LET'S GO AMIGA: 7 Days In Sri Lanka

Our road trip in Sri Lanka was nothing short of picturesque 'All-In-One' - We got the seas, the mountains, and the historical ruins in just a week

The Sri Lanka trip was unplanned like most of my other trips. The impromptu decision was taken over a cup of coffee at Vellore during a visit to a Doctor friend at CMC, Vellore. The next day we took a cab from Vellore to Bangalore airport. Our flight was in the late evening, so we took an easy 5-hour journey with long breaks. When we visited, Indian passport holders could get an on-arrival visa, hence visa wasn't an issue. We converted some cash at the Airport in Colombo though we made most of our payments through cards. Currently, Indian passport holders need a visa to enter Sri Lanka and this can be easily processed online and tourists can get up to 30 days of stay permit.

We booked our hotels on the way to the Bangalore airport. We didn't have much time to research so just went with the top suggestions online which turned out pretty good. Our plan was to stay a day at least in one of the beach towns and then cover the Cultural Triangle or the Golden Triangle since we had only a week. The Cultural Triangle is a UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses the three ancient cities of Sri Lanka, Kandy, Polonnaruwa, and Anuradhapura which formed the seat of powerful Sri Lankan Kingdoms that laid the foundation of modern-day Sri Lanka.

Our trip destinations

The Cultural / Golden Triangle

Day 1

Our first stop from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka was Bentota. A small beach town that has some of the clean pristine beaches of this beautiful island country. We booked our stay at the Taj Bentota, the perfect beachfront resort. Absolutely loved the hospitality, food, and the location of the resorts. Bentota is close to some of the other popular beaches and close to the UNESCO site of Galle Fort which is about an hour's drive away.

Taj Bentota

A room with a view

Day 2

The Taj Bentota concierge helped us get a car with a driver to take us on a tour of the Cultural Triangle. Our initial plan was to island hop on the second day but instead, we decided to head for Kandy, our first Cultural Triangle destination via Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an Elephant conservation institute that not only rescues elephants but also helps in breeding and giving them a home. There is a small petting zoo as well.

We booked our stay at Chaya Citadel in Kandy, now Cinnamon Citadel. Again, a lovely resort by the Mahaweli Ganga River. There is a small stretch of forest area around and we could see herds of elephants from our room.

A room with a view

The beautiful Mahaweli Ganga River and the forest surrounding it from our room.

Kandy is the Sacred Hill Capital of Sri Lanka and rightly so.

Places of interest in Kandy and close to Kandy. Kandy is a UNESCO Heritage site because of many historic monuments and relics which are culturally significant to the heritage of Sri Lanka

Kandy Lake as seen from the Old Royal Palace

Sri Dalada Maligawa (meaning Temple of the Tooth), The Temple of the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic (The left canine tooth of Buddha). It is a local belief that whoever gets the relic will have the reigns of the country. The Sinhalese Kings held it for the longest time.

The story goes, that the tooth relic was originally in possession of the King of Kalinga (present-day location in Orissa, India). The tooth moved a few cities with the change of kings and their capitals. Tooth relic temples were built very close to the Royal Palaces to give them the highest level of security and protection. The cities include Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Dambadeniya among many others.

The Sacred Tooth was smuggled from the Indian Kingdom of Kalinga via the sea route from Tamralipta / Tamralipti (present-day Tamluk - a river port on the Ganges River) to the seaport of Lankapattana (Current day Ilanketurei, Trincomalee)

Legend of the Sacred Tooth Relic

It is said that Lord Gautam Buddha, at one point, felt that Buddhism may not survive in India and he declared Sri Lanka as the seat for this religion and it indeed was for the last 2500 years. In order to shift the base of the Buddhist relics, the tooth was smuggled into the Kingdom of Kalinga by Prince Dantha and his wife Hemamali. They disguised themselves as Brahmins and escaped India through the Ganges port of Tamralipta. The relic was cleverly hidden in Hemamali's hair ornament.

