Ranjani Rao travels to Sri Lanka, discovering its beaches, culture, and heritage in Colombo, Galle, Dambulla, Sigiriya, and Pinnawala.

By Ranjani Rao

Destination Sri Lanka

It felt strange to get on a flight from Singapore, head westwards towards India, and stop just short of the Indian airspace, alighting instead in Colombo. Sri Lanka had been on my destination list for a long time, yet it lost out to more exotic and faraway destinations competing for my attention. It wasn’t until a friend invited us for a milestone birthday celebration on this tiny, drop-shaped island on India’s Southeast side that we finally headed there.

The airport looked busy at midnight. When we stepped out of the terminal, the weather, the people, and the vehicles looked similar to any Indian city. Yet, there was a major difference – fewer people, less noise, and an overall slower pace that was refreshing.

Our first stop was at a nice hotel near the Ahungalla beach, on the Southwestern shore of Sri Lanka. On the drive from Colombo, we passed through quaint towns and narrow but excellent roads, which we shared with red, blue, green, and, of course, black autos, also known as tuk tuks, that reminded us of the yellow-black autos we see in India. Seemingly sturdier and in better shape inside and out, they added a pleasant dash of color. The route offered glimpses of the ocean on the right, with the other side clustered with garment factories that manufacture cotton clothes for export.

At the end of a hot and humid day spent in the car, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset from a small elevated viewing spot at the rocky stretch of Ahungalla beach. Despite a couple of big resorts nearby, the beach was clean and uncluttered, and the waters refreshingly warm.

Heading to Galle

We drove to Galle after a hot traditional breakfast of string hoppers, potato stew, and pol sambol, a fresh coconut chutney. The picturesque roads took us to the turquoise waters of Hikkaduwa beach. We stood in the calm, shallow waters sharing space with large sea turtles that boldly swam between curious tourists. Their size and agility, as well as their comfort in waters teeming with tourists, were a wonderful sight.

Further south, we visited Peraliya Village, where an 18-meter-high Buddha statue in the Bamiyan style has been erected in memory of the nearly 1,600 people who lost their lives during the 2004 tsunami. That tragedy occurred when the second wave toppled the Samudra Devi, the train that connects Galle with Colombo.

The height of the Buddha statue is said to coincide with the height of the tsunami wave that swept through this tiny village. A small photo gallery features photographs of the destruction, yet the quiet pond in which the benevolent Buddha looks down on us seems to be a harbinger of hope and reconstruction that has revived this stretch of the coastline in the two decades since the event.

Galle, a beautiful town on the Southwest coast of Sri Lanka, is a great place to spend a clear sunny day where the clouds and wind play hide and seek. The Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the views from the ramparts are breathtaking. An elderly busker sang us a Jagjit Singh ghazal while we ate lunch at a cafe with ocean views. With architectural elements from the Portuguese and Dutch settlers, the town has many interesting side streets lined with cafes, souvenir stores, and gelato shops filled with tourists from many countries. We walked into the Dutch and the English churches and admired the Galle cricket stadium, considered to be one of the most picturesque stadiums in the world.

We reached our birthday party destination by evening. It was a beautiful house at Wadduwa, with a view of the ocean. Vegetarian food had been a little bit of an issue for me during the trip. But the staff here cooked an amazing array of fresh vegetarian dishes for each meal, including appam and stew, pol roti, pol sambol, veg skewers, roasted potatoes, fried eggplant, dal, and a refreshing salad of pennywort leaves that I loved.

Dambulla, Sigiriya, and a whole lot of elephants

The next leg was inland towards central Sri Lanka. The Dambulla cave temple, a World Heritage site, is an ancient temple from the first century BC. The five temples are accessed by climbing over 500 steps and offer a panoramic view of the area, including Sigiriya rock. Each cave features several statues of Buddha with the hands in various mudras. The walls and ceilings feature intricate paintings. Visitors offer water lilies and lotuses at several shrines in the temple complex.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress

The Sigiriya rock fortress, another World Heritage site, is an important part of Sri Lankan history. Despite evidence indicating the area was inhabited by Buddhist monks in the third century BC, the current state of this striking geographical location comes from the constructions of King Kasyapa in the fifth century AD. The extensive gardens, fountains and water bodies are being renovated but the main attractions include the view from the summit of the 180 m tall rock and the cave paintings of damsels that depict Sri Lankan art.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was on the route back to Colombo. We arrived in time for the morning excursion of the elephants to the Maha Oya river, where they spend a couple of hours bathing, frolicking, and relaxing before walking back peacefully through a street lined with souvenir shop, crossing a busy road (where traffic comes to a halt) and back into the sanctuary. There was something soothing about watching a herd of elephants with the little ones roughhousing in the water while a couple of mother elephants kept an eye on them.

Colombo tuk tuk tour

The highlight of the final day was a tuk-tuk tour of the capital, and it was a fun way to check out the city. In four hours, we were able to cover the major sites, including the Gangarama Temple, Lotus Tower, Town Hall, Pettah Market, Independence Memorial Hall, and spend an hour at the National Museum, which captures the history and evolution of this island nation in an extremely user-friendly and captivating way. My favorite spot was the Seema Malaka, a small Buddhist temple which is located on Beira Lake and is used more for meditation than for worship. It had a beautiful ambience and a calming quality with its location and architecture.

On this trip, we could not visit Anuradhapura and Kandy, and of course, the tea plantations, but that gives me an opportunity to return to this pearl of the Indian Ocean.

Read: Where the Wind Meets the Water

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Ranjani Rao is a scientist by training, writer by avocation, originally from Mumbai, and a former resident of USA, who now lives in Singapore with her family. Ranjani Rao is the author of Rewriting My Happily Ever After — A memoir of divorce and discovery and The Coherent Writer newsletter.

Courtesy: India Currents (Posted on April 28, 2025)