becomes more because it gets to pour. There is no trip in which the rain does not accompany us!

 

We arrive in Dambulla around 3:00 pm. It sparkles a bit, it is very cloudy and foggy. Nothing happens, so the atmosphere accompanies the visit of the famous caves, a complex of caves with temples inside, located on the top of a large rock about 160 meters high. We visit the 5 main caves and in its interior, we discover statues and paintings from the 1st century BC. It is not surprising that they were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1991.

 

At the entrance to the caves of Dambulla there is a large esplanade with a large golden dagoba and in front a large golden Buddha statue that welcomes us. After buying the tickets, the ascent begins to the highest part of the rock where the visit awaits us.

 

We are ready to climb the stairs to the high peaks of Dambulla to reach their most precious treasure. A set of 5 caves that hide in their interior fresh and precious Buddha statues to which the pilgrims visit to pray and give their offerings. They say that from above there are magnificent panoramic views of Dambulla and surroundings, views that we will miss as it is full of fog.

 

To enter the caves we have to remove our shoes, which are left in a shoe guard in the entrance (25 rupees per person). It cannot be accessed by showing the shoulders or knees. Out of respect, in Buddhist temples, we cover ourselves. We take off our shoes and put on the full sleeves that we have brought from Indonesia, a great success to have put them in the backpack.

 

We begin the visit by the first of the caves and thus we enter in an orderly manner in all to discover what is hidden inside. So, until you get to the last and smallest. We are surprised by the size of the large Buddha statues in each of them. After the visit, we get our shoes, take off the sarongs and before going down, observe the playful monkeys that are around the caves.

 

It seems incredible how quickly time passes because without realizing it, it is almost night and we are hungry. And today, we decided that the time has come to taste the famous Sri Lankan rice and curry. Right now I would not even mention the names of all the different accompaniments with which they serve the rice dish. I just remember that it was all very spicy. But we did not stay without trying anything, yes, it is impossible to finish it. The mouth was literally burning! And although it seems a lie, our stomach resisted it. First rice and curry tasted.

 

While we eat it has been done at night, which means that it is time to go to the accommodation where we will sleep tonight and next. We stayed two nights in Sigiriya because the route we have designed is necessary to stay for two full days at this point on the map. For this, we have chosen beautiful cabins in the middle of nature.

 

They show us what will be our little house for two days and we have to say that as soon as we enter we were delighted. They welcomed us with a delicious Ceylon tea, which we took very relaxed on the small terrace of the cabin. It was a wonderful relaxing moment. How much we appreciated that tea!

 

Then we took a shower and we went to bed to review the photos we had made and remember what we experienced in this first and intense day. We have seen and touched elephants for the first time! Wow, we still do not believe it! Tomorrow another great day awaits us and we hope and pray that it will be without rain.

 

Day 2 - Polonnaruwa

 

We wake up with the same sound that has been accompanying us throughout the night: the rain. Tonight an impressive storm has fallen. The first thing I do after turning off the alarm clock at 06: 35h is to open the door and see the day it does. Well, as expected, it's still raining, days with clouds and rain, fantastic for the super planning we have organized for today.

 

I take a shower and shortly after 07:00 we are already having breakfast. They serve us a delicious breakfast with coffee, tea, a plate of typical pancakes, coconut roti, toast, jam, butter and mini bananas. Everything great! I have to confess that this celestial breakfast has conquered me, I loved it. My favorite meal of the day has always been breakfast. It is very important to have a good breakfast to gather strength for the big day that lies ahead.

 

We take the backpacks and at 08:00h we start to start the tour of this second day. First, we will go to Sigiriya Rock, then Polonnaruwa and at last, we will spend the afternoon doing a safari for Kaudulla. What a day awaits us!

 

Before 09:00h we are already in Sigiriya Rock waiting to buy the tickets. Once we have them start the road to the great lion rock of Sri Lanka. Today we will have the great luck of seeing one of the most photographed images of Ceylon, the ancient kingdom of Kasama!

 

Already walking towards the foot of the huge rock there are several photographic points from where you get a perfect panoramic view. We find the great Lyon Rock surrounded by fog, but that does not matter to us. There we have it, in front of us, imposing, a grandiosity of nature. And we get a less usual image of the rock, we have to see the positive side of things! It is not sunny, but not for that reason we will not stop visiting it and being left speechless with it.

 

We are surprised by the number of tourists on this island, we did not expect it to be a place with so many foreign visitors. As the climb to the rock is difficult and has to be done by narrow and steep stairs, that makes the access slow and that is why it is not surprising that long lines are formed as we had to do.

 

Waiting to climb the spiral staircases to the frescoes of the rock wall, we fell a spectacular tormentón. We just soaked! That was the time to release those raincoats that we had bought this summer to go to Indonesia and that we did not have to use on that occasion, but that has been great for us today. It seems that in Sri Lanka we will use them because we have been two days and every day it has rained. After this brief meteorological break, we began our ascent by the great spiral staircase to the frescoes painted on the front wall of the great rock.

 

Some stairs that then have to go down again to continue with the climb to the next point: the famous feet of the lion. And you get to an esplanade where you literally find two huge hooves carved into the rock, which obviously symbolize the lion's feet of the big rock. One of the most typical images of Sigiriya Rock.

 

After this picture, there is only the last section left to reach the top. A final tour with very steep stairs, which at times gives the impression that you are walking over the wall. It is clear that this tour is not suitable for people with the fear of heights because there is some moment that gives real vertigo. And if you add a day with a lot of wind and rain which makes the ground somewhat slippery, it's scarier.