In Sri Lanka, they landed at the seaport of Lankapattana and were received by the Sirimeghavanna / Kirti Sri Meghavarna / Kithsirimevan. He became the first custodian of the Relic and built the first Tooth Temple in Anuradhapuram. After his reign, the tooth moved to many other capitals, finally to rest in Kandy, its current abode.

Day 3

On the third day, we explored Kandy and visited the Royal Palace, the Royal Botanical Garden, The Kandy Lake, and The Tooth Temple among many other places. In the evening we also saw a cultural show.

Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya

Bahirawakanda Vihara with a large Buddha statue in the 'Dhyana Mudra' or the meditation posture built in the 1970s is one of the newer attractions close to the Tooth Temple

We watched a cultural show in the evening of the third day which included many traditional Sr Lankan dance forms including the fire dance

Day 4

On the fourth day, we headed to Chaya Habarana Village, now Habrana Village by Cinnamon. This resort, built next to Habarana Lake with beautiful cottages has an eco-village ambiance. On the way to the resort, we stopped at the Hindu temple Sri Muthumariamman Temple. The rest of the day was spent by the lake in the resort.

The private lake shore of Habarana Lake at the Habarana Village

Sri Muthumariamman Temple is dedicated to the Goddess of rain and fertility Mariamman. The temple was built by salt traders, Nattukotai Chettiar of Chettinad (located in Tamil Nadu, India)

The Golden Buddha at the Aluvihare Serugala Rock Cave Temples. It's pretty close to the Mariamman temple. The uniqueness of this statue is its hand posture. It is in the double 'Abhaya Mudra' posture which is the only one of its kind that I have seen of Buddha statues. Abhaya Mudra indicates reassurance or protection.

Day 5

On the fifth day, we visited Dambulla and Sigiriya which are significant sites of interest in the cultural triangle.

Places of interest in Dambulla and near Dambulla

Dambulla Buddhist Cave Temple. This group of five caves dates back to prehistoric times. A burial site very close by at Ibbankatuwa was discovered with skeletons dating as far as 2700 years. The caves were later used by Buddhist monks. King Valagamba took refuge in these caves when his throne was usurped by the King's army general Kammaharattaka. Later he successfully retrieved his back and converted the caves into a temple as a token of his gratefulness. This cave temple complex is the second largest in South Asia after the Ajanta caves complex in India

The cave temple facade

The Golden Buddha Statue in the 'Dharma Chakra Mudra' or Wheel of Law posture at the base of the cave temples is a more recent addition. The construction started in 1998 and completed in 2001.

Sigiriya Fort was built such that it was not easy to break in. With two layers of strong ramparts, a deep moat, several secret passages, and caves, it was perhaps not an easy task to reach the royal palace built on a high summit. It is said, that after King Kashyapa murdered his father and usurped his throne, he moved his capital to Sigiriya to build a strong fort in fear that his half-brother Moggallana, the rightful heir of the throne, would return to seize his throne!

Lions Paw in Sigiriya, also known as Sinhagiri which means the Lion Rock. The history of Sigiriya has many different versions. Some historians believe Sigriya was the fortified capital of King Kashyapa 1 while others believe it was built by King Dhatusena, father of Kashyapa, and was used by Kashyapa as a pleasure palace. Legends say, Sigiriya was King Ravana's palace built of gold and designed by the god of wealth Kuber.

Sigiriya cave frescoes

Base of the Cobra Hood Cave - Parumaka Naguliyana Lena. The cave had frescoes at one time

The mirror wall which used to have polished plaster with a mirror-like finish

Day 6

On the fifth day, we went to Polonnaruwa early in the morning. It took us half a day to explore the old ruins. After sightseeing Polonnaruwa, we returned to the resort, picked up our luggage, and headed for Anuradhapura. By evening we were back in Bentota. While we managed to cover most of our planned itinerary, the travel on the last day turned out very hectic. Ideally, two days would have worked best. My Polonnaruwa photos were ruined due to a mishap which damaged my camera:(((