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| Heritage Rest Ambepussa |
There are quite a few options of towns and cities to start your Sri Lankan adventures from. Some tourists travel to the nearest beach town called Negombo (app 20 kms from the airport) but because we were going to visit the south coast later we decided to skip Negombo and travel to Kandy instead.
Travel Tip: All cities and towns in Sri Lanka are connected with single roads. So often the distances might not be much but the time taken to cover the distance might be longer than average because of the traffic.
Destination numero uno :
En route to Kandy is the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage - a must-see tourist destination. It takes 2 and a half hours to get from the airport to Kigalle – the location of the orphanage.
I am an absolute foodie and for me no travel is complete without a taste of the local cuisine. It was time for our first taste of the Sri Lankan breakfast.
Destination Heritage Rest Ambepussa, Ceylon Hotels Corporation:
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| CHC - Heritage Rest Ambepussa |
On the way to Pinnawela lies this beautiful, traditional rest house cum restaurant. Also our stop for breakfast. Located in the greens, this restaurant is one of many chain of restaurants and hotels owned by the Galle Face Hotel group so be rest assured about the hygiene and service.
A traditional Sri Lankan breakfast:
Sri Lanka is primarily a rice eating country and hence there is no doubt that the most traditional dishes are made out of rice. The most commonly found Sri Lankan dish is the hopper aka appa. It is a mixture of fermented rice batter, coconut milk and yeast that's poured around a bowl-shaped utensil and left to rise on the cooker. The end product is a thin crispy bowl of rice batter. There are many kinds of hoppers like the egg hoppers, milk hoppers, string hoppers, and sweeter varieties like vandu appa and pain appa.
Along with the hoppers there are also varieties of curry (yes, we are talking curries for breakfast). There will normally be a fish or a chicken curry, a dhal curry and a coconut curry - all of which you can have with the string hoppers.
My favourite and a must try dish is the 'Pol Sambol'. It's a accompaniment made out of freshly ground coconut mixed with finely chopped chillies, onions and lime juice. It's very different and refreshing to the palate.
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| Sri Lankan Hopper |
Most places also do the traditional western breakfasts so if you're not the kind to taste different food, you will still have something to suit your taste buds.
Tip: Sri Lankan food much like Indian cuisine is naturally spicy and doesn't suit most western palates. It might be worth checking the intensity of the dish before you try them. Most restaurants alter their food to less or medium spicy according to your preference so do not hesitate in asking them to mild it down.
Ambepussa - Pinnawela
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| Elephants being fed |
The travel time from Ambepussa to Pinnawela is around half an hour. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage was started in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife on a twenty five acre coconut property on the Maha Oya river at Rambukkana. The orphanage was primarily designed to afford care and protection to the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers. In most of these cases the mother had either died or been killed. In some instances the baby had fallen into a pit and in others the mother had fallen in and died. Initially this orphanage was at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo.From the Dehiwala Zoo it was shifted 1975 to Pinnawela. At the time it was shifted the orphanage had five baby elephants which formed its nucleus.It was hoped that this facility would attract both local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage.
There are only a few elephant orphanages in the world. Pinnawela has now become one of the bigger orphanages and is quite well known world wide.
Situated in this picturesque town the elephant orphanage is a big tourist attraction so expect huge crowds at most times of the day and especially during the feeding and bathing times.
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| Approaching the river with the mahouts |
If you are travelling with a guide they will tell you exactly where to stand to get the best views of the elephants being fed but there is ample of space to stand around so don't worry about missing it. The mahouts are usually helpful and with little money give you the opportunity to feed the elephants.
The feeding takes place at certain times of the day. The first and also the one we witnessed started at 9.15 am.
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| Making their presence felt |
After the feed, the elephants are taken for a shower in the close by river. The scene of the elephants approaching the river in groups and emerging from huge clouds of dust is nothing short of something out of a movie.The sight of 30 odd elephants of all sizes in one river at once is quite spectacular to watch.
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| All of them at once |
Most tourists would cover this place anyway but if you are in doubt trust me, it's like nothing you have seen or ever will. The highlight of the elephant orphanage for me were the two elephants imported from the war zones in the north - one of them blind and the other with an injured leg. It was so satisfying to see them being cared for.
The orphanage runs on donations and ticket purchases. Please be aware that most tourist sites around Sri Lanka have different charges for westerners, residents of SAARC countries and locals.
Pinnawela - Kandy
After a few hours well spent at Pinnawela we headed for Kandy - a 65 kms journey. Kandy is a city in the centre of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka and is one of the most scenic cities in the country. Much like Britain, the weather around Oct - December is quite uncertain and it's advisable to carry an umbrella at all times.
On our arrival at Kandy we checked-in into our Hotel 'Chaaya Citadel'. Although a little away from the city centre, it is situated between the hills in an incredibly quaint location overlooking the river Mahaveli. One really does get the sense of being secluded and if, like us, you are lucky enough to have a room facing the river, it's truly magical.
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| Room at Chaaya Citadel, Kandy |
After a few hours rest and pouring rain we decided to visit a gem stone company - Prasanna Gem Stones, Kandy. Sri Lanka is one of the biggest producers of precious stones and hence there is no doubt that gems are a lot cheaper in Sri Lanka than anywhere else in the world. Be it Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire or any semi-precious stone, there is plenty to choose from - the clarity, cut, colour and so to no body's surprise the jewellery shops are often crowded with tourists buying exquisite jewellery.
The gem stones are originally sourced from the south of Sri Lanka from a region called 'Ratnapura' meaning the town of gems but most companies have their showrooms in cities like Kandy and Colombo. Moonstone is the most common semi-precious stone available in the country.
Tip: Make sure you insist on a guarantee card on purchase of a precious gem stone.
Shopping: Gem Stones
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