 

And every effort has its reward, after climbing 1,200 steps we are finally at the top! When you get to the top and you see those views, you realize that it was worth it to get wet! There I lived a very beautiful personal moment, sitting admiring the panoramic image around me, the wind in my face, then I closed my eyes and started shouting. There is a sensation of incredible freedom! It is a precious moment with which I stay. I see beautiful views from up there. It is not surprising that the king chose this privileged site to build his great palace.

 

From up there we get a 360-degree image of the surroundings of the big rock. It is really unique. We can see up to the entrance to the enclosure where a while ago we were taking photos. And we also see from one of the sides, Pidurangala Rock, one of the best spots from where to get a perfect image of the Lion's Rock itself. That image we do not want to lose, so tomorrow before leaving Sigiriya we will have to make a little excursion!

 

We have to confess that we did not have much time to enjoy up there as much as we would have liked, today we have a very full day with a very marked timing and we have to get off almost running if we want to arrive at the agreed time. Something practically impossible considering that the accesses are very narrow and you have to go one at a time.

 

And at 12:00h we are ready to go to the next stop. Now we have to move a few centuries back and walk among great temples, dagobas and Sinhalese palaces. We are going to Polonnaruwa. It's about an hour's drive from Sigiriya. We pay our tickets and go straight to the first ruins.

 

Important to say that in the temples you have to enter barefoot, without hats and with your knees covered. Today we will give good use to the Balinese sarongs that we have brought. Here we are lucky that at least the rain has respected us, but even if it does not make a splendid sun the heat is suffocating.

 

We move to a brown environment, 800 years ago in time. We see palaces or often what remains of them, Buddhas, temples, large dagoba, stupas and impressive and monumental Buddha statues carved in Sinhalese rock, the most characteristic and known from Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa is full of archaeological treasures of great beauty! It is wonderful to have the luck to walk among these great treasures.

 

On this occasion, we also have to finish the visit quickly, almost running. Well, literally running, because we were late for our safari. We have hired him at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, we only need 20 minutes for the hour and we still have to get to where our 4×4 Jeep is waiting for us.

 

As we have already said, in many moments it gives us the impression of living in which we do not have time to lose, where every minute is important. In fact, we go with planning so full that neither yesterday nor today we had time to stop to eat. On this trip, the food is suppressed and we exchange it for a lunch/snack/dinner in the afternoon. But nothing happens. We do not mind following this rhythm since we only have 7 days to see Sri Lanka and we want to make the most of them.

 

And there you have us, in our 4×4 Jeep for us alone. All prepared to enjoy the first safari that we are going to live in our life. We are excited! And especially because it seems that the rain has respected us and that this afternoon will not appear. I scream standing in the Jeep as we head to the entrance of Kaudulla.

 

At first, we were going to do the safari in Minneriya, but the elephants have migrated to the other side and are living in Kaudulla. So like that is the park where these days you can see more elephants, that's where we're going. There are many tourists that like us take advantage of the visit to Sri Lanka to do a safari, it is another one of the most famous and known attractions of the island, and nobody wants to leave without enjoying it. That's why you have to make long lines to enter the park.

 

It's up to us! We enter the Kaudulla National Park and the fun begins. Potholes, huge puddles of water, closed jungle. And we have a great time. And suddenly a large esplanade of land opens up with a huge lake in the background, where we can already see some elephants but far away. Until before our eyes, in the background, appears a huge group of elephants. There we go at full speed!

 

The Jeep stops next to where this great herd of elephants is, a few meters away from them since it is dangerous to get too close to them. And there you have us, standing, with eyes like plates, observing each movement of each one of them. The little ones are super funny, others play among themselves, how they eat. We do not lose detail and everything surprises us. Our face of happiness is immense. We are hallucinating! How many moments this trip with elephants is giving us! Some animals that have already stolen my heart.

 

After a long time observing them, we start the engine and follow the fun road of potholes, until we reach a panoramic point where we stop to see the great lake of Kaudulla. Precious image, another for the memory!

 

After this, we continue with the fun of the Jeep. It was very difficult to record or take pictures while the car was running, if not almost impossible. It looked like a roller coaster! And suddenly, to the right in the background another huge group of elephants, wow! We approach again a few meters from them and we can enjoy a spectacular sunset in the Ceylon jungle surrounded by elephants, the most characteristic animal of this island. Is it or is not it to fall in love with this country?

 

We left the jungle with the last rays of the day, full of happiness, excited after having lived what we have just experienced. It has been really amazing! We have seen a total of almost 200 elephants living in their natural habitat. The safari experience has enchanted, hallucinated, and freaked us. There are not enough adjectives to describe this moment. It is totally recommended to all those who travel to Sri Lanka.

 

On the way to the hotel, we stopped to eat something. Remember that we have not eaten yet. We go with breakfast and the occasional cookie during the whole day. Tonight I do not want to eat anything spicy, and since here there is a wide variety of Chinese, Indian, and Thai food. Well, I opt for a good dish of noodles to regain strength. We finished it all and already with a full stomach we go to the hotel to rest.

 

Tonight we repeat accommodation. It will be the only time we do it in the whole trip. We arrived at our beloved cabin at the hotel. We rest for a while on the terrace watching the stars, then we take a shower and the bed to dream about elephants. It has been a truly amazing second day. After this experience, I am clear that one day we have to go on safari to Africa. How I like to dream about travel!

