Beaches, rainforests, temples, ruins, this once beloved tropical island country is okay?

©John Crux Photography/GettyImages

The azure Indian Ocean, endless beaches, timeless ruins, hospitable people, herds of elephants, low prices, fun train journeys, famous black tea, tempting food... Here is Sri Lanka without end.

Before the pandemic, Sri Lanka had jumped to one of the most popular overseas destinations for Chinese people.

The unfortunate terrorist attacks of 2019 cast a cloud over its tourism industry, and the ensuing pandemic added to the worse. Since the beginning of this year, the national turmoil and conflict caused by many reasons have continued to escalate, and triggered a serious economic crisis, which has made many travelers who care about and love this country worry.

Today LP takes you on a journey through Sri Lanka in your memory, through this tropical island country surrounded by sandy beaches, oceans, rainforests, temples and ruins, and prays for its early return to the tranquility and peace of the past.

Colombo

- Colonial charm and exciting shopping -

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Colonial remains remain intact along Colombo's tree-lined streets. The fort district is undergoing a massive redevelopment effort to restore colonial buildings, while the Beta district is full of thriving bazaars.

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Luxurious hotels have sprung up, making the traffic-choked Galaxy Rd suddenly bustling. At the same time, the newly built road has accelerated the pace of hotel construction, and the marina area has also benefited. Here you can find many trendy restaurants, galleries and museums, and get a feel for Colombo's cosmopolitan side.

贝塔区；Dan Lundberg, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In the city's old town, you'll always be surprised by surprises. A wide variety of local delicacies, specialty shops or sophisticated and friendly coffee shops are just around the corner, whether it's the starting and ending point of your Sri Lanka adventure.

Galle

Bile

- Roam the colonial-era castles -

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Galle (pronounced "gawl" in English and "gaar-le" in Sinhala) is a large city in southern Sri Lanka that should not be missed. There is an endless exhilaration everywhere, and the town is full of spices and salty sea breezes.

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Today, the historic Fortress district of Galle is full of small boutiques, coffee shops and hotels run by artists, writers, photographers, designers or poets from home or abroad. It is worth mentioning that foreigners buy a third of the local houses.

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The charm of the Galle Fortress has also been recognized by UNESCO, which is inscribed on its World Heritage List. However, the main charm of the fortress is that not only does it have a beautiful appearance, but its vibrant heart also makes the city more vivid.

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Easy day trips to Galle from Colombo, driving from seaside cities such as Black Coduwa and Unawatuna. To truly appreciate the beauty of this fortress, you still have to stroll through the atmosphere of the ancient walls of Galle. The 2004 tsunami dealt a heavy blow to Galle's new urban area. However, the fortified walls of the fortress district have always protected the old town from damage.

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More importantly, due to the Dutch preference for first-class drainage facilities, with the help of canals built in the 18th century and still in use, people were able to quickly drain the floodwaters that had flooded into the fortress area. At dusk, locals and tourists alike enjoy strolling along the walls of the Galle Fortress.

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As the heat of the day slowly dissipates, it only takes an hour or two to walk around the fortress walls overlooking the fortress's landscape. As you stroll, you'll meet many locals, see shy couples snuggling together, and see many children playing and frolicking in the protected waters.

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You can always find surprises inside and outside the fortress, including the hidden beaches. Be careful to distinguish which part of the wall was built by the Portuguese and which part was built by the Dutch: the latter often designed walls that were wider and thicker to allow for cannons.

Countee

Kandy

- Cultural capital of Sri Lanka -

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Kandy's sky is cloud-locked and hard to see, and mist-shrouded mountains surround the city's most striking and beautiful lakes. When the characteristic breeze of the hilly area gently lifts the veil of fog, the colorful houses and hotels of Kandy City reveal their beautiful colors in the incredible forest halo of the mountain city.

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Kandy was the last capital of the Kingdom of Kandy, located 115 km from the capital Colombo at an altitude of 500 metres. The atmosphere of the city is more soothing and refreshing. Kandy Lake occupies the center of the town. A walk along the lake is a delight, and when you're tired, you can sit in a chair by the lake.

