Date of Travel: Feb 4 2004 - Feb 6 2004
Travelers: Shwetha Shrivatsa and Rati Ranga

The beautiful sights of Sri Lanka is something not too easy to experience anymore. This is from a visit in July 2004, when it was still relatively easy to visit Sri Lanka. Now it might not be that simple despite the great effort of the Sri Lankan government to portray their country as safe for tourists. The first of the three great days started with the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean in Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna beaches along the south coast of Colombo followed by a visit to the mask museum and a turtle farm. Hikkaduwa is the first area to be developed for tourism, and is one of the most popular of our beach resorts. Hikkaduwa is famous for its coral and sub tropical fish. The reef, which runs parallel to the shore and is only a few meters below the water, can be investigated with snorkel and flippers, or in a glass-bottomed boat. There are several wrecks in the area which offer interesting dives. Hikkaduwa is about 110km from Colombo.

Unawatuna traces its roots to the epic Ramayana. In the epic, the monkey-warrior Hanuman was sent back to India to fetch the four medicinal herbs, namely, mritasanjeevani, vishalyakarani, suvarnakarani, and sandhani from the Himalayas in order to heal Lakshman who was wounded trying to save the abducted princess Sita from the demon king Ravana. Hanuman failed to identify these herbs, so he lifted the entire mountain and carried it to the battlefield to try to save Lakshman, but in the process, a chunk of it "fell-down" in the location of the present day Unawatuna, the name of the village meaning "fell down".

Day 2 was spent concentrating on the sights of sounds of Colombo. It is a lovely mix of the quaint Raj reminiscence and a westernised city. It's a shoppers paradise and the must see visit places are Odel, Arena, Cotton Collection and House of Fashions. The restaurants that are worth visiting are the Gallery Cafe, Barefoot, The cricket club, Delihouse and Gall Face hotel. Due to its large natural harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. However it was only made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815 and its status as capital was retained when the nation received independence in 1948. In 1978, when administrative functions were moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka and has over 600000 people.

Day 3 was a fun day spent in the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, established in 1975, commenced with seven orphans. Today some of these orphans enjoy the fortune of seeing their grandchildren born in the same location. The original objective of establishing the orphanage inclined more towards tourism, but is soon became a conservation and educational centre. With the help of local and foreign elephant experts, Pinnawela started a scientific captive-breeding programme for elephants. The free movement of the herd enhanced the chances for respective individuals of both sexes to get together and mate. The nearby river played a dominant role in this regard, and in 1984, the first baby elephant of Pinnawela was born. The message of conservation from Pinnawela has been passed on to thousands, if not millions of people, after their visit to the orphanage.

The next stop was the Buddist temple of Tooth at Kandy. Sri Lanka's hill capital is, perhaps, its most beautiful town. It is 488 metres above sea level, and next to Colombo, Kandy is Sri Lanka's most visited place. The focal point of the town is the golden-roofed Dalada Maligawa, where the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha is enshrined. The highlight of the year is the Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is taken in procession, accompanied by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and some 100 elephants, on ten glittering nights in July/August. There are numerous shrines and temples in and around Kandy, where you will see rare paintings, frescoes, and stone carvings.

It was a short trip but an interesting one. In the movies you will see the terrorism and conflicts that rage in the country but one visit is enough to know that nature's beauty always overcomes man's destructive nature.