Rooh Trails: An Enchanting Trip to South Sri Lanka

After listening to numerous testimonies and watching images of beautiful landscapes since childhood, my husband and I planned a short visit to the country known for its rich history, treasure trove of natural beauty and vibrant culture, Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a tropical paradise, with numerous beaches, and mangrove forests situated 100 miles north of the equator, nestled in the Indian Ocean. If you are someone who loves a peaceful holiday with your favourite book and a spectacular view of a beach and forest, then Sri Lanka is the place for you.

This is certainly not a place to limit your stay to 3- 4 days, as there is a lot to explore, however if you are planning a quick get-away from your routine, then you can look at a few spots in Sri Lanka that you may not want to miss. This blog will help you choose the best spots for a 3-day leisure trip, focusing on exploring the southern terrain of Sri Lanka. This plan will suit people who have a love for art, and monuments, love beaches, and want to enjoy a peaceful panoramic view of tropical landscape.

Day 1:

My husband and I began our trip as soon as we touched down at the small yet organized Colombo airport. We took less than half an hour to wrap up our immigration and stepped out to find many cabs and Tuk Tuks lined up to take us to our first stop, Bentota. The biggest benefit of short trips is carrying small hand luggage; so, we skipped our long wait at the luggage conveyer belt and straightway headed to our tour guide holding a placard with our names on it.

After a few minutes of greetings and photo clicks, we headed to a long ride from Colombo airport to Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort situated at Bentota which is close to 2-hour drive. Our first half of the drive to the resort gave us a glimpse of a few tourist spots, Lotus Tower, Victoria Building (Earlier an Eye and Ear hospital) and Town Hall of Colombo.

Travellers who love history and want to explore and spend time at these spots can get a ride on buses and autos, also called Tuk Tuk in Sri Lanka.

The most beautiful view was of Cinnamon Garden, located 3 kilometers south-east from Colombo's centre. The name is derived from the former cinnamon plantation, which was spread across 289 acres of land in the year 1789. However, currently, the wide estate consists of PMO office, National museums, foreign embassies, and many more attractions in the midst of mansions and fine trees.

Coming back to our trip, we stopped at a restaurant called Sasaa to have our breakfast and continued our ride to Bentota. Although the ride was long, I could not stop admiring the lush green trees kept untouched on both sides, for the animals and their ecosystem to flourish. On our way riding on the NH road, we saw a huge monitor lizard crossing by the road, which increased the excitement level a notch higher.

When we reached Bentota, we saw numerous beautiful resorts constructed respecting the ecosystem and facing an exceptional beach view. One resort, which I could not help but notice was its beautiful architecture, led to a minor deviation from our trip. We halted for a few minutes at Thaala Resort and requested the front desk team to permit us a few clicks of the property. The beautiful construction was done by none other than Geoffrey Bawa, the most influential Asian architect of his generation.

For a brief moment, I felt we were cheating on our resort that we booked for our stay, hence we left soon after capturing a few mesmerizing views of the Thaala resort.

As we approached closer to our resort, we stopped for 20 minutes at a turtle hatchery to learn about the various turtle species and the efforts they put to protect endangered ones. A mile from there, we reached our destination at the Sheraton resort. Our one-night stay at the resort was refreshing and helped us revive quick after a long hot bath, a walk at the beach, and a candlelight dinner serving authentic Sri Lankan food with a light acoustic music played in the background.

Day 2:

The second day began with a beautiful view of the early morning twilight sky with a refreshing breeze and a hot cup of tea and a coffee. Soon after our breakfast, we checked out of the resort and head towards Yala National Park Safari for a 3-hour long wildlife sanctuary tour. I would recommend preparing well for a long drive without many refreshments stops, hence one must pack accordingly. While driving, you will be able to see paddy fields to lush green forests with tall trees. There are a few villagers staying closer to the roads with electric fences to protect themselves from elephants attacking their houses at night. Many have located elephant herds crossing the area looking for food, hence avoid night rides.