 

Day 3 - Anuradhapura

 

A new day dawns in the tear of the Indian Ocean and it seems that the sun has risen. I love to wake up, go out and see the peace and tranquility that there is in this place. And one day does not start well without a good breakfast. Today they serve us again delicious tea, coffee, toast with butter and jam, mini bananas and delicious coconut roti (coconut pancakes). My favorite food of the day is breakfast. For me, a good hotel has to serve a good breakfast, and this has an excellent breakfast and homemade. Delicious!

 

Here there is no time to lose, no time to unpack, we load the car again with everything and we will climb. We do not want to leave Sigiriya without first seeing the great Lion Rock from another perspective, from another sacred rock that is right in front called Pidurangala. They are little more than 8:00h and we are already there, it seems that there is nobody. This is an attraction perhaps less tourist than the rest we have visited so far, but no less impressive.

 

As in all sacred sites you have to cover your knees and in this case, you do not have to pay entrance but you do give a donation. We gave 1,000 rupees. And after our donation, we started climbing stairs and the first thing we do is stop at a small temple that you find during the ascent. While we are climbing, it begins to cloud and suddenly another shower falls on us. We take refuge under some big caves until it stops raining and we continue the ascent.

 

The worst part of the climb is the last one, that you have to climb over huge rocks, and if you add to that slippery, imagine! The way to the top is not lost because there are colored arrows drawn on the rocks throughout the journey as we show you in the image below.

 

And finally, we are up. It costs more to climb Pidurangala. When we arrive there is just a big thundercloud in front of Sigiriya Rock, but little by little, as if by magic, the fog, and the clouds dissipate. We see some rays of sunlight and in the background, we can see the silhouette of the Lion's Rock.

 

We sit there, motionless, observing the great beauty that we have before us. I do not know if it's even more beautiful than the views from the very Lyon Rock. It is a much less crowded site and from where you can see that rock so photographed by all of us who visit Sri Lanka. A truly spectacular and amazing panorama! And with that image in our retina and happy, we begin our descent.

 

We return to the road and head towards our next destination: Mihintale, a small town located a few kilometers from Anuradhapura, and which we really wanted to visit. It is known for its beautiful temple complex. In an hour and a half by car, we arrived at Mihintale. We buy the tickets because you do not know who are the rich creatures that receive us. The monkeys! Again these naughty animals live in the surroundings of this complex to make the visit a little more fun.

 

We have to climb 221 steps to reach the point where we will leave our shoes again to enter the sacred place. After this, we have to climb a few more steps but this time already barefoot, until we reach the main esplanade of Mihintale where there is a large dagoba with columns around it. The first thing we do is ascend to the Rock of meditation or Aradhana Gala, which will take us to the highest point from where we will get beautiful views of the entire complex.

 

Remember that we go without shoes, the first time in our lives that we climb a barefoot rock. There are many locals who come to the site to pray to their gods and most also make this ascent to the rock of meditation. It is worth climbing up there to get an image like this. There are really beautiful 360-degree views.

 

After this, we visit the great dagoba of Mihintale that is on top of another great hill, from where you can see even the enormous dagobas of Anuradhapura. Next, to it, there is a small temple where we find a huge statue of buddha lying painted with very striking colors, very different from all we had seen so far.

 

We went down again to the large esplanade and from there we decided to go up to visit a beautiful white Buddha statue. We climb these steps almost running, the sun tightens and the ground burns, and we go completely barefoot! It is the same sensation that we live in summer when we are on the beach and we burn our feet on the sand. Well, but without being on the beach. But it's worth it to burn your feet, to see close up that statue of Buddha sitting white and shining. How it stands out on its green background! So we took a few minutes to contemplate it quietly and photograph it.

 

And with this, we have already completed the visit to Mihintale. We went downstairs again and we met many Sri Lankan pilgrims dressed in white, the sacred color.

 

We recover the shoes and set course for our next destination: Anuradhapura. We are going to know this city declared World Heritage by Unesco since 1982 and what became in its day capital of Sri Lanka. The dimensions of these ruins are enormous and of great architectural and cultural value. It is one of the essential visits if you travel to the country. Several days are needed to know in depth this great complex, but we only had a few hours before it was done at night to see the most characteristic and important points of the city.

 

We do not have to say that it is necessary to take off your shoes, as well as cover your knees and bare shoulders to be able to enter the premises. We started by visiting Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba, a huge white stupa, with nothing more and nothing less than 55 meters high surrounded by a ribbon of intense colors. Standing by his side makes you feel very small.

 

We observe it from all possible perspectives, surrounding it according to the clockwise direction. Just as in Mihintale there are many families of pilgrims who come to these places to pray to their gods, light candles and bring them offerings.

 

In this enclosure (Mahavihara) we also wanted to visit the well-known sacred tree, Sri Maha Bodhi, but it was closed for a few hours and we could not see it. A pity! By the way, we do not pay entry to access.

 

We continue the visit in a Buddhist temple built by King Tissa. A small enclosure in which there are several temples and a viewpoint from where you get other beautiful views of the surroundings, we can even see the great white dagoba of Mihintale that we had visited a few hours ago.

 

After this brief visit, we went to another beautiful white dagoba, smaller than the first we have visited, but equally beautiful, built in the second century BC. Although we believed that it had to be paid, we agreed to it for free.

 

And we could not leave Anuradhapura without seeing this important dagoba, known worldwide for being one of the tallest structures in the ancient world, with an approximate height of 122 meters, surpassed only by the pyramids of Ginza in Egypt. Although currently only measures about 70 meters. Its size impresses from a distance!