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Not to be missed is this golden-domed Temple of The Tooth Relic, located on the north side of Kandy Lake, where Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic, the Tooth Relic of the Buddha, is housed.

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The entire temple complex covers a large area, and in addition to the main hall, there are numerous other temple and museum complexes.

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On Sundays (offerings or prayers), heavily guarded rooms with relics of Buddhist teeth are open to good men and women and visitors. Of course, you don't want to see the true face of the relic: the Buddha's teeth are packed in a golden box that looks like a stupa, and the stupa has 6 floors, and the volume is reduced layer by layer.

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Kandy is famous for the grand Kandy Tooth Festival, the most important festival of the year in Sri Lanka. In anticipation of the arrival of Nikini Boya Day (Full Moon Day) at the end of the month of Yesera (July/August), this festival lasts for more than ten days. The 10-day frenetic celebration gradually pushed Kandy's most important night of the year to the top.

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The parade was led by thousands of Kandy dancers and drummers, drumming and whipping and waving multicolored banners. This was followed by a long procession of more than fifty elephants.

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As can be seen from the dwindling number of elephants in the parade, the scale of the event has shrunk in recent years (more than 100 elephants participated in the parade in the early days), but it remains one of the most glamorous celebrations in Asia.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock)

Sigiriya

- Stunning gardens surrounded by rocks -

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Rising from the Central Plain, the iconic rock of Lion Rock is probably Sri Lanka's most dramatic attraction, and UNESCO declared Lion Rock a World Heritage Site in 1982.

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The near-vertical stone walls rise to a flat-topped peak with remnants of ancient civilizations believed to be the residence of the short-lived king Kassapa, whose mesmerizing landscapes emerge from the smoky forest in the early morning.

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The charm of Lion Rock doesn't come easily, and you'll need to climb a series of steps connected to steep rock walls to reach the top. On the way, you'll see many bizarre murals and a pair of giant lion claws carved into the rock bed.

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The surrounding landscape includes a lily-shrouded moat, a water park and a quiet sanctuary, as well as the remarkable Site Museum, which adds a star charm to Lion Rock.

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Anuradhapura

- Stunning city of cultural and religious heritage -

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The ruins of Anuradhapura are one of the most reverie attractions in South Asia. These staggered buildings bear a wealth of archaeological and architectural wonders: massive stupas, towering brick towers, ancient ponds, decadent temples, all the products of Anuradhapura's millennial reign over Sri Lanka.

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Today, some of the buildings here still exist as holy sites and temples. It will take you a few days to get a good tour of this UNESCO-recognized Anuradhapura World Heritage site.

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Mahavihara is the heart of ancient Anuradhapura and is the most frequent place for religious celebrations, when the Great Temple attracts a large number of people dressed in the most beautiful clothes.

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The Holy Bodhi Tree in this area is a sacred tree that is both spiritually and geographically located in the heart of Anuradhapura.

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This huge tree grew from the broken branches brought by Bodhgaya in India, and this sacred tree has proven to be the longest surviving tree in the world. For more than two thousand years, generations of guardians have guarded it without interruption, even when the Indian invading forces occupied it. It's best to come here at sunset.

©Nicolas Chadeville, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

And a large part of the 2,000-year-old Abba yakiri Monastery scenic spot is still shrouded in tropical forest, and nowhere else can it match the sheer joy of exploring the ancient city.

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Dating back to the 1st century BC, this huge stupa was once the focal point of a 5,000-person monastery when religious ceremonies were held. Originally more than 100 meters high, the tower was one of the largest buildings in the ancient world, and only the Pyramids of Giza (and nearby Jetavana Rama) can compare to its size. Today, after several constructions, the Abahaya Kiri stupa rises 75 meters above the forest trees.

Temple etiquette

Since the main attractions of Anuradhapura are basically Buddhist shrines, you should be prepared to take off your shoes and remember to wear sarongs or other more appropriate skirts. Pilgrims in Sri Lanka wear white clothes, and white is considered a sacred color (also because white reflects strong sunlight), and you can refer to this way of dressing to show your respect.

