How we spent two weeks in Sri Lanka
We spent two weeks (well, 12 days) travelling around Sri Lanka in mid-April 2024. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that hasn’t got the best reputation as a top tourist destination due to its civil war which ran from the 1980s until 2009.
Relations between the Sinhalese and Tamil people have led to violence over the years with one bombing as recently as 2019. But I can honestly say that Sri Lanka felt like a very safe and welcoming country. The people are wonderful and kind and helpful and the landscape is incredible, from the mountains to the coast. Today, Sri Lanka is no less safe to visit than any city – so don’t let its past put you off.
From figuring out the best route to take, how to travel around a country, and the must-see sights (there are so many to choose from!), here’s how we did it.
Days 1-2: Habarana
We arrived late in Colombo so spent a night in an airport hotel, but our first stop was Habarana where we stayed at the Sapphire Garden Hotel. If your flight lands earlier than about 8pm it’s probably best to make the 3.5 hour journey straight away to save time. As travelling in the morning meant we ‘wasted’ half a day. Everyone we’ve spoken to says to skip Colombo and get straight to your first destination.
Minneriya National Park
We were planning to go to Sigiriya and Pidurangala on our first day in Sri Lanka, but Leo, our host at the Sapphire Garden Hotel, suggested we went on an afternoon safari and then fit in Sigiriya, Pidurangala, and Dambulla cave temples all in one go the following day.
He even booked us our trip, and 30 minutes later Indica from Akila safaris showed up to collect us. The safari cost 40 USD per person for the private jeep and entry to the park. It went amazingly smoothly and we didn’t have to do any organising at all!
Probably one of the most impressive things I’ve ever experienced is the guide stopping to point out a chameleon on a branch from about 5m away. It took us so long to be able to spot what he was looking at but he could see it with his naked eye, while driving a Jeep on a dirt road!
This safari park is best for seeing elephants, and within 15 minutes we’d found a small herd with a baby. Our driver was great at getting us the best spots so it felt almost like a private viewing of the wildlife.
I had read that all the Jeeps mass together around the animals so only people at the front can see – and sometimes causing the animals distress. But this wasn’t our experience with Akila. Our guide was amazing at pulling up in quiet spots just far enough from the elephants that we weren’t in their way.
On the 3-hour tour we also saw a lot of birds including wild peacocks, eagles, Sri Lankan parrots, and hornbills. It’s a totally different experience to other safaris we have been on in Namibia because although the animals are less diverse, you have a jeep to yourself, it's very green, and everything feels much more up-close.
Sigiriya
Our hotel arranged a driver for us for the day and we set off at 9am for Sigiriya. This is one of the main attractions in the north of Sri Lanka – a huge fortress built on top of a rock.
It’s more expensive than other sights (36 USD) but it’s very impressive and from the top you’ll see views for miles across the mountains and national parks.
Find out more about visiting Sigiriya here.
Pidurangala
Also the site of an ancient city and temple, Pidurangala is one of the other main attractions in northern Sri Lanka, about 2 km from Sigiriya. It’s much cheaper to enter at 1,000 LKR (about £2.50) per person.
We had heard that Pidurangala had even better views than Sigiriya (because you can see Sigiriya itself from the peak) and that the walk was shorter. So we didn’t understand why it’s considered quieter and less popular with tourists… until we were almost at the top.
After walking up stone steps through woodland (much nicer than the queues up iron stairs at Sigiriya) we eventually reached a point where we couldn’t walk any further. From there, you have to climb over boulders to get to the top of the rock. It’s not impossible, but it definitely isn’t accessible for everyone and I was glad not to be one of the people there wearing flip flops or a dress.
One of the benefits of this difficult access route was that once we were up, only six other people were there. And four of those were Sri Lankans.
Find out more about which I think is better, Sigiriya or Pidurangala here.
Dambulla Cave Temple Complex
Our last stop of the day was the Dambulla Cave Temple Complex. About a 30-minute drive from Sigiriya, this site also starts with a whole lot of steps. So if you’re not that active (or are just feeling a bit tired) you might want to separate these out rather than do all three in one day. In the afternoon heat, it’s pretty tiring. But once you reach the top, the temple itself is amazing.
You can enter five different cave temples filled with many massive monuments to Buddha. On the way up the steps you’ll probably be accosted by a woman selling flowers, which you don’t have to buy, but the custom is to put one at each shrine. The painted ceilings and numerous gold statues make a pretty impressive experience. And for 2,000 LKR (about £5) each it’s one of the cheaper attractions in the area.
