Sri Lanka: Part II: Yala National Park and Beaches

Diyaluma Falls

The drive through the heart of tea plantations to the southern tip of Sri Lanka to Yala National Park was long but gorgeous. Our driver took a hilly and slow route through valley after valley of every shade of green.

Stopping for a drink of King coconut juice

Everywhere you go are stands to buy fresh fruit or juices. The King coconuts are orange and the juice is less sweet than brown coconuts. Very refreshing.

Delivering coconuts to a restaurant.

Wetlands of southern Sri Lanka

As we approached Tissamaharama, on the southeast coast, the land became an agricultural wonder of rice paddies, peanut crops, banana plantations and more.

Visiting along the lake

Sri Lanka is predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist, from the Theravada Buddhist branch. There are also large populations of Tamil Hindus, Sri Lankan Moors (Muslim), and Christians. The Veddahs (hunters) are Sri Lanka's original inhabitants. There are only 2,000 Veddahs left today.

Buddhas along the highways

The statues of Buddha are almost always white with less adornment than seen in India or Thailand. When worshippers go to a Buddhist temple on a Sunday, they usually dress in all white.

Sri Lanka is home to several amazing national parks, sanctuaries, and refuges. Over 8% of Sri Lanka's land is home to these parks and sanctuaries. The biodiversity of Sri Lanka includes 92 species of mammals and over 400 species of birds. It is quickly becoming one of the planet's wildlife excursion hotspots.

Yala National Park is home to one of the largest leopard populations in the world. But even if you never saw a leopard here, the park is beautiful and teeming with birds, reptiles and occasional elephants.

Our driver/guide for our safari

We hired a driver/guide for just the two of us. The cost was spendy, $80 each, but worth every penny. The park was crowded with many jeep safaris, but the drivers took care to go in different directions so we felt as if we were quite alone for much of the safari until...

Leopard spotting!

Look closely behind the tree! This leopard was quite camouflaged, but an incredible sight. The drivers of the jeeps began calling each other and before we knew it dozens of other jeeps arrived. Two drivers even argued about who got there first. Arrgh!

S

Land monitor: keeping the snake population down

Kingfisher

Water buffalo everywhere

Wild boar and egrets

Sign at our hotel

We stayed at the Yala Cinnamon Wild Resort while in Yala. It is a beautiful setting on the edge of the National Forest and bordering the Indian Ocean. The villas and "jungle cottages on stilts" were lovely. However, the resort seems to cater to tour groups. This was not the quiet jungle experience I had hoped for. But, with that said, there were animals traipsing through the resort each evening. Elephants were seen our first night, but we did not see them. However, wild boars wandered outside our cottages and crocodiles lazed in the lake next to our swimming pool!

Crocodiles , pelicans and cranes

Fishing huts at the beach at the edge of the resort

Beach at edge of resort

The next day we headed east along the southern coast in search of our friends, Kris and Rick.

Sri Lanka: Part I: Many Shades of Green

St. Claire waterfall outside Hatton

During winter break, I decided after spending two weeks at home (Bellingham, WA, USA), I would head to Sri Lanka for a week before heading back to India. What a great idea!

Sri Lanka is an island country at the southern tip of India. Years of war and a recent tsunami (2004), have diverted many tourists from this magical place. Today the tourist industry is alive and well. It is a gorgeous and diverse country, full of history and tradition.

Mahout with young elephant at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

After a sleepover in Colombo we met our private driver and headed inland to the hill country. But first I insisted that we stop at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Being rather crazy about elephants, I was in heaven.

When we arrived, one group of elephants was already at the river for their morning bath. Pinnawala is home to about 75 elephants, most of whom were orphaned by accidents. It is the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. Today Pinnawala is also a breeding place for Asian elephants.

Sama had her leg injured by a land mine left over from the war

There are about 50 mahouts (elephant handlers) who care for the elephants. The orphanage was impeccably clean and well-organized. There is $20 entry fee, which I thought was a bit steep, but once inside I was more than happy to pay.  The elephants appeared healthy and well cared for. Few are ever released back into the wild, but sold to temples or private owners (which is somewhat controversial).

Babies playing in  the Maha Oya River

Walking back from the river to the "estate".

The shopkeepers quickly pulled in their racks of items for sale and stepped way back into their shops. One or two of the elephants had chains on their legs because they were "unpredictable". Getting this close to a herd of elephants was more than I could dream of. I told my traveling buddy, Cristi, that I was happy now and could go home. Ha! Little did I know what was ahead...


That afternoon we continued our drive to a small tea plantation town, Hatton City, where we stayed at the lovely Tea Hills Bungalow.

Tea Hills Bungalow

View from bungalow

Bungalows were originally built for the managers of the tea plantations during colonization by England. In fact, the hill country is often referred to as "little England". So many shades of green...

Women picking the tea leaves

Traditionally the women pick the leaves by hand. They place a light bamboo stick on top of the bushes. Only the leaves above the stick can be picked. The men fertilize by hand row by row.

Local tea picker

The tea workers often walk one to two hours to and from the plantations in very steep hilly country. A typical day's earnings is around $3-$4. So, the next time you enjoy a cup of tea, say thank you to these amazing people.

Carrying leaves to the buyer

In the village

From our bungalow we headed out for a walk through the tea fields and into a tiny village.

Shrine in a tree

Sri Lanka is largely Buddhist. However, we were in Tamil country (Hindu). There are many Christians and a growing population of Muslims.

Fetching water

Leaving the hill country

After two days in tea plantation country, our driver led us through valleys and valleys of breath taking vistas. I truly was not expecting such beauty. Onward to Yala National Park in the south!