Sri Lanka – a land that grips the heart of its foster explorer-children and refuses to let go. Similar to an indignant mothers’ reaction when one tries to flee the coop the very first time… and her second, stronger reaction when you explain you’ll be leaving the country to go explore the world and won’t be back in time for dinner.
But mum needn’t worry – not when you’ll be discovering lands’ like Sri Lanka; bathed in hundreds of swaths of various greens, bedecked in endless supplies of coconuts and memories waiting to be cracked open and drank to satiation.
But what if we only have a very short time to explore the wonders of this island sanctuary?
Here’s a list of what you can get up to in a measly 24 hours that will leave your heart and soul satiated with a love for the noble wildlife, the regaling beach forest terrain, and coconut milk.
I swear they are b-a-n-a-n-a-s for coconut.
Pinnawala Elephant Sanctuary
Who doesn’t love spending an evening with our wiser behemothian brethren? Twisted Psychopaths, that’s who.
But if you aren’t a twisted psychopath born without the ability to love, then you’ll love the Pinnawala Sanctuary for orphaned elephants.
If you are a twisted Psychopath, then there’s plenty of Tuk-tuk drivers on the roads for you to acquaint yourself as the rest of us spend our time melting into the larger-than-life eyes of our Pachyderm pals.
Location: B199, Rambukkana 71100, Sri Lanka
Opening times: 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM every day
Cost: 2500LKR (Approx. 14 USD) per adult,
3 to 12 years old is 1250LKR (7 USD)
Under 3 is free
Important to note: There are a number of elephant establishments around Sri Lanka. Make sure you are very adamant and clear that you want to visit the Pinnawala Sanctuary, or you might find yourself battling an entirely different ordeal altogether.
Herb Gardens
Now I am a complete novice when it comes to all things green (which is great since I’m visiting a land that is 97% that colour) but after one visit to one of Sri Lanka’s esteemed herb gardens I felt like I would finally be able to best even my own grandmother in a battle of wits in regards to herbs and foliage in the gardens… as long as the garden is in Sri Lanka.
I specifically visited the Susantha Spice and Herbal Garden, so for assured quality and experience, I recommend that location over the myriad of other unknown repositories of florae knowledge in Sri Lanka.
The tour guide gives an in-depth and engaging walk-through on the various plant life grown in Sri Lanka, along with their individual history and medicinal properties. It’s a delight for all the senses as visitors are allowed and encouraged to touch, crush and inhale all manner of herbs and flowers.
Afterwards, we were treated to a free ten-minute massage of the face, neck and hands by novice acolytes (who are training to become master herbalists such as the tour guide one-day) by using oils and creams made from the plants we were just learning about.
You can tip them however much you want or none at all, but the fellow I had was so good at the job I gladly gave him a tip of 1000LKR along with my phone number and grandmothers wedding ring.
The tour ends inside the warm wooden walls of the curio shop/ hearth, filled with numerous ointments, medicines and salves available for purchase at reasonable prices.
Watch out though! I did not consider the quantity of I was buying and left with quite a few heavy bags and a much lighter wallet because “It’s just so cheap hey?”
…Its that damn massage; it lowered all my defences and inhibitions.
And I’m still waiting on that call.
Location: No. 27, Ganethenne, Hingula – Weththewa Rd, Mawanella 71500, Sri Lanka
Opening times: It claims to be open 24 hours, but I don’t think the tour guide and acolytes will be available around the clock, only the shop itself. For the full experience, I recommend between 9 AM and 5 PM.
Cost: There is no entrance fee. If you don’t want to tip after the massage or aren’t looking to buy anything then you don’t have to spend any money. If you don’t arrive in a group though then I’m not sure if you’ll get a tour of the gardens with a proper guide since he can’t be running himself ragged back and forth between stragglers coming into the gardens at differing hours.
Tea Factory
Sri Lanka is Big Daddy Tea, ranking fourth overall in the world for production – which is astounding when you take into consideration how small the country is. Tea makes up a huge part of its history, infrastructure and cultural identity.
“To know tea is to know the heart of this land. This crucial liquid is the lifeblood that pumps throughout Sri Lanka” – Tour guide whose name I have completely forgotten.
I visited the Kadugannawa Tea Factory located nearby the Susantha Herb and Spice Garden mentioned above.
Here you’ll have a guide walk you through the intricate and gruelling process required to make your favourite cup of tea on a chilly afternoon – from scratch.