You do have to remove your shoes and make sure your shoulders and knees are covered – regardless of gender. So if you’re not already covered up remember to take something with you. Unlike Pidurangala which offers free scarves for the section where you walk through sacred grounds, Dambulla makes you pay. You’re also expected to pay the guy who puts your shoes on a rack even though this isn’t optional. But this kind of thing is something you get used to in Sri Lanka, and since you can just hand over 100 LKR (about £0.26) it’s not worth arguing about.
Days 3-4: Kandy
Kandy is one of the main cities in Sri Lanka. It’s busy and bustling and there’s plenty to do, so a lot of people use it as a base for their trip. We only spent two nights here, seeing as many of the main sights as we could, including a hike in the Knuckles Mountains.
Kandy Lake
Walking to the Temple of the Tooth, we wandered along the edge of Kandy lake. This huge body of water sits in the middle of the city and is a quiet, calming place to rest away from the hectic city streets.
Temple of the Tooth
Probably the most famous attraction in Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth. The religious site is home to the tooth relic of the Buddha prince Siddhartha, which was taken from the sandalwood pyre after his cremation.
There are three pooja ceremonies here each day where devotees worship the tooth, which is stored within seven gold cases. We didn’t align our visit with this ceremony (it’s said to be very busy with lots of queues). But walking around the temple and the museum was an interesting look into the history of Buddhism as well as the tooth relic itself.
Kandy Cultural Show
Probably the most touristy thing I’ve ever done, the Kandy Cultural Show is fun and fascinating and over the top. It’s an hour of 13 traditional dances packed with backflips, plate spinning, fire breathing and walking, and peacock imitations.
It’s not exactly highbrow, but it’s great fun and only costs 3,500 LKR per person (less than £10). It runs every day between 5-6pm and is a fun, easy way to find some entertainment during an evening in Kandy.
The Knuckles Mountains
We really wanted to go for a hike in the Knuckles Mountains and found it surprisingly complicated to find a single day hike that didn’t require an overnight stay. Luckily we found Nature Paradise Tours as our guide Lakmal took us on an incredible one-day tour across the first two ‘knuckles’. It took 7-hours, spanned 18 km, steep uphill climbs, equally steep downhill clambers, and numerous waterfalls. I’m so glad we put the effort into finding this trip as it was definitely a highlight of our time in Sri Lanka.
Find out more about our hike in the Knuckles Mountains and how to book a day trip here.
Days 5-6: Ella
The Kandy to Ella train
Instead of taking the train from Kandy to Ella we decided to only do the second half of the journey, from Nuwara Eliya to Ella. This half only takes three hours and is where all the best scenery is.
We drove 2.5 hours from Kandy to Nanu Oya station, stopping at Ramboda Falls and the Damro Tea Factory so we could take photos from the lookouts. You could stop for a while to drink and buy tea at Damro, but 10 minutes is enough if you just want to take in the views of endless tea fields.
We arrived early at Nanu-Oya train station which turned out to be unnecessary because 1. Our M-ticket didn’t need to be transferred to a different ticket at the station office, 2. The station wasn’t that busy, and 3. The train was delayed by an hour anyway (which is the norm). It’s crazy that a busy train that runs three times a day can break down this often. But that’s Sri Lanka.
We wanted a second-class seat as this is where the doors are always open and you can sit or stand there and enjoy the view (if you’re lucky). But ours turned out to be first class which came with the benefits of a quieter carriage, less-busy open doors at the front of the train, and comfy seats with air con.
Despite being more modern than I expected inside, this train is rickety and bone-shaking. Don’t use your time here for anything that requires precision or a steady hand!
Little Adam’s Peak
We wanted to hike Ella Rock but weren’t really in the mood for a 4-hour hike just two days after our 7-hour, 18 km trek in the Knuckles Mountains. So on our first morning in Ella we made the much easier journey up Little Adam’s Peak.
From tuk-tuk parking it takes about 20 minutes to get to the top of Little Adam’s Peak and the views over Ella Rock are amazing. It’s popular to do it at sunrise but we weren’t up for getting up at 5am. You can also walk from the town but the walk up to the parking area is just a road, and this turns a walk that takes less than an hour into something closer to 3 hours.
Nine Arch Bridge
We didn’t line up our trip to Nine Arch Bridge with the train timetable. But we did fit it into the same walk as Little Adam’s Peak. They don’t look that close on a map but they’re actually only about 30-minutes walk from each other.
