Staff Educational: Highlights of a Trip to Sri Lanka
Date Posted: 24/06/2024
Rachel from our Vista Product department recently set off on the adventure of a lifetime exploring the magical wonders Sri Lanka has to offer! From lush green landscapes and ancient temples to the vibrant culture and wow-worthy wildlife safaris, we caught up with her to find out all about this spectacular trip…
“Sri Lanka is a destination that I would recommend for all travellers, all year round! It's important to know that I'm a (relatively) young female who travelled solo and felt so comfortable the entire time! There are luxury options for Honeymooners, boutique properties offering a personal experience and hotels catered specifically to families with kids clubs, soft play areas and games and activities.
I did a lot of touring and the luxury of travelling with Jetwing Travels allowed me the opportunity to tailor-make a lot of my excursions based on my interests. I visited the rose-gold beaches of Negombo on arrival, before setting off up to the Cultural Triangle. This is where I visited a traditional Sri Lankan Village in Sigiriya and Dambulla Cave Temples which was one of my highlights of the trip - the hand painted murals were so beautiful and unexpected.
On Safari in Minneriya National Park, we saw herds of Elephant and that was a stark contrast to another Safari further South of the country in Udawalawe National Park where we spotted the elusive leopard, in addition to elephant, crocodiles, jackals, birdlife and lots of flora and fauna. You can't visit Kandy without experiencing some incredible street food like Egg Hoppers, Kotthu and King Coconut and visiting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic situated around Kandy Lake. This was a lovely city to explore on foot and perfect for foodies!
En-route to Nuwara Eliya known as "Little England" we visited a Tea Factory and Plantation to learn more about Sri Lanka's largest export and watched the ladies traditional art of plucking tea leaves. One of the most memorable parts of this trip, was the scenic train journey that took me through the clouds towards Ella where the vast, green landscapes differ so much inland from the palm-fringed beaches on the Coast. Being based in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka's beaches are among some of the most beautiful in the world. Tangalle and Mirissa offered Whale and Dolphin watching from the Coast, Kosgoda allowed a glimpse into the Conservation projects of Green Turtles and their release programmes back into the ocean and Bentota offered some beautiful beachfront hotels where you can relax after so much sightseeing.
Colombo was a firm favourite of mine that is often overlooked - I did a half day tuk tuk tour exploring the various districts and eating some incredible street food along the way. The Hindu and Buddhist Temples and Muslim Quarter offered up some of the most beautiful religious buildings I'd seen throughout my trip! It's certainly something I'll be advising people to include going forward!
Top tips:
- If you wish to climb Sigiriya Lion Rock - 5am is a must to avoid the heat and humidity and staying closeby will be imperative.
- Half Board is a must as hotels are quite isolated and "Elephant Corridors" where wild Elephants raom freely prevent you from walking out and about on an evening.
- Yala National Park is mostly known for it's Leopard sightings but is incredibly busy, often with 1hour queues to even enter the park before your game drive has even began. Wilpattu National Park in the North is a better alternative with larger volumes of Leopards and lesser visited!
- Sri Lanka's beaches each offer something totally different based on their tides, wildlife opportunities and excursions - give Vista a call today and we can perfect your clients choices based on their interests, travel style and budget!
