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Colombo Hotels: 437 Reviews - 590 Photos
Kandy Hotels: 328 Reviews - 672 Photos
Negombo Hotels: 85 Reviews - 173 Photos
Nuwara Eliya Hotels: 108 Reviews - 203 Photos
Bentota Hotels: 56 Reviews - 132 Photos
Hikkaduwa Hotels: 47 Reviews - 86 Photos
Galle Hotels: 85 Reviews - 191 Photos
Trincomalee Hotels: 21 Reviews - 47 Photos
Anuradhapura Hotels: 106 Reviews - 269 Photos
Wadduwa Hotels: 15 Reviews - 22 Photos
Kalutara Hotels: 7 Reviews - 17 Photos
Sri Lanka Hotels: 38 Reviews - 78 Photos
Peradeniya Hotels: 1 Review - 11 Photos
Dambulla Hotels: 70 Reviews - 153 Photos
Bandarawela Hotels: 14 Reviews - 30 Photos

Sri Lanka Off The Beaten Path

The road north

by Maxus

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The road north
by Maxus
idyllic beach in Tangalla
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the man and the sea
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idyllic beach in Tangalla
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idyllic beach in Tangalla
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Little Adam's Peak

by jungles

This gentle climb in beautiful hill country is much easier than climbing the steps up to the real Adam's Peak and makes a very pleasant short hike from Ella (about one hour each way). The track passes through the Newburg tea plantation where you can see Tamil women adeptly picking the leaves (they will gladly pose for a photo in exchange for a few rupees). From the top of the peak where the white flag waves you'll have a nice view of Ella Rock, Ella Gap, and back towards Ella and the hills beyond. Early morning is a good time for this walk, though there is a very attractive hill covered in terraced rice fields for which afternoon light is needed for photography.Directions:Take the Passara Road from Main Street in Ella for one kilometre. After you see the 1 km marker on the right side of the road, keep walking until the road bends left and take the dirt path that continues straight. After...

Dowa Rock Temple

by jungles

The main attraction at this temple, about halfway between Ella and Bandarawela, is the incomplete carving of a standing Buddha on the rock face outside the temple. While the body is unfinished and is now covered in moss, the face is exquisitely carved. The temple inside the cave contains murals and 1st century BC inscriptions, along with a 'House of the Cobra' said to be inhabited by snakes.Directions:Six kilometres from either Ella or Bandarawela along the main road, easily accessible on foot or by bus.

Bogoda Bridge

by jungles

This attractive wooden bridge was built in the 16th century and is said to be the oldest wooden bridge in the world. Covered with a tiled roof in the Kandyan style, it is in a lovely, peaceful setting, spanning the shallow Gallanda Oya river, with a rock temple next to it which dates from the 1st century BC. Bogoda was on an ancient route connecting Badulla with Kandy, and travellers used to stop here to worship at the temple. Watch out for snakes; I had a very close encounter with one on the steps leading down to the bridge (It was our second snake sighting that day; the first was at Dunhinda Falls). Directions:Thirteen kilometres south of Badulla, up a small road that branches off from the Hali Ela junction for 11km. It's best to come with your own transport, or you could probably hire a tuk-tuk from Hali Ela.

Aukana Buddha

by jungles

This 12 metre-high sculpture of the standing Buddha was carved in the 5th century but looks like it could have been finished just yesterday. Its preservation is all the more amazing because there is no protective canopy shielding it from the weather. Looking up at this huge Buddha from the ground below is truly awe-inspiring. Entrance is Rs 250, not included in Cultural Triangle TicketDirections:From Dambulla take a bus to Kekirawa (1 hour), then change to an Aukana bus (another hour). The Buddha is 500m down a side road; there are no signs but locals are happy to point out the way.

Jeep safari in Hurulu Eco Park

by jungles

We went to Habarana with the intention of hiring a jeep to take us to Kaudulla National Park to see wild elephants. However, the people at the Mid-town Guesthouse with whom we negotiated tried to encourage us to go to the new Hurulu park instead, saying that Kaudulla was much more expensive and there weren't many elephants there at this time of year anyway. We were a bit suspicious of their motives as we had never heard of Hurulu, but we decided to go with them anyway. I'm still not sure what their motives were, but in any case their recommendation was a good one as we saw about sixty elephants in total during our two-and-a-half-hour safari, some of them very close-up. Hurulu is not a National Park; it is referred to as an eco-park and I assume the land is privately owned. The landscape was still beautiful and untouched, and we only saw two other jeeps while we were there, so it didn't...

Yapahuwa

by jungles

Yapahuwa is a rock fortress, similar to Sigiriya, which housed the tooth relic of the Buddha for eleven years. The architectural highlight of the site is the ornamental stairway with carvings of musicians and dancers and two guarding lions, one of which is featured on the 10-rupee note. From the top of the stairway there is a path to the left which leads up the rocky outcrop. There's not much on top except a small brick dagoba, but the climb is worth it for the amazing view of the rice paddies down below, and there is plenty of wildlife to see along the way (monkeys, lizards, large butterflies, and some unusual insects). Two monks live near the entrance down below, one Sri Lankan and the other Korean. Ask them to let you see the Cave Temple near the entrance, and they will bring out a huge golden key to unlock it. The outer building is only about twenty years old, but the inner temple...

Tamil Areas and mines

by Whoopi

As all of us travelling together volunteer in NPA (Norwegian People's Aid) we went to visit their projects in the north of Sri Lanka, also the area controlled by the guerilla group called the Tamil Tigers. NPA is one of only five organisations who worked there (compared to 1500 in the south after the tsunami). NPA is also one of the largest mine clearing organisations in the world so we got to learn how to operate a flail and also see the building of the transit camps for the families that were hit by the wave.. Since Norway has acted as a mediator between the Tamil Tigers and the Singhalese government, it gives NPA credability in the north areas as they trust Norway and allow them to give aid to those who need it.To visit NPA in the north must be cleared with their office in Colombo first, and usually they don't allow anyone to come. If you do travel to the north, make sure you NEVER...

Tsunami

by Whoopi

The situation was a bit special when I was in Sri Lanka because they were still trying to recover from when the tsunami struck... Huge areas in the south and east coast were cleaned out, areas which used to be neighbourhood were compleately empty.. The wave cleaned out people and buildings - the only thing left were the palmtrees...We also visited a local group who usually plants rainforest, but since the wave they spent their time cleaning out wells and made sure the subsoil water that refilled the wells had minimal percentage of salt in it so it would be drinkable..

Washing Elephants...

by BluBluBlu

The Hotel I was staying in overbooked...and asked if I would let them have my room for 2 days...as a swop I had the use of a driver, and accomodation in Kandy for two days...at no cost! We headed off from Colombo...and this photo is of a local river he knew where elephants used for forestry are washed and looked after.

See the cobras

by trisanna

At most tourist sites, next to the touts, there will be a guy asking you if you want to see the cobras. I am sure this is ecologically irresponsible, since i doubt they are pets. But anyway, it's very interesting. A man will play a flute like thing, while the snakes stare at him and hiss. Not sure what the music does since they are deaf-i guess they respond to the vibrations. The snakes hiss quite loudly and try to bite their handler.

Top 3 Hotels in Sri Lanka

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Questions and Answers

Q: Thinking of traveling to Sri Lanka in the end of March for 3 weeks. I will go with my 6 yr old. Will take Medical precoushns bu...

A: Any special reasons why you want to stay in Colombo for 3 days. Everywhere in Sri Lanka is child friendly, but as you want to end up in Trinco (and spend part of your...

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