Haputale1

Stunning Sri Lanka

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With its rugged rainforests, diverse wildlife and lush green tea plantations, and famed for its ancient Buddhist ruins, flavourful cuisine and history as a maritime hub and cultural melting pot, Sri Lanka is absolutely a trip of a lifetime
 
 
Once known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka has long allured with its diverse wildlife, lush tea plantations and picture book rail travel. With just ten days to see as much as possible, we had a tight schedule, but the island’s unrushed pace made time stretch and contract in the right places, and by the time we left we felt satiated and content with our experience of the tear drop shaped isle in the Indian Ocean. 
 
 – Colombo  –
 
We knew that Sri Lanka’s capital is not the main draw for visitors, but spent a day having a poke about and that was enough time to get a feel for it – and unearth its gems.
 
The area known as Fort is the commercial hub of the city and the original site of Colombo’s 16th century Portuguese fortifications – a good place to start your wanderings. Although the fortifications, which lent the area its name, have long since disappeared, colonial influences still abound. 
 
Today Fort is home to government offices, banks and upmarket hotels and the famous Old Dutch Hospital, which is believed to date from the 17th century and is one of the oldest structures in the area. With its ochre-coloured buildings, it has been restructured and is now home to a number of shops and restaurants, namely Ministry of Crab – book in advance, this elegant eatery serves export quality Sri Lankan crab and is finger-lickin’ good. For the finest in local handicrafts, visit Barefoot, the best place to shop for hand-woven, jewel-hued fabrics for home and wardrobe. 
 
Galle Face Green makes for a very pleasant stroll and a look at local life up close. A large strip of grass with a promenade facing the Indian Ocean, come here to see lovers taking in the scenery, people splashing around in the water and hawkers selling food and kites. 
 
If you are heading in the right direction you will end up at Galle Face Hotel, a posh historic sea front hotel, the perfect place to end the day with a romantic sunset drink.
 
– Galle – 
 
Absolutely everyone we spoke to advised us to include Galle in our Sri Lanka trip. And they were right to do so. Galle is a jewel. 
 
The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in the 16th century and constructed a Fort in Galle, but they had to cede the area to the Dutch East India Company in 1640. The Dutch extended the port’s fortifications, which survive to this day. In 1796 Galle was handed over to the British, who modified the fort, and over time its influence began to wane, as Colombo became the focal point for commercial activity.
 
Today, excellent examples of colonial architecture make walking around Galle feel like a real life history lesson – of the non-boring type. From the Dutch Reformed Church, Galle National Museum, Old Gate, to walking the perimeter on the fort wall, it can all be done at your own pace, with no need to rely on transport and plenty of little coffee shops to punctuate the itinerary. 
 
Galle is a little world unto itself; all you ever need or want is contained in its walls. We were delighted to encounter a large monitor lizard crossing the street one afternoon. Other days we enjoyed staring into the windows of colonial houses, browsing chic design handicraft shops, exploring churches and museums, eating fantastic Sri Lankan food. After dinner we bought local homemade ice cream purchased from a small café and headed to one of the Bastions to sit down, legs dangling off the side of the wall, the black of the night accompanied by sounds of the sea below us. 
 
– Hill Country – 
 
It was with great anticipation that we made our way towards Hill Country, Sri Lanka’s mountainous core. The hill country has been shaped by two very different historical forces. The northern portion, around the historic city of Kandy, was home to Sri Lanka’s last independent kingdom, which survived two centuries of colonial incursions before finally falling to the British in 1815.  The cultural legacy of this independent Sinhalese tradition lives on today in the city’s distinctive music, dance and architecture.
 
In contrast, the character of the southern hill country is largely a product of the British colonial era, when tea was introduced to the island, an industry that continues to shape the economy and scenery of the region today.
 
Bandarawela was our first stop and on our drive in we passed a waterfall which really set the tone for this part of the country-lush, green, and very beautiful. The air is cooler and the landscape is a beguiling mixture of nature and nurture. In places, the mountainous green hills rise to surprisingly rugged and dramatic peaks; in others, the slopes are covered in carefully manicured tea gardens with neatly trimmed lines of bushes, while the mist and clouds, which frequently blanket the hills, add further mystery.
 
Wanting to experience the land and surrounding environs up close, we hiked to Lipton’s Seat near the Dambatenne tea factory in Haputale, the spot from where Scottish tea baron, Sir Thomas Lipton, used to survey his empire.
 
Following a narrow paved road from the tea factory, the climb is about 7km through tea plantations to the lookout. You can take a tuk tuk up, but the walk felt really good and gave us the chance to get up close to the Tamil tea pickers at work. These people (mostly women) work incredibly hard, and being in their enviroment gives you a newfound respect for the process. 
 
Under a high-altitude sun and with heavy baskets on their backs, pickers choose only the greenest leaves from each bud by hand – something which requires a high degree of attention – all the while being surrounded by bloodthirsty leeches and poisonous snakes. An average 18-kilo haul brings in around 380 rupees (US$3). An eye opening experience.
 
One of the biggest travel draws in Sri Lanka is the train trip to or from Ella to Kandy. The train station in Ella is small and very pretty, largely unchanged from the British colonial rule period and the seven-hour route takes you through covered tea plantations, remote villages and spectacular waterfalls, up into the highest corners of the hills. We went for second class tickets as we wanted to hang our heads out the window and sit in the doorway of the train, waving at people in the fields and buying fruit and snacks from the vendors who jumped on board between stations. A wonderful travel experiene that will charm you no end. 
 
 – The Cultural Triangle  – 
 
The Cultural Triangle has a wealth of attractions, including five UNESCO World Heritage sites. 
 
The well-perserved ruins of Polonnaruwa were the centrepiece of the Sinhalese kingdom which reached its golden age in the 12th century. The city was eventually abandoned in 1293 and quickly consumed by jungle. Excavation and restoration work began in the 20th century and in 1982 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 
Polonnaruwa’s ruins are clustered together in various groups and the experience was one of my favourites of the whole trip. Nature and ruins in such close proximity made for a wonderful day of exploring and stumbling upon gems such as the King’s swimming pool in one corner of the palace grounds, complete with crocodile-mouth spouts which used to lead fresh water into the pool.
 
In a world of bus loads of tourists jostling with selfie sticks in front of famous landmarks, it still makes me smile that in Sri Lanka there are places for peace, harmony and beauty.  
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