International travel: Sri Lanka

By KATE WICKERS
Published on Monday 13 February 2012 00:00

With magnificent temples and wildlife, a trip to Sri Lanka is the experience of a lifetime

An elephant never forgets,” was the warning from our driver Boni, as we watched it charge across a main road and upturn a tuk-tuk. His theory was that the driver, who was now beating a hasty barefoot retreat, had wronged this elephant in the past. My three sons were thrilled with the show until the elephant turned and headed our way.

“Don’t worry,” Boni assured us. “I’ve not upset him.”

I’d booked a minibus and driver to explore the interior of the island heading first to the Amaya Lake Resort, small eco-villas situated on the lake edge, where cormorants, storks and egrets share plentiful fish with fishermen who navigate the still waters in canoes. The nearest town is Dambulla, famous for its Royal Rock Temples dating from the 1st century BC. The five caves, built by King Valagamba, nestle beneath a huge rocky overhang some 150m up the rock face. Cave Two, The Temple of the Great King, is the most impressive with its rows of seated meditating Buddhas and curious constant drip of water from the temple ceiling, which never dries up and is used for sacred rituals.

Back at Amaya Lake we feasted on a curry buffet served under the stars and my sons fed crumbs of naan bread to the resident chipmunks. Sri Lanka is famous for its fiery cuisine and I’d been told that, as a rule of thumb, the lighter the colour of the curry sauce the milder the flavour, but soon found that not to be the case. I felt like I’d had collagen injected into my lips when they swelled to a trout pout after eating a seemingly harmless pale-yellow sweet potato curry.

We weren’t sure if we would make it to the top of Sirigaya Rock Fortress with six-year-old Freddie. And as we stood to take in the full dizzying view of this immense chunk of magma (once the plug of a volcano, long ago eroded) our doubts grew. We tagged on the tail of a stream of giggling local school girls, who were being led up a coil of metal steps by a saffron-robed monk to see ancient frescoes of bare-breasted lovelies that are painted half way up the rock surface. From here it’s a stroll along the Mirror Wall, a smooth wall with graffiti dating from over 1,000 years ago, to a massive stone lion’s paw, the most impressive remainder of King Kassapa’s palace built here in AD477.

The last part of the climb is up steps bolted to the rock. Nimble-footed servants carried King Kassapa up and down the rock but Freddie wasn’t so feeble and made it to the top with a rather faint, breathless, cheer from us all.

En route back down we paused at Cobra cave, where the rock curves into the shape of the cobra’s open hood.

We did a quick stop at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka’s most important commercial and religious centre 800 years ago. There’s a lot to take in but with three rapidly wilting boys we paused only to see Gal Vihara, four images of Buddha carved in to a single slab of rippling granite, the highlights of the Royal Palace. My sons, however, were more interested in the purple-faced monkeys and the monitor lizards, which move with stealth through the mossy ruins.

Polonnaruwa Rest House was built in the 1950s for Queen Elizabeth’s state visit. I doubt it’s seen a lick of paint since but it has a fantastic view over Lake Topa Wewa and is a good lunch spot. And if you’re cheeky enough to ask (we were) they’ll let you bounce on the Queen’s bed.

Distances never look far on the map but driving on rural roads is slow going. I never tired of the view though from rice paddies with grazing buffalo to tiny roadside shops piled high with everything from coconuts to tuk-tuk spares.

Arriving in Kandy, at an elevation of 500m above sea level, was literally a breath of fresh air. The Amaya Hills Resort perches higher still in the cool breezy hills that surround the city and in the morning the clouds hung below us in the valley. Kandy’s biggest draw is its golden-roofed Temple of the Tooth, where Buddha’s tooth (Sri Lanka’s most venerated relic) is enshrined. Don’t get too excited though because you can’t actually see it, only its casket. “How do you know it’s in there?” asked ever-suspicious Ben.

The temple is a hub of activity though and with a stream of smiling devotees bringing flower offerings the air has a heady aroma of jasmine and frangipani.

There’s a colonial air to the city and we spotted Morris Minors (remnants of British rule) among the tuk-tuks. We strolled by the side of the lake before nipping in to the Queen’s Hotel, built in 1844, to enjoy a club sandwich and a ginger beer amidst whirring fans and faded grandeur. At the Botanical Gardens we marvelled at the Coco de Mer palms with their double coconuts, and Talipot palms some 80ft tall.

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is just an hour’s drive from Kandy, where more than 80 elephants, the largest captive herd in the world, are looked after. We paid extra to feed the youngest by bottle – an activity that takes about ten seconds – but is worth it all the same. The highlight, however, was seeing the herd trample eagerly down the hill to the river for bath time.

To see elephants in the wild we headed for Uda Walawe National Park for a two-day excursion with Mahoora Safaris. We swapped our minibus for a jeep and bumped our way to the tented camp, some 30-kilometres from the park entrance at a picturesque spot by the river. My sons were hugely impressed that our tent had a toilet and shower and proper beds. Spotting any wildlife was simply a bonus. Mahoora’s resident naturalist works in tandem with a government wildlife tracker, expert at spying even the smallest sign of animal or bird activity. We hardly needed him though as the place was buzzing with creatures, from pelicans perched on skeletal white trees; electric blue kingfishers diving for fish; painted storks wading in the shallows; buffalo slumped in the mud; crocodiles gliding with silent menace; and little green bee-eaters hovering near the huge bees nests that hang from the Satin trees. And of course the elephants: herds of up to 20 females and their young that flick up the red dust with their trunks and spend 18 hours a day eating the tall pohon grass. By night the camp glowed orange from flaming torches and a barbecue of coconut husks. The insects grew rowdy just as we grew sleepy and Freddie dropped off complaining about how noisy it was on safari.

We had earned a few lazy days at the beach at Kalutara and spent it languishing by the pool; feasting on hoppers, a bowl-shaped pancake made from rice flour and coconut; and beachcombing for moon nauticals, whelks, sea urchin and speckled cowry shells.

We ventured out just once to visit the turtle hatcheries at Kosgoda to see all five species of Sri Lanka’s endangered turtles, the hawksbill, green, leatherback, olive ridley and loggerhead, all of which at one-day-old sit snugly in the palm of your hand. We made a detour to see the fishermen of Weligama, who perch on stilts 50m out at sea, as they have for generations. It was another captivating sight in a country that had provided us with a kaleidoscope of experiences. It’s two years since the civil war ended in Sri Lanka and all is idyllically quiet and the perfect time to explore (just don’t upset an elephant).

THE FACTS

Sri Lankan Airlines flies direct to Colombo from London Heathrow from £525 return including taxes, www.mysrilankan.co.uk/

A car and driver for seven days costs £567, www.trailfinders.com

Double rooms inclusive of breakfast start from £95 per night at The Amaya Lake Resort and The Amaya Hills, www.amayaresorts.com/

For more on safaris in Sri Lanka’s National Parks, visit www.mahoora.lk/ Prices vary greatly according to season and standard of camping.

Riviera Travel offer 11-day escorted tours to Sri Lanka from £1,499pp, www.ednriviera.co.uk

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