After a 3-hour ride from the resort to Yala, we had a brief stop at an exotic restaurant serving sea food. Soon after our lunch , we hopped on to our open safari jeep which was waiting for us outside the restaurant.

Although I was aware of what I signed up for, I was terrified to hop into an open jeep to see wild animals like elephants, leopards and crocodiles with no side covers. Our ride began at 2 PM, where for the first hour we saw crocodiles, grey langur, monitor lizards, peacocks, giant mongoose, wild buffaloes, bores and different species of birds. The second hour of the tour we entered a denser region, where our tour guide asked us to keep an eye on deer/stag herds as that indicates the presence of leopards for a kill. While we were scanning the vicinity for leopards, we saw a herd of wild elephants with 2 calves eating leaves and small branches of the trees. A group of jeeps were far behind our tour jeep when unexpectedly, the elephant herd changed their course towards our jeep to cross the road.

I can image how my husband might have felt who is a hard core elephantophile and could not stop clicking pictures of them passing by our jeep. However, I must say a close encounter of wild elephant herd made me feel as if I have conquered a war of fears. As I was still recovering from the bone chilling experience, we had another encountered of a strong well-built leopard resting near a tree, little rattled by 5 jeeps full of people clicking pictures. Honestly, at that moment I was more concerned about irritating the cat who would shoo us with a roar or an attack, however my guide assured me, no such incidents had occurred in the past.

After 3 hours of long, scary yet exciting moments, by the end of the tour when I expressed my fear to my husband, he burst into laughter and admitted this tour to be the best in his life.

Elephant and leopard close encounter at Yala National Park

We concluded our adventurous trip and headed to our last stop for the day, to the Radisson Blu resort, where we checked in for 2 nights. We got an upgrade to the junior suite, which was astonishing. We strolled through the resort to have a few drinks and dinner where they served a feast for the senses, featuring bold flavors and vibrant colors. They had rice and curry as a staple dish, often served with a variety of vegetable curries, lentils, and meat options, along with a wide spread of sea food. The exotic food was perfectly paired up with live old soft music played by a young singer.

Day 3:

After 2 successful days full of excitement and adventure ,I was waiting to stroll on the Galle roads and try street food, which included kottu roti, a stir-fried dish made with chopped roti, vegetables, and meat or eggs, usually served from lively street stalls.

Other than a perfect flavoured dishes, Galle is also famous for its Portuguese style hotels, restaurants and churches. However, before heading to the most renowned Galle Dutch Fort, we watched test cricket between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Galle cricket stadium. The experience was new and thrilling watching the match live.

However, I would recommend packing an umbrella, a few snacks and a water bottle, especially during October month, as the weather can be a bit unpredictable.

After watching the game for 2-hours, we straightaway walked through the famous Galle Fort built by Portuguese and extensively fortified by the Dutch in the seventeenth century. Later after the independence, a lot of the architectural remains of the monuments were reconstructed by the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka, which turned into a highly endorsed tourist spot in this region.

Although the fort was built by Portuguese in the year 1588, it was later around 1796 when the British took over the Fort owned it till 1948, when the island became Independent.

You will find many restaurants, Portuguese style churches, libraries, and hotels that you can’t avoid visiting. My husband and I had our lunch at a beautifully constructed hotel restaurant at Galle Fort and got convinced to stay at the same hotel for our next visit as the view was commendable.

After finishing our lunch, we did a few street shopping where you can buy authentic kitchen utensils made from tree woods, sculptures of gods, elephants, and lions and a few paintings capturing the beauty of Sri Lanka. There were many tourists who were buying clothes, kitchen utensils, and junk jewellery made purely out of mahogany wood.

Towards the end of our tour, we decided to meet an aged Sri Lankan lady who has always made my husband’s visit to Sri Lanka special. We decided to pay a surprise visit to her house, and she welcomed us with open arms. After spending some time with them, the kind lady took us to a Buddhist shrine and prayed for our happiness. The next morning, we flew out from Sri Lanka.