Sri Lanka travel guide

Nuwara Eliya is a cool town in many aspects. It's spread out on a plain at 1868 m, meaning the weather is actually cool. The town is surrounded by small farms and gardens which produce fruits and vegetables more associated to Europe than tropical Sri Lanka. The area is particularly famous for its strawberries, which the Sri Lankan consider as an oddity. And then, of course, there are the tea plantations, which cover pretty much every hill side on the way up to Nuwara Eliya. Since the town was founded by the British and has a temperate climate, it has a very distinct vibe with flowers, pine trees, horsemen, golf course and (sometimes) cold foggy weather - something the freezing locals never really have come to terms with, or so it seems.

Perahera means parade in Sinhalese, and it is a thing Sri Lankans are crazy about. Any (Sinhalese) festival or celebration is not complet without a Perahera with marching bands of drummers and conch shell blowers, colourful dancers, stilt-walkers and decorated elephants. Some Perahera are huge events, like the Esala Perahera in Kandy (in honour of Buddha's tooth) and Navam Perahera in Colombo (a full moon celebration), while others can be tiny, like a school parade - just wihtout elephants. If you want to see a big perahera, plan ahead. Find out about the exact dates, for these change every year, and take into account that it might stretch over several days. Then find a good spot on the route and get blown away by Sri Lankan pandemonium.

Sri Lanka is not abundant with choices for adventure stuff, besides surfing and kayaking. Of course, it is possible to do some trekking up in the hill country, but Sri Lanka is otherwise very limited on the active front. So river rafting is a refreshing option. Surely, Kelani River is not Sun Kosi River in Nepal, but it is still darn nice, flowing through tropical forest. The river is perfect for beginners as it's a grade 2-3, that is if there is any water (the water level depends on the rainfall and a dam further upriver). It was actually here where the classic movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was partly shot (River Kwai is in Thailand). And since this is Sri Lanka, the raft is of course transported upriver by tuk-tuk.

The south and south-western coast of Sri Lanka is pretty much one long palmy beach. These white stretches of sand are nesting grounds for a range of sea turtles, mostly Green turtle, Olive Ridley, and Hawksbill, but also Loggerhead and the rare Leatherback. During peak nesting season (December to March) you have a pretty good chance to bump into the turtles that are patrolling the shore. Though they are super cute, please give these amazing creatures some space and discourage any trade with their shells (or any other part) - yes, locals still sell them and moron tourists still buy them.

Besides being a huge rock on a flat plateau, it's also the place for the ruins of the spectacular Lion Fortress built on the summit by King Kasyapa in the end of fifth century. After the fall of the kingdom, the rock fortress turned into a Buddhist monastery and was later totally forgotten until rediscovered in the mid-nineteenth century. Halfway up, there are some 1500-year-old rare rock paintings showing a couple of fairly sexy ladies. Maybe it was more a penthouse than a fortress for king Kasyapa...

Sri Lanka has pretty much everything: beaches, temples, colourful culture, friendly people, misty tea plantations, colonial towns, civil war, wild life, and jungle. Sinharaja belongs to the last category and is a hilly virgin rainforest hosting an impressive range of endemic species, including most of Sri Lanka's bird species, butterflies, insects, and reptiles. Though a paradise for tree huggers and birdwatchers, the bigger wildlife is close to impossible to encounter, for the jungle is simply too dense. There are mountain ridges that rise above the tree tops and give magnificent views over the whole jungle. Be prepared for muddy trails and leeches.

Stilt fishermen have become iconic for Sri Lanka. They sit on stilts close to the shore and fish for small reef fish with their rod. Often it is the poorest of the fishermen, who can't afford nets or boats. In some places, the stilts are passed on from father to son, while in other places it is first-come-first-served. Since they have become a tourist attraction of their own, there will sometimes be someone on land to ask for money if photographing them.

You don't have to look hard to find a beach for yourself in Sri Lanka. Most of the shore is one long solitary stretch of sand with the occasional fisherman. On the other hand, it can be quite difficult to find a laidback beach with funky bars, juicy tuna steaks and bottomless cold shakes. Unawatuna is Sri Lanka's answer to this. A little protected bay that has become a name on the beach scene and where the hotel owners compete at building closest to the water.

Not only does Yala National Park have the world's highest concentration of leopards, but the landscape is extremely diverse, ranging from dense jungle over open scrubland to sandy beaches sloping into the Indian Ocean. The park is packed with all kinds of wildlife like Asian elephants, crocodiles, Grey langurs, Sloth bears (like Baloo from the Jungle Book) and more than 150 kinds of birds, including White-bellied Sea Eagles and Painted- and Black-necked storks. This is what makes the park so special:; there are literally animals everywhere and you get fairly close to them in the small jeeps.