4 days in Sri Lanka: Sigiriya, Dambulla and Elephants

April 5, 2023

Being born and raised in Kerala-India, I have always seen Sri Lanka as an extension of my homeland – a next-door neighbor who we smile at every day but never visit.

Referred as the ‘The Tear Drop Island’, ‘Pearl of Indian Ocean’, ‘Granary of the East’ etc., and history of India and Sri Lanka are entwined from pre-historic times. This island nation was connected by a land bridge to India until a few hundred years back which also means the food, language, and culture of Sri Lanka are so much in -tune with South India. With a rich history, diverse culture, stunning natural landscapes, and warm hospitality of its people, this tropical island has become an increasingly popular travel destination.

Sri Lanka is currently facing an economic crisis driven by its large debt burden. Tourism is one of the primary source of foreign exchange for the country and this was hit hard during the covid pandemic. The decline in tourism has had a ripple effect on other sectors of the economy, including hotels, restaurants, and transport. This has led to a rise in unemployment and a decline in consumer spending. All these issues combined has had a spiraling effect to the state of affairs of this beautiful country and now they are facing a dire future.

The idea of visiting Sri Lanka during this time was not really in my plans. A work opportunity in Colombo along with a need to visit family in India got us thinking about taking a break there and making this a mini family vacation in July, 2022. Although we landed only a few weeks before the economy collapsed, we were able to cover quite a lot in those 4 days.

With the news of economic crisis, fuel shortages and the post covid struggles, we were worried about our travel plans, but to our surprise this turned out to be a country full of extremely nice and decent human beings. Every person we met welcomed us and made us feel at home. There are way too many beautiful, unique places in the country and our 4 days was not enough. We covered only a portion of the country but plan to return and see the rest soon.

Few Things to Remember

  • Culture:
    • Be conscious of the fuel shortage and economic crisis
      • People are struggling and unsure of their future but will go above and beyond to make you feel safe. Be kind, tip more wherever possible and be accommodating of any delays and difficulty
      • Read the latest news and stay UpToDate before planning your trip
      • Everyone we met were very engaging and enthusiastic to discuss culture, politics and history
  • Religion: Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country but also have a good number of Christians, Muslims and Hindus. Make sure to read the etiquettes of religious places before visiting. I visited a few Buddhist temples, and the ambience was both calming and peaceful. People wear white cloths in the temples and cover the shoulders. Try to follow norms and respect the culture.
  • Visa: US citizens require visa to enter the country. Apply Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) online before your trip or obtain a visa on arrival at the airport. You can also use all standard credit cards.
  • Currency: The currency used in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR). You can exchange your currency in the Airport
  • Language: Official languages are Sinhala and Tamil. Most people speak English and it is easy to travel there without knowing the official languages or using a translator. Since I am from South India, I can understand Tamil well but I found the Sri Lankan Tamil harder to follow.
  • Travel: We got a car and a driver who speaks English from the airport and used his great service throughout our trip. You can also travel by trains, busses or rent tuk-tuks. With the fuel shortage at that time our cab driver went above and beyond to get fuel for our trips. The country is huge and all the tourist places are spread wide, it is better to stay in different places and go around the island than come back to hotel and start again.
  • Climate and Cloths: Tropical island weather. To my surprise, Unlike India, I saw many women wear short and midi dresses. Dress to your comfort but if you are visiting any religious places remember to follow norms
  • Tourism: The entry fee for locals and tourists is different in most places. For guide, try to hire the official guides to help you.
  • Food: Very similar to South Indian cuisine. Seafood is delicious. Must try is the mud crab and hoppers. Try to drink only bottled water and eat from good reputable restaurants. We got stomach bug and lost almost a day. I am indebted to the kindness of locals (Especially our driver Jagat) who helped my kids and got meds and fluids to overcome all the troubles.
  • Stay: Just like any other capital city, Colombo is riddled with big name hotels and resorts. We stayed in Galle Face Hotel (More about it below)

Highlights of the trip

Here are some of the best experiences we had in Sri Lanka. All the tourist destinations are really wide spread, when we made our plans we decided to come back to our hotel in Colombo and start fresh every day. The main reason was to stay close to the airport in Colombo, to make sure we would not get stranded in case of some severe economic/political issue. Unlike our plan, instead of going back and forth, it is better to go around the country in a circle and stay overnight in a another city and travel back.

Sigiriya

Remember seeing a big huge rock in the middle of a flat forest as your windows screen saver ? Well that is Sigiriya. Sigiriya literally means the Lion Rock and it is one of the most popular tourist spots of Sri Lanka. This is also a UNESCO world heritage site, really unique, and breathtaking. If I pick just one place to visit in Sri Lanka, that would be Sigiriya.

The rock itself rises about 660 feet above the surrounding flat land with only one easy entry to the top. It was seen as a strategic defense location and King Kashyap built a fortress on top of it in 5th century. The palace and the surrounding areas are prime examples of excellent architecture during his era. The fortress went to ruins following his rein and was used by Buddhist monks for sometime and later got lost in time until it was discovered excavated during the colonial period.