 

The truth is that it was not long before it was the night. We still had not eaten, and we did not want to spend more to see this dagoba up close. Due to its large size, it was not difficult to enjoy its immensity from afar. We with that image we are already happy.

 

With the Jetavanarama Dagoba, we finish our tour through the architectural relics of Anuradhapura and we go straight to eat. It's almost 6:00 p.m. in the afternoon and we can only think about eating, how hungry! And today we return to taste an authentic rice and curry. With a full stomach, it's time to check in at the hotel where we will sleep tonight.

 

We are exhausted, remember that at 08:00 in the morning we were already climbing a rock. We have been three full days in Sri Lanka and we have not stopped, this pace is frantic, we love it and we do not complain because we are the ones who like to make the most of the time, but it is true that exhaustion is already evident today.

 

After a good shower, we throw ourselves into bed and take the opportunity to see the photos we have made and write the main ideas of the day for the blog. As we have returned to eat late, today we do not have dinner either, and we stay fried in bed. We will regain strength for all that we have left of the trip ahead!

 

Today we have achieved a truly spectacular image of the Great Lion Rock. We have visited the sacred cities of Mihintale and Anuradhapura and very well known as the cradle of Celestial Buddhism.

 

Day 4 - Dambulla - Nuwara Eliya

 

The alarm clock sounds and a new day of our adventure begin in Sri Lanka. The routine of our mornings is always the same, shower, collect everything, close backpacks and before starting the route, have breakfast. We remind you that we are in Anuradhapura. We have slept great as we needed to rest and regain strength.

 

We are the first guests to wake up and we have breakfast on the back terrace of the hotel, which has really beautiful views. We see a green plain and from where we see the train passing in the background. A super relaxed atmosphere to start the day, although the breakfast that we are served does not accompany us.

 

They give us a western breakfast, without any typical dish or sweet of the country, a shame! And on top of that, it was not good, the bread was hard, and chips and greasy sausages to start the day we do not like. We are left with the good part, the landscape that surrounds us!

 

We check out, which by the way is the only accommodation of the entire trip that we could pay with a credit card. We loaded backpacks into the car and started our fifth day in this country, which today will be almost one hundred percent on the road.

 

Ahead we have about 7/8 hours of car and road until we reach our final destination: Nuwara Eliya. Although on the way we will make small stops. And the first one is a bakery since I have not eaten anything at breakfast. I ask for something sweet, and like good Ceylon, a salty snack with many spices is requested. This stop has enchanted me. I like to see the products that are made in other countries and try them.

 

After this small stop, we continue to the first big city that we found on the road: Dambulla, which we visited on our second day of travel, do you remember? On this occasion, the visit will be short. We are delighted because we take a walk on the main street of the city. In the trips, you must also take these moments to simply walk and observe. I love it, when you learn more about other cultures, about their way of living, about how they sell lottery tickets, newspapers, fruit, vegetables. You have to open your eyes, look and learn!

 

We follow our route. We left behind the great dagoba and Sinhalese temples and began to surround ourselves with high green mountains, full of tea plantations. Who has not heard of the famous Ceylon tea? One cannot go through Sri Lanka without trying and get to know one of its most typical productions. And in the Highlands of Sri Lanka, what's more, are tea factories and kilometers and miles of land full of plantations. Obviously, we had to stop at one of those factories and know their way of working.

 

We stop at the Tea Factory. One of the girls who works there accompanies us to the factory and makes a complete tour of it, explaining step by step all the processes of tea. And the truth is that we were surprised by how long the process is until we get the tea as we know it. You never go to bed without learning something new, and the truth is that we had no idea how the tea was made, so we are happy to have learned a little more about one of the most important manufactures in the country that we are traveling.

 

After the visit to the factory, they invite us to a tasting of various types of tea in the country. There we sat and tasted each one of them. Black tea, tea with ginger, OP tea, citrus green tea, relaxing tea. All delicious! We also take advantage of the opportunity to buy a pack of tea to take home as a souvenir of our time in Sri Lanka.

 

We follow the mountainous roads, and curves, surrounded by forest and plantations. There are already several hours in the car and we are looking forward to it. But first, we make another small stop to see one of the best-known waterfalls in the Highlands: Ramboda Waterfall.

 

Located in a picturesque valley. On the way to her, we find another of Sri Lanka's most recognizable postcards: the tea pluckers or tea pickers working in the tea plantations. We observe them from afar, photograph them and respond with that sincere smile full of humility. Who has not heard of the history and life of these Tamil women who collect daily and manually around 20 kilos of tea leaves?

 

We keep going down until we get as close as we can to the waterfall, Ramboda Fall. A pity that is fenced and cannot get close to her. The truth is that the environment is not wasted, we had seen waterfalls before, but none surrounded by tea fields around.

 

After this stop, now we get back to the car and move towards our final destination that is getting closer: Nuwara Eliya. Will we get there before it is night? Yes, we did it, although for a short time. We finally arrived, after more than 8 hours traveling on Sri Lankan roads, which they call the little England of Sri Lanka. We are struck by how different the houses are here to everything we have seen so far in the country, one really seems to be in a more purely English village than in a village on an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

 

We see the typical cricket track, the well-known Victoria Park and we decided to stop and visit the Post Office. This is part of the most characteristic buildings of Nuwara Eliya. Once there, we decided to buy a postcard and send it to Mallorca by mail. At that time he made us a special illusion.

 

So we bought a postcard in the shop, a stamp, we wrote a few words, we wrote down the address and we entered it into the Letter Box. The truth is that the office has no waste, it has a lot of charm, everything inside is made of wood, it seems to be taken from an English movie from another era. And with our letter sent, we are going to walk through the market and the central streets of this municipality.

