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!

Orchha, Madya Pradesh

View from Chaturbhuj Temple

An easy train ride from Delhi, Orchha is a great 3-day get-away for lovers of old temples, forts and culture. There are palaces, a fort, temples and chhatris (memorials) to the great rulers all within walking distance.

The key holder to the hidden stairs to the roof

The Chaturbhuj Temple dates back to the 9th century. It is built on a solid piece of stone. This young sadhu greeted us with a smile and huge eyes. Another tourist, who had visited this temple two years ago, explained that this man would take us up to the roof if we dared. Of course! The climb up pitch black stone steps, through open passages with no handholds, was frightful. But the view from the top was magnificent.

Our "guide"

Outside Ram Raja Temple

The Ram Raja Temple is in the center of town where hundreds of worshipers flock each day. It is dedicated to Lord Ram.

Sweet shop

Sweets

Jahangar Palace/Fort

Mysterious stone creatures

All throughout the town of Orchha there are ruins of arches with turtle-like creatures.

Grinding wheel

Every time I discover an artifact like this old grinding wheel, I have to pinch myself. In reality, it probably was still being used not that long ago.

Woman using a balance scale to sell eggplants

Sadhu all decked out for Diwali and tourist photo shots!

Village home

The village of Orchha is simple, but full of brightly painted cottages. All of the doors were incredibly short, requiring those entering to duck.

Bathing in the Betwa River

Orchha is located along the banks of the sacred Betwa River, a beautiful rocky-shored river. 

Wall painting inside Lakshmi Temple

Our second day, we walked 2km just outside town to the ruins of the Lakshmi Temple, built in 1622 and dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth). Many of the wall paintings are still intact and quite clear.This temple is not visited much and you can enjoy some tranquility while wandering through the halls and on the rooftop. Great views!

Staircase up through one of the octagonal towers

Stone lattice windows and carved archways everywhere

View of Lakshmi Temple from another set of ruins

A short walk from Lakshmi Temple was another set of smaller ruins. We walked through pastures of grazing cattle and found some old buildings, one of which was being used as a mosque. No one was there, but incense sticks and candles were still burning. Oh, and a resting cow. Always so intriguing.

It was the Diwali Festival, a 5-day Hindu celebration of the "festival of lights". We did not know what to expect in terms of festivities when we decided to spend the long weekend in Orchha. What a surprise!

Truck loads of young men filled the streets

20 people!! got out of this tuk-tuk

As long as I have lived in Delhi, my friends and I have had an on-going contest of "how many people can fit in a tuk-tuk". This is the record so far!

Five on a motorcycle!

And how many can fit on a motorcycle? We saw six. It is not unusual to see Mom sitting sideways holding a baby. Never with helmets. In Delhi, only the adult men driving the motorcycle are required to wear helmets.

In the bus, on top of the bus, hanging off the bus...

Stick dancing

I hopped out of bed early when I heard drumming and jingling of bells near our hotel. Found groups of men dancing and chanting. As I looked around I realized that there were no women in sight. Was I supposed to be there? With camera in hand I started taking shots, and no one seemed to shoo me off. But when I saw what were sareed women dancing, I discovered they were actually men dressed up as women.

A young boy from the village took my hand and began explaining in excellent English that the women were not allowed to dance. So, many of the men dressed up as women to do the dancing. Some of the outfits were quite interesting.  Must be a regional custom, as none of my Delhi Indian friends know anything about it...

Men walking into town with bunches of peacock feathers

So where were the women and what were they doing?

Women carrying wood for cooking

The women were working, of course...

Leading goats through town

Selling bangles

Town was getting pretty crowded with the Diwali celebration so we decided to head across the river into a wildlife sanctuary for a hike.

The trail ended at another river, a tributary of the Janshi River. There was little to no wildlife, except for some pretty aggressive monkeys on the way to the trail. As we were hiking, a truck came along with two park "rangers". They offered to take us about 10km further into the park to some lookouts.

Hunting blind

one of the rangers explained that in the days of the rajas, they would come to these huts, wait for the animals to come to the water and shoot. No tigers left in these parts.

Joy

 It was time to leave Orchha, but every where I turned was another great photo.

Beauty

Intrigue