The plantations themselves are a bit of a distance further away (and also very worth visiting) but you’ll spend hours entranced by the complexity and labour required to grow, harvest, sort, clean, assign, and package just a single box-worth of tea. It makes for quite a spiritual experience when sampling the various leaves at the end.
Part way through the tour is a building that acts as a dedicated museum and tea room. Here you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about the different types of tea, the different forms, shapes, tastes and colours they come in and what impact this unassuming plant has had on humanity throughout the various milestones of its growth and production– spoiler alert; a large one.
As the tour ends, you’ll be treated to a complimentary tasting of the endless amount of top-grade leaves they have on site, and a chance to buy a few boxes or bags worth for a largely discounted price; a stark contrast to the cost and quality you would find in most stores around the world.
After the Tea Factory was over, I found myself in a serious dilemma; where on earth was I going to put all these tea bags along with my salves, ointments and creams?
Perhaps in my wallet, as it had become a veritable ghost town at this stage.
Location: 7G36+68 Kadugannawa, Sri Lanka
Opening times: 8:30 AM – 7 PM every day.
Cost: There is a tour guide cost of approx. 1000LKR per person (just over 5 USD).
Turtle Beach
This was one of the most idyllic and resplendent moments during my exploration of Sri Lanka; their famous turtles. The beaches where you can interact with turtles are quite a distance further than all the activities mentioned above, so perhaps save this for the next day’s early morning adventure or plan to end your evening here as sunset is when a lot of conservations have the “Mother Turtle Laying Eggs Experience”, typically around 8 PM-ish.
One important note: you’ll hear of quite a few different turtle “conservations” and established “hatcheries” around Sri Lanka, but you’ll be subject to rather detestable comments about these places and their invasive role in the turtle’s life cycle.
On the one hand, it seems that they are doing some good by attempting to ensure that an optimal number of hatchlings made into safely into the oceans by protecting them from predators and poachers alike.
But there are also reports of the storage facilities being sub-par quality for these beautiful creatures, and even tales of officials corruption and mistreatment under the guise of eco-safe tourism.
I haven’t explored these rumours too in-depth myself, and I wanted to make the most of my limited time, so I avoided that smouldering mess and jumped straight into the ocean for merrier interactions with the adult sea turtles just off the coast of a quaint seaside town named Beruwala, on the South West coast of Sri Lanka.
Swimming among turtles is enough to make all your troubles just melt away amongst the salt, sand and shells as they swim by with languid grace in petting distance of your snorkelling gear.
Here you’ll glide among a sea of wonders and epiphanies, coming to the conclusion that, just maybe, if we can manage to keep these comely creatures alive in our oceans for tomorrow’s future… everything will be alright.
Location: Beruwala, Sri Lanka
Opening times: Public Beach, open whenever, but preferable to visit during the day.
Cost: Beach is free, diving and snorkelling equipment and guides available all around for a decent price.
To keep in mind when Savouring Sri Lanka
- Alcohol is cheap, but public drinking on the streets is not. You can expect a heavy fine for being found with alcohol in your hand on the streets of Colombo and its neighbouring towns and cities. The police here are always on the lookout for unaware tourist, so they can extort a heavy bribe from them.
- There is no Uber or Lyft in the country, rather ask around for a reliable taxi driver and keep his number. Agree on prices beforehand, especially if its an all-day trip.
- Sunscreen! This sun doesn’t give any warning, but it can end up burning you like you wore last season’s fashion line to its upscale Manhattan party.
- Do your research on places to visit that work with wildlife. A lot of places exploit these lovely animals for profit and just put the name “Conservation” on the end to reassure visitors. Be informed and go to the places that are actually trying to help.
- Behave yourself around the turtles during the hatching process. Being excessively loud and using flash photography can mess up their schedules and you don’t want to be solely responsible for endangering them.
- Most places only accept cash and not card, and only local money, not dollars and euros. Withdraw liberally as ATM’s won’t be abundant.
- If you don’t take a selfie with a turtle off an idyllic beach and the biggest stupidest grin on your face, then people won’t believe you went to Sri Lanka at all.
And now it’s time to head home, back into the anxious arms of mother, who will be calmed by your regales of towering elephants, soothing creams made from mysterious florals with delightful aromas, packets and packets of teas of every flavour and scent, and pictures of your new russet shelled friend.
And more coconut milk than you know what to do with.