 

In the Highlands when the sun goes down, the temperatures drop and it is the first day of the whole trip that we have to take the jerseys. So it is very important and we recommend you to put in your backpack long trousers, closed shoe and some sweater if you stop in this area of the country.

 

After this brief advice, we remind you that we are walking through the busy downtown streets of Nuwara Eliya, where one meets the typical Asian stamp that conquers us so many. We walk among bakeries, stalls of street food, clothing stores, bakeries, shops selling all kinds of rice. We are struck by a local restaurant where they make kottu roti and chicken rice in front of the people.

 

We cannot resist and we stop to observe how they cook these typical dishes. It was a real show to see it live! We took advantage and bought a couple of vegetable rolls to eat right there. We did not want to stop trying all kinds of Sri Lankan food. We continue with the walk while we eat our snack, that was not bad at all. I'm not a big fan of fried things.

 

And with this our appetite has been opened, because it is almost 6:00 p.m. in the afternoon and we have not eaten yet. It was the worst! So we decided that before we go to the hotel, we will take advantage of the fact that we are in the center of the municipality and we will have dinner around here. And where do we decide to make our lunch/snack/dinner today? Well, in the local place where we have stopped before, that rice looked amazing! For there we go! And the best thing about these trips is that we do what we want and when we feel like it.

 

As the portions here are huge, we decided to order only one ice and chicken. And of course, accompanied by roti. And there you have us sitting and happy eating that delicious rice along with that roti that would come to be like our bread, great! We liked it so much that I got up to buy a couple more. I think that of all the meals in Sri Lanka, this was undoubtedly the one we enjoyed the most and the one we liked the most. And the most curious of all is that it was the cheapest. An authentic Sri Lankan dinner in a very authentic setting!

 

And with a full stomach and being at night, it's time to go to the hotel. It took us a bit to find it, but asking at the end we found it. A very cute little house with only a couple of rooms, a beautiful garden and a view of Nuwara Eliya.

 

We were received by a full family, led by the matriarch. From the first moment, they welcome us with a big smile and the kindness already characteristic of the Sinhalese. They are people of heart! Upon arrival we are accompanied to our room and apologize because they are under construction, renovating the entire house, and the room where we had to stay is not yet finished and therefore we have to give a superior room.

 

A room that has to be said that it was like all our big house. In it, there was a huge room with dining room, living room, and bed altogether, and a very large and completely new bathroom. We were the first guests who slept in the renovated room and that's why we were in charge of releasing that bathroom in which we take without any doubt, the best showers of the entire trip. How we enjoy it! In addition, the room had a huge balcony with a really beautiful view of the whole town of Nuwara Eliya, of which we could enjoy the next morning.

 

We left the backpacks in place. We take a super shower and we put on the warmest clothes we had, which was not much. We must confess that we were feeling cold in this huge room. To warm up we decided to have a delicious Ceylon tea before going to bed, and we did. They also offered us dinner, but we explained that we had already dined in the center of town.

 

And with the warm body, we went to bed, but not before reviewing everything we have lived on this day as always. Today was a day a little different from all the previous ones, for all the hours of the car we had to do. But it is something that cannot be avoided if you want to cover so much in such a short time. And what comes tomorrow? We will just tell you that we will make one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. What will it be?

 

Day 5 - Nuwara Eliya

 

Today we wake up with the first rays of sunlight that enter through the window of our room. For the first time on this trip. we have not put the alarm clock and we can wake up more calmly. We enjoy this moment of lying in bed without having to get up running and in a hurry.

 

And we take the opportunity to look back and remember everything that we have already traveled behind us. But we are also nervous and expectant about what awaits us today, today is a great day of this trip through Sri Lanka, because we will make one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world! Just thinking about it, the smile does not get out of my face!

 

And there you have us, in our super room of a very cute little house surrounded by a nice terrace with green grass, located on a hill from where there are views to the whole village of Nuwara Eliya that do not leave anyone indifferent. We get up and take a relaxing shower, get dressed and decide to have breakfast on the terrace of our guesthouse. There is a better way to start a new day than enjoying a tasty breakfast sitting at a garden table, with the early morning sun that warms your face and with that postcard image in the background!

 

Because this Nuwara Eliya breakfast is a breakfast like the ones we like. They bring us juice, tea, coffee with milk, several dishes of freshly cut fruit, toast with butter and jam, and also an omelet made to our liking. Everything delicious and above in that environment! A perfect breakfast to start this day that will surely be very special.

 

After breakfast. we return to the room and collect everything. Backpacks closed again and to the car again. We say goodbye to the family that has welcomed us so well with grief, because when they treat you so well you do not want to leave so fast, but that is the rhythm of our trip, so exciting that we cannot stay more nights in this little Ceylon country.

 

We started the car's engine with a new destination: Nanu-Oya train station, the closest station to catch the train to Ella. On the way, we are still surrounded by hills full of tea fields where all the workers are concentrated in their daily work at this time of the morning. We stop at some points to observe them in the distance and why not steal some snapshots for the memory.

 

And in less than 15 minutes we are already at the station. We have arrived soon, but you already know that it is better to arrive with a bit of advance notice that it will not be late. In these weeks, there are many tourists who are on vacation in Sri Lanka, more than we had thought we would meet. This train ride, one of the most famous in the world, we will not do it alone, much less.

 

We arrived at the station with our tickets already printed. They are little more than 11:30 in the morning and we are already there, waiting for a train that will not leave until 12:35. While we wait, we spend time observing the people around us, many local people and few tourists, for now. There pass a train to Colombo and make a brief stop at this station. We take advantage of any moment to open our eyes, observe, and learn.