The complex around the Sigiriya rock includes ruins of an extensive network of gardens, swimming pools, moats and reservoirs. There are places that still lies unexcavated. There is a series of stairs, surrounded by lions paws that will take you to the top, and once on top you can see the multi-room fortress, water reservoirs, pools etc. The view from up top is breathtaking. On your way up, you will also see rockface polished into mirrors, and the frescos of the famous “Sigiriya Damsels”. It helps, If you can get an English speaking guide to explain the history and point out the interesting spots. We also saw a few different species of monkeys with their babies jumping around the rock.

Personally, my fear of heights got me that day – climb up is still a blur and as my family reminds me, it was more of a crawl than a climb for me. It was a great achievement never the less and that trip was totally worth the pain.

  • Notes:
    • Get a guide to walk with you and explain the history and interesting spots
    • There is no water, bathrooms on top but the park is well maintained and you will find stores at the bottom
    • Taking pics are not allowed near the frescos
Dambulla Cave Temple

Also known as the golden temple of Dambulla, this is another UNESCO heritage site not to miss. This is very close to Sigiriya and you can cover both places in a single trip.

These temples were built by King Valagamba in the 1st century BC, as a refuge for Buddhist monks who were fleeing from foreign invaders. The temple complex has 5 cave temples built into a rock face. There are hundreds of ancient statues of Buddha and many frescos depicting the scenes from the life of Buddha. Statues of Buddha in different poses including standing, reclining, meditating and the mere fact that they survived all these years makes this place really unique

This is a function Buddhist temple and a revered place for both Hindus and Buddhists. Follow religious etiquettes like removing your shoes and dress modestly while there. Flash photography is not allowed inside the caves. You can get the assistance of a guide to take you around and explain the different artifacts there.

  • Notes
    • Dress and follow religious etiquettes
    • Watch out for unruly monkeys – do not feed them
    • No flash photography

Yala National Park

This is a wild life sanctuary in south east region of Sri Lanka. They have a great concentration of Elephants, Leopards, Crocodiles and quite a lot of birds. The park is usually closed during from Sept to October. This is a whole day trip.

It is a 4 hour ride from Colombo and it is best to rent a car. Many open jeep safaris are available, offered through the park and through private companies. Our safari was arranged by our cab driver and came with a very knowledgeable driver who explained the migration and habits of animals very well. Even though there are hundreds of elephants in the park, they are migratory animals and seeing them greatly depend on the weather and season.

We were lucky to see a lot of Elephants, a leopard, wild boars and a moose(Our guide called it moose, although it looked different from the one we see here in North America) which is rare considering the low number here. There are also water buffalos – interestingly our guide mentioned that they are pseudo wild since they escaped to the park from homes nearby. Once they enter the national park, owners are not allowed to capture them back and they become “wild”. You can also see crocodiles in almost all the ponds.

  • Notes
    • Before you start the trip check the site for any closures, changes etc., reserve your open jeep safari ride and admissions ahead of time. https://www.yalasrilanka.lk/
    • Best time to visit is from Feb – July
Colombo, Gangaramaya Temple, Galle Face

Reserve one day to explore the Colombo city and surroundings.

Galle Face is a public sea side park in the heart of Colombo. The open park is huge peppered with local food trucks and stalls. Since it is on the side of Indian Ocean, the park is great for breezy stroll. Since we went during the economic downturn, there were some protests going on here. We saw folks doing Yoga and kids flying kites and playing cricket here, its a beautiful buzzing landmark not to miss.

Gangaramaya temple is a famous Buddhist temple founded in the late 19th century. You can see a vast collection of artifacts and relics, including ancient manuscripts, statues, and paintings.in the museum next to the temple. This is a fully functioning temple, be respectful and courteous.

Colombo city and Galle face mall is worth exploring. Galle face mall provides a lot of shopping options.

Galle Face Hotel Being a capital city, there are quite a lot of well known resorts and hotels to chose from. But our pick was the Galle face hotel for no reason other than the stories that came with the stay. The hotel was built in 1864 and has been a landmark of Sri Lanka since the colonial era. The building, furniture, décor, paintings everything calls out to you with its antique charm. Every corridor here is decorated by pictures of celebrities who stayed here over the years- To name a few, Indira Gandhi, Nehru, Liz Tylor, Richard Nixon, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain , George Bernard Shaw, Sting and very recently Scarlett Johansson. They have a museum full of memories and keepsakes to ogle over. It felt like I was taken back in time to share stories with ghosts of men and women who crafted our world.

My best of the best was to have a tea in same checkered porch where the gentleman hunk Gregory Peck and beautiful Vivien Leigh sat. What can I say, had to watch all the favorites: ‘Gone with the wind’ , ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ – with a sigh and smile before we said our adieu to this place .

I highly recommend staying here for a very unique experience which you will not get anywhere else in the world.

What we missed
  • Ella, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Northern provinces: We covered only a small portion of Sri Lanka, hoping to return soon

Books, Media & More

Food & Wine

  • Coconut Vodka (5 star !)
  • Hoppers
  • Crab & Seafood- in any form
  • Tropical fruits – we shopped around and stopped at every place they sold fruits. You will see a lot of unique fruits and vegetable to try
  • Yogurt with treacle

Itinerary

Check out our 4 days tried and true travel itinerary

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