Udawalawe National Park

Uda Walawe National Park

- Buffalo, crocodile and elephant -

With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and Ceylon leopards, it's a natural park that rivals the African savannah. In fact, Udawalawe even surpasses many well-known East African national parks in terms of the angle of viewing elephants.

According to 2011 statistics, there are 600 elephants in the park's more than 50 elephant herds. In the park, the place where the elephants inhabit is protected by a fence. The best time to observe the herd is from 6:30 to 10:00 and from 16:00 to 18:30.

The central area of the park is the 308.2 square kilometre Uda Walawe Reservoir. The vegetation of this national park is not abundant, but instead a desolate beauty, and the lack of vegetation makes it easier to watch the picture of hunting. It is indeed a national park that you must not miss in Sri Lanka.

Mirissa

- Boat trip to find blue whales -

Pry open a coconut, slide into a hammock, sway gently in the breeze, and for an hour, a day, or even a week, time passes slowly and calmly. Welcome to Mirissa, a crescent-shaped beach 4 km southeast of Weligama that is also developing rapidly.

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It wasn't until recent years that marine biologists realized that the blue whale, the largest living mammal on Earth, bears a striking resemblance to many vacationers: They love the shores of Sri Lanka. In fact, the waters around Mirissa and the east of Tangjia Cape often congregate the largest number of blue whales in the world (Trincomalee on the east coast is another great place to see blue whales).

The statistics about the blue whale are just as amazing as their own size: 30 meters long and weigh 170 tons (much heavier than any known dinosaur). Blue whales are said to live to more than 80 years, but this is not well understood due to the fact that little research has been done on them. The main reason for the lack of research is that after the ban on whaling in the 1970s, there were very few blue whales left (at that time there were only about 5,000 blue whales in the entire world ocean, which is 1% of the blue whale population 200 years ago).

Boating to see the blue whales around Mirissa is the main reason for tourists to visit here, there are many tour companies here, and the competition is fierce. In addition to the blue whales, the slightly smaller sperm whales (20 meters long and weighing 57 tons) and a variety of dolphins are often found here.

Whale watching tips

Although blue whales are found throughout the year, December to April is the peak of blue whale infestation.
Avoid the monsoon season from May to June, when the waters are rough and the waves are heavy.
The tour usually departs at 6:30 a.m. and takes 2 to 7 hours, depending on how long it takes to find the whales. If the sea is rough, it will take a whole day.
It is recognized that the tourist boat has at least two floors for sightseeing and is equipped with a decent toilet.
Don't look for violent tour operators, and don't use chartered fishing boats, as there are plenty of boats that can infest whales.
Please inquire if food and drinks are available on board, and also find out if there are binoculars available for passengers.

Arugam Bay

- The heart of an emerging surfing resort -

Lovely Arugan Bay is a crescent-shaped stretch of beach where point breaks (with rocks or corals at the bottom) are considered the best places to surf in Sri Lanka. It's a small place with a population of only a few hundred people, and everything is scattered along a single-lane road parallel to the coast.

The long break points in the southern section of Arugam Bay are very famous, and the waves continue to appear from April to September, and you can surf when the weather is better in November (there are fewer people) (some other surf spots are not suitable for surfing until May or June).

Locals and some tourists who come specifically for surfing may exaggerate the idea that Arugam Bay is a world-class surfing spot. However, the long, large gentle waves that continue to produce here are ideal areas for mid-level surfers. The average height of the wave head is 1 to 1.5 meters, and sometimes it reaches 2 meters high.

There are also a lot of wave areas of similar quality, most of which are very good. To the north, there is Pottuvil Point, which has a slow right-hand wave that is perfect for beginners (better off late in surf season). Whiskey Point and Lighthouse Point are also available, both of which are great for beginners.

Several surf shops can rent out surfboards, teach lessons and organise camping trips to surf spots further afield. Surf camping allows you to go surfing early in the morning without worrying about food and traffic.

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