 

The wait at the station is much longer than expected. As the time of the arrival of the train approaches, the station fills with tourists. And it is that anyone who visits Sri Lanka must make the trip to Ella, is a must of this country, and it is normal that nobody wants to miss it. In addition, there are many who have taken advantage of the Christmas holidays to go through the Tear of the Indian Ocean.

 

Well there we are all standing on the platform, ready and expectant, looking at the clocks, the train is delayed. Many minutes pass at 12:35 and at that moment a voice is heard speaking on the public address system in the native language. Obviously. we did not understand anything.

 

The train was going to be delayed. Oh no, it's late! That means that we will arrive later than expected to Ella and we will have less time to enjoy that small town that we have so much desire. Well, what are you going to do, these are the unforeseen trips that one cannot foresee! And the expectation as the seconds passed, the minutes, was increasing. It is a sensation that I have in my body when it is time to do something that you have been waiting for a long time, imagining.

 

And an hour later, we see how the blue railroad that in so many photos and videos we have seen is approaching in the distance. It's here! We have the tickets in hand and now the chaotic moment arrives to have to look for our wagon. And excited, with a smile from ear to ear and with that I do not know what in the belly, we got into our car and we sat in our seats. The sound that announces the departure of the train sounds and the engines start to start slowly. We start to move forward and back we leave Nuwara Eliya, the little England of Sri Lanka.

 

But we are still surrounded by the same landscape, huge hills full of tea plantations. Beautiful! And there I feel like children when the first time I ride a train. I exchange glances and smiles with fellow travelers, tourists from all over the world and many local people. I could not stop peeking out of the window.

 

My eyes looked like two huge plates of openness that had them. I did not want to miss anything, no detail, no feeling of that journey, of those moments! But I was not satisfied with looking out the window. I wanted to go to the doors, open them and have in front of me a huge window with unique views.

 

We were many tourists who wanted to be in those doors. So we were taking turns so that we could all live that experience. And there you have us, sitting on the edge of one of the doors, with our legs on the outside. At other times standing with our head out and being very attentive when we passed through narrow areas by putting our body inwards.

 

The sensation of standing there was incredible, with the train running, the Tuc Tuc of its sound as it advances, with the wind in my face and enjoying an incredible landscape! A landscape that was changing as we progressed. We started with big teacups, then changed to impressive forests of huge trees and finish again in the tea hills.

 

A road that lasts about 3 hours in which nothing is wasted. An image that will never be erased from my mind is the one in which I looked ahead of the train with my head out of the window and saw many little heads of other people, all of them doing exactly the same as me, observing everything we were finding at our pace.

 

Nor will I forget the image of the blue train passing through tunnels and beautiful bridges, something really spectacular! No wonder it is one of the most beautiful journeys in the world! Because it is truly precious, we must live it!

 

We also made several stops in different stations in which travelers got off and up. There was a time when I sat in a different place where my traveling companion was a very nice old lady from Sri Lanka with whom I had a long talk. She asked me where we were coming from and she took the opportunity to tell me where she was going, where she lived, and things about her family. It's these little moments with which one stays, I'll never forget that lady and that conversation! It's something that we and I will always have in common.

 

And it is that everything in this journey was worth it from the landscape, the environment, the sound, the feelings, the faces of the people. Everything! I have not done many train journeys in my life so I cannot compare this with others, what I do know is that for me it is currently the number 1 train journey in our life. Now I understand why people speak wonders about him. No matter how much you read, see pictures or tell you, live it a hundred times better!

 

The 3 hours and some travel went flying, in a blink of an eye, the railway braked, the engines were stopping and at the end a train station all made of wood with a written sign. At that moment I thought oh no, we have arrived! This is over!

 

We got off the train and walked along the tracks accompanied by many people. For many, this was our final destination. I remember walking to the station, the wagons were full of Sri Lankan children who said goodbye to us with a big smile on their faces.

 

They are little more than 16:00 in the afternoon and there are very little hours of sunshine that we have left to enjoy it. We left the station. Once in the car, we decided to go directly without any stop to the Nine Arch Bridge. If there is one thing we wanted to see in this mountain village, it is without a doubt this beautiful bridge that we had seen so many times.

 

We left the car on the road and walked through forest trails. In about 20 minutes walking we got to him. Beautiful image of those empty train tracks on top of that imposing bridge of 9 arches. We took photos of the bridge from all possible perspectives!

 

We took advantage of the fact that no train passed and we walked over the tracks to the other side and even entered the tunnel at the bottom. I do not know if you will believe it, but I had never walked over the tracks of a train. That is another moment that we stayed for us, for our photo retina of memories of this trip that is giving us so much!

 

And what luck ours that we would have the opportunity to see the train go by. It was just after 5:00 pm when it happened, but there we all were, listening very carefully if we heard any sound announcing their arrival. Almost by magic, the train made its appearance coming out of the tunnel. And there it was, traveling its I walk over the Nine Arch Bridge. And as it arrives, leaves, hides among the hills, leaving behind a handful of curious people who want to see that moment again and again. How fast has happened! But how lucky we were to see it, because only 3 trains a day pass as they told us, so we can feel very lucky!

 

What was our surprise, that the same guy who had told us the time when the train would pass, told us that today was a special day and that in a few minutes there would be another? And what do we think since we have arrived here, we will stay a while longer and wait for it to happen again. So not only were we lucky enough to see a train passing by this famous bridge. We take advantage of the waiting time to walk to the other side on the tracks. It is very strange and very cool the feeling that one has when walking around there.

