Sultry Sri Lanka in 2016

Found an old post on my old Youtube channel from a previous expedition, i made in 2016.

Reposting this and a number of posts from Youtube whilst waiting to travel. vaccines permitting.

Sri Lanka

Well, here we are at last, just touched down in Colombo Sri Lanka. If you like me, arrive by air, your first port of call will be Colombo international airport. Sri Lanka is roughly about a ten-hour flight from London.

It was cold and snowing when I left London. In contrast the temperature is currently about 32C here in Colombo, a pleasant change. I will be staying on the island for a couple of days before sailing from Colombo’s seaport to the Maldives and on to Indonesia. But whilst on the island I hope to see a number of interesting cultural sights, along with an elephant or two.

My beach side hotel has a quiet charm and only £60 a night including breakfast, a real bargain.

A bit of background info on this beautiful place.

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is a island country lying in the Indian Ocean and separated 30km from peninsular India, by the Palk Straits.Lying a few degrees north of the Equator, Sri Lanka is slightly smaller than Ireland and a little larger than the US state of West Virginia.The country’s main export as you may expect is tea, while Rubber, coconuts and precious gems are also important to the country’s economy.

This tropical island has become a hot spot to keen travellers in recent years, although tourism in Sri Lanka remains relatively low key. The country’s wonderful individuality, evident in its contrasting landscapes and its distinct culture, is helping to shape Sri Lanka as a top “must visit” destination.

Sri Lanka has it all. Watch whales off palm-fringed beaches, track leopards in lush rainforests and hike through the hill country to verdant tea plantations. You can get an insight into the island’s culture by exploring Buddhist monuments, clambering over colonial forts and indulging in its intensely flavoured cuisine. With such a wealth of attractions, figuring out where to go in Sri Lanka can be quite a task, although its relatively small size means you can fit a lot into a single trip. Unfortunately, I have only a couple of days to experience what I can.

Kaudulla National Park

Located northeast of Colombo, Kaudulla is Sri Lanka’s newest national park. It’s home to over 200 elephants and is part of the elephant corridor between Minneriya and Wasgomuwa National Parks.

I was fortunate enough to visit and saw the largest herds of elephants I have ever seen, easily over 100. Even greater in number than the elephants I had seen in South Africa.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing so many of the second-largest land mammal on earth. And so close. You could hear the grass-roots ripping from the ground as they pulled it out and wrapped it in their flexible trunks, pure magic.

A hectic tour inland, and around the city of Colombo, took up my final hours here in Sri Lanka before joining my ship for the Maldives

Sri Lanka is yet another destination i would like to return too in the future if at all possible