South to Kalutara – Sri Lanka
The stretch of coastline south from Colombo is the tourist epicenter of the island, with a strip of superb beaches equipped with a sprawl of resort hotels luxury villas and down-at-heel guest houses. Although not the best stretchers of beach front but the region grew in popularity due to the close proximity to Colombo. Today […]
The first site you’ll pass heading towards Dambulla at heart of the Cultural Triangle is the monastery of Aluvihara, occupying a number of caves in a picturesque valley about 8 km (5 miles) north of Matale. It was in these caves that the Buddhist doctrines were first committed to paper— or rather ola leaf — […]
SRI LANKA CULTURAL TRIANGLE
Referring to the area between the former capitals of Kandy, Anuradhapura, and Polonnaruwa, the Cultural Triangle contains some of the island’s, if not the world’s, finest ancient monuments The dry-zone north of Kandy holds the secrets to the story of ancient Sri Lankan civilization. These ruins, even seen today, are simply staggering. At Anuradhapura, the […]
SAMUEL BAKER IN NUWARA ELIYA, Sri Lanka
Nuwara Eliya owes much of its distinctly British flavor to the British explorer Samuel Baker, famous for discovering the source of the Nile. Baker spent some time here in the 1840s and was determined “to make it a regular settlement … a little English village around my residence”. Without further ado, he imported Hereford cows […]
KANDY
Despite now being the island’s second-largest city, Kandy retains a surprisingly small-town experience, its modest grid of low-rise streets are lined with characteristic colonial-era buildings and preserve a certain old-fashioned, countrified charm which even the often dense throngs of traffic and pedestrians can’t entirely obscure. At the west end of the centre Kandy Lake provides […]
KANDY CITY, SRI LANKA
The historic bastion of the island’s Sinhalese culture, the city of Kandy remains Sri Lanka’s most vibrant centre of traditional arts, crafts and religious pageantry Kandy Perahare Recounting back the steep history of Sri Lanka, the Kingdom of Kandy retains an almost legendary air. Established deep in the impenetrable hills at the heart of the […]
Colombo Old Fort, new district – Sri Lanka
At the center of colonial Colombo is Fort district (not the Fort – there are no actual fortifications left, so the definite article has been dropped). The original fort was built by the Portuguese in 1517, and later expanded by the Dutch to protect their valuable trade in sapphires, elephants, cinnamon and ivory. As Colombo expanded during […]
Colombo, Sri Lanka – Exploring Colombo City
Colombo’s crowded and chaotic surface hides a rewarding city whose contrasting mix of cultures and sights show the country at its most diverse and progressive. The city of Colombo is a relative newcomer by Sri Lankan standards – indeed many of the more staid inhabitants of longer established towns elsewhere in the island regard their […]
The Sri Lanka Airforce Museum at Ratmalana Air Force base is a mere 30 minute (or 45 minutes during traffic time) drive from Colombo. It is the only museum dedicated to the history and might of aviation of the Sri Lanka and and was initial established in 1993 but later revamped to its current grandeur […]
The Sri Lanka National Zoo, or better known as the Dehiwala Zoo is an excellent place to take the kids in Colombo. The zoo has been in existence since the turn of the century and official taken over by the government in 1936 and has been home to many exotic animals from around the world […]