 

And shortly before it was dark, he gave us his presence that second train. We enjoy it more, we observe it more calmly! It is like all the second times, you always taste them with more pleasure. And with a smile from ear to ear, we leave happy. This bridge is without a doubt one of those corners of the trip that we will remember with special affection.

 

We return along these paths to the car, which we arrived at night. It is time to look for the hotel where we will stay for the night. What it cost us to find this hotel! And we chose it for its views of Little Adams Peak with which we would wake up, so in the center of the city it was not, but it was at the end of a hill. In addition, the road to get there was not quite good. Finally, we got there without problems. It was the last hotel on that long dirt road.

 

And as soon as we arrived we found a small problem. This accommodation did not have a driver accommodation and according to our conversation via email, they did have this service. So there you have us at 7:00 p.m. night. He told us not to worry and that he knew of several hotels nearby to stay. He said goodbye to us until the next morning. But all this happened so fast, that soon we would write a Whatsapp and invite him to dine with us in a restaurant in the center of town.

 

After this brief unforeseen event, they accompanied us to our room. A wooden cabin, on a hill, surrounded by mountains. A pity to have arrived at night because the environment must be incredible! And in our little house, accompanied by huge night moths that love light and a frog in our toilet, we showered and changed clothes.

 

We took out the only long pants and long-sleeved shirts that we had brought to the trip, as well as the scarves because we are in the mountains and the temperatures at night go down a lot. Well, once ready, we decided to go to the center of town to have dinner at a bar/cafe. A place with very good atmosphere, very cool and a great meal, the combination was perfect. There we went with a tuk-tuk.

 

The site was full, was undoubtedly the best known of the whole town and something would be. We waited a few minutes to have a free table for all three. The truth is that the restaurant is very cool, all wooden, with background music and full of tourists. It is a site designed entirely for visitors! The menu is very international, sandwiches, woks, hamburgers.

 

We ordered a couple of hamburgers and a sandwich. We have to confess that after 6 days eating rice and noodles, we really wanted to eat a good hamburger and a good sandwich with their fries. And for dessert, because without something sweet I do not go to bed, we ask for some crepes, delicious! We do not leave anything on the plate, which is not surprising considering that we had not eaten. As the train was delayed more than expected, When we got to Ella, we did not want to waste time eating sunlight and went straight to the Nine Arch Bridge. That's how we are!

 

It has been the perfect dinner to put the finishing touch to this very special day of our trip. We return to our beautiful wooden cabin full of bugs to sleep in what will be our penultimate night in Sri Lanka. We cannot believe that in a few hours already begins our last day of this incredible trip. A trip that is surprising us with every step we take.

 

The days have passed too quickly and we cannot believe that this adventure is coming to an end. What a shame it is! But well, we will not think this because tomorrow we still have one last day to live more incredible moments like all we have lived up to this moment. What will bring us the last day of travel Ceylon? Surprise! That will be another story.

 

During the last stage of our trip to Sri Lanka, we cannot believe that this Sri Lankan adventure is coming to an end! And today we wake up in a privileged and really spectacular environment. Surrounded by nature, in the heart of Ella, between forest, vegetation and with views in front of us that one can be hours and hours watching silently without getting tired.

 

 

Day 6 - Hikkaduwa

 

We got up, take a shower, pick up luggage and go for breakfast. To have breakfast with these views of which I was speaking, can you imagine? A perfect gift for what will be our last breakfast in Sri Lanka!

 

At 08:00h, we are ready to start what will be the route of our last day in ancient Ceylon. We have many hours of the car ahead and there is no time to lose. Today begins in the Highlands of Sri Lanka. We will go down to the south of the island (Galle), stopping at Udawalawe, to finish in the coastal zone of Hikkaduwa. A total of 235 kilometers that we have to do in less than 10 hours if we want to reach the final destination before nightfall. What do you think of the challenge? Possible? Impossible? We tell you.

 

And as soon as we start our descent through the Highlands, we make a first stop: Rawa Dawa Falls, another of the most famous waterfalls in the area. After this quick stop, we set course for the next point on the map: Udawalawe and its elephant center called Elephant Transit Home.

 

An enclosure located next to the National Park of Uduwalawe whose objective is to take care of the elephant orphans of the zone, to rehabilitate them and when they are prepared, to leave them again in freedom. One of the best moments to visit is to witness live and live what they call the feeding time whose literal translation is feeding time. It is the moment in which all the elephants of the transit home, who are currently around 90, come to take their bottle. And why bottle? Because the vast majority of these elephants are babies and adolescents and need their daily milk ration.

 

We arrived in time to see the feeding time at 12:00h in the morning. Being Saturday, there are many local families with children who come to the site to witness this fun and tender moment. They open the doors, buy our ticket or pay the donation. Before approaching the point where they feed the elephants, we enter the information pavilion where they explain more about the relationship of Sri Lanka and these animals, and about the work, they do at the center.

 

Then, we take positions to live in the moment bottles. Everyone is anxious! That energy is noticeable in the environment! We do not know very well what we will see, but we get infected with that expectation. The time comes and in the background, we see how caregivers are appearing accompanied by elephants of all sizes. They walk slowly until they come to the eating area and there begins that little show that we were all waiting for. The feeding time starts!

 

They take out huge bottles and feed all the elephants that are slowly approaching that point. Never in our life have we seen an elephant drink milk from a huge bottle! There is no image more tender than that! It was very funny to observe how each of them behaved, all hungry, playing with each other and with the caregivers, others getting angry because they wanted to eat more, others who pulled very hard from the bottle and milk fell everywhere.

 

One cannot help but smile while watching those moments. There was a baby elephant that was cute and he never wanted to leave the side of the bottles. We all laughed watching and observing their behavior! And others after their bottle feeding approached a large mud pond and stuck a good bath, everything was very funny!

 

It was a half hour in which we were with our eyes open to not miss any detail of everything that was happening in front of us. For us it was a very nice and tender experience, we loved it and we ended up falling in love even a little bit more if it fits of these animals!

 

We continue our road trip today to the south of the island. We went through the coastal area of Mirissa and stopped at Weligama, perfect surfing beach and took the opportunity to make one of the most characteristic photos of Sri Lanka, its tilt fishermen. It is the fishermen who are in balance sitting on a stick in the water. Surely you know what we are talking about! Well, the photos had to be "stolen" because these fishermen currently charge to photograph them. So without realizing it, we were able to steal some image for the memory.

 

It is already late and we have not eaten yet, and since we will not have time to stop and sit down to eat, I go to a store for a moment to buy some cookies to kill hunger while we continue our route. Next stop?

 

One of the most important cities in southern Sri Lanka with a combination of Dutch colonial architecture and a very curious and striking tropical environment. We take a walk through one of its best-known areas, its great fortress on the seafront.

 

There are many children we see walking in the area and we pass a very curious anecdote with them. We are approached by several groups of children asking us questions in English. They want to practice speaking with us. They ask us a lot of questions, always with a big smile on their faces. And we were delighted. We talked to them until it was time to leave.

 

Now, yes, we got into the car with the aim of heading to our final point on the map, where we will sleep: Hikkaduwa. But earlier on the way, we found a small marine turtle rehabilitation center and made a short stop in it. We see turtles of different species and with different problems, one that lacked a rear fin, one with only one eye, others with a broken carapace.

 

They explain how they take care of them until they are ready to live again in their natural habitat. They also have precious baby turtles in a pool. I have to confess that I have a special weakness with turtles, they have always been one of my favorite animals! Hence, we decided to spend our last night in Hikkaduwa. We were going at the right time. We have to get there before it is the night! And we got it! We arrived during the day, we have a sunny hour.

 

We will see the sunset as we wanted on the beach of Hikkaduwa. We took off our shoes and finally walked on the beach after a week of temples, nature, tea. We wanted to spend some time by the sea! The beach has a beautiful atmosphere, full of local families and also foreigners enjoying the last rays of the sun, and before the Noche Buena starts. We remind you that today is December 24th.

 

And you will ask, why have we chosen this point in the map of the sky to spend our last night? Because on this beach you can see up close and feed giant tortoises! Standing there we realized that we had not taken a towel or swimsuits. So without thinking twice, we dived into the sea. The water reached us by the knees, the problem was that there were waves and we ended up wet, not the following. But the experience was worth it! We caught seaweed and soon after getting close without realizing two huge hungry sea turtles. My mother, how great they are!

 

And so, we had a good time like little children giving algae to those precious turtles that came and went without warning. It got closer to 4! The perfect finishing touch that and the beautiful sunset that Sri Lanka would give us. The last we would spend on this island that had given us so much. Never in life will we forget that sunset, the reddest and orange we have ever seen.

 

With this image in the retina, we go to the house where we will sleep today. To spend our last night in Sri Lanka, we have chosen a very familiar guesthouse, a huge house located a few meters from the beach, with rooms for travelers. We are welcomed by the owner of the house, very friendly, he accompanies us to our room and we chat for a while about our trip, where we are from.

 

We have been on the road all day, almost without eating. So we decided to take a good shower, get dressed and go to celebrate Christmas Eve with a special dinner. We search on TripAdvisor and see a fish and seafood restaurant with an excellent score, among the 10 best in the area and very close to where we stayed. We are taking a walk along the main street in front of Hikkaduwa beach, a street with lots of liveliness and full of bars and restaurants, until we arrive at the restaurant.

 

For dinner, we chose a carpaccio of tuna and grilled prawns. Everything fresh and great. The truth is that it is strange that it is Christmas and that we are in the middle of summer, with short pants and dress, thousands of kilometers from home. These are not the first Christmas parties that we spent far from our land. In fact, we have been traveling for many years at this time, but they are the first ones that travel to a place where it is summer and that makes us something strange.

 

After dinner, we return to the guesthouse to arrange the backpacks and leave everything ready for tomorrow. Very soon we take the flight to our next destination. The flight left at 07:10 and we wanted to be at the airport in Colombo in advance because we did not want to find any unforeseen last minute. From Hikkaduwa to the airport there were a couple of hours by car.

 

Day 7 - Colombo

 

At 03:00h the alarm clock sounded, barely a couple of hours later to get into bed. We pick up everything and very punctual at 03:30h we are already in the car with everything ready to go to the airport.

 

In a short time, we arrived at Colombo airport and with it that moment that gives us such grief, the farewell! And so far our trip to Sri Lanka, this is the end point of this week en route through ancient Ceylon. With what do we stay? There are so many moments with which we stay, so many lived things, so many sites that we have discovered, that it is impossible to choose one, we stay with each and every one of them!

 

We are left with the feeling that it has been a truly amazing trip, a destination that as you know, unwittingly appeared in our traveler's way and that has fulfilled or rather exceeded expectations. Because travel must be lived and they are always better than what you dream. With this feeling, we get on the plane to a new destination.