The 100-year-old bridge is one of the iconic shots you’ve probably seen of Sri Lanka, so it’s pretty busy even outside of train-crossing times. But it’s stunning, with lots of great viewpoints and you can even walk along the track into the tunnel.
Find out more about walking Little Adams Peak and Nine Arch Bridge here.
Ella
It turns out the town of Ella is pretty fun despite being very touristy. It has more of a party feel to it than Kandy and it reminded us of Tulum or Isla Holbox with lots of tree house-style bars made from bamboo and palm leaves. The bars play chill house and serve cocktails and have pool tables and bean bags and sofas, and we found it really easy to make friends to play pool, drink, and even have dinner with. Our favourite spots were:
Chill Cafe
One Love Bar
The Barn
Mateys Hut
Day 7: Yala National Park
We spent one night in Tissimaharama for our day at Yala National Park. It’s one of the towns closest to the park and we were able to find a hotel that could organise our safari for us at a fair price. As I explain in my blog about the things you should know before visiting Sri Lanka, booking this kind of thing yourself isn’t always straightforward. So if you can find hotels that are able to sort it for you (like Coconut Garden) it’s a real bonus.
Our trip lasted from 1:30pm to about 6:30 pm including the drive to and from the park. Yala was dustier and worse for diesel fumes than Minneriya, and all the drivers race to any reported sightings of leopards. So we spent a lot more time in queues of Jeeps than on previous safaris. But we did see a leopard… three sightings, in fact.
I was making a list of each animal we saw as we went along. Annoyingly, drivers will speed past some animals as they try to get to a leopard – which you might not even get to see as the Jeeps at the front won’t move on. But we were still pretty happy to see:
A lot of water buffalo
Painted storks
Green bee eaters and a chestnut headed bee eater
Mongoose (“He’s the one who fought the cobra,” as our driver said)
Peahens and peacocks, including peacocks in trees which I didn’t know they could do
Families of wild boar
Elephants including one taking a bath among the lily pads
A Sri Lankan jungle fowl, which looks exactly like a chicken
Crocodiles
Deer that looked like ones in England
Sambar deer
Black faced monkeys, which are endemic to Sri Lanka
As well as one leopard asleep in the rocks, one leopard cleaning itself under a tree, and another leopard (which could have been the same one as before) stalking through the bushes.
Days 8-11: Mirissa
Travelling in Sri Lanka means a lot of driving from place to place. At the end of our trip we wanted to chill a bit so we decided to use Mirissa as a base and travel to other beach towns from here, rather than moving hotels each day. As it turned out, we loved this laid-back beach town so much that we didn’t go to visit anywhere else after all.
Mirissa Beach and Turtle Point
Mirissa Beach might be my favourite place we stopped in Sri Lanka. While being slightly touristy, it felt very diverse and relaxed. The beach has a great vibe to it, with bars and surf schools dotted along the back but still plenty of space to enjoy a quiet afternoon to yourself.
You can head slightly south along the bay to Turtle Point, and further past Coconut Tree Hill, for snorkelling spots. The visibility isn’t great and the waves can be big at times, so it’s best for confident swimmers. But we did see turtles up close, not too far from the shore.
We spent most of our days in Mirissa relaxing on the sun loungers by Sudu Weli, watching surfers and sipping on Lion beers and fruit juices. The perfect relaxing end to a busy two weeks.
Secret Beach
Not exactly a secret, since it’s sign-posted and listed on Google Maps, Secret Beach was one of the highlights of Mirissa. To the north of the main beach (and up and down a fairly steep hill) this small cove is much quieter than the rest of town. It’s a great place to watch the sunset with a beer or juice from the beach bar. And if you get your timings right and the tide is out, a sandbar makes more space on the sand and allows access across to the next bay.
Salt Surf School
On our last full day in Sri Lanka we had a surf lesson with Salt Surf School, and it was one of the highlights of our holiday. For two people we paid 10,000 LKR, which included pick up and drop off at our hotel and a 1.5 hour lesson. We took a beginners class – I’d not been on a surfboard for about 15 years – and our teacher was great at explaining everything. He picked the waves for us and we were standing by our second go. In fact I stood properly for well over 50% of my tries thanks to the teacher’s instructions.
If you’re looking for an affordable, fun surf class in Sri Lanka I’d definitely recommend this one. And it’s much better to go with a smaller private lesson where the instructor doesn’t have to focus on loads of other people.
Weligama Beach is great for beginners as there are plenty of waves, but they’re manageable. We were inspired to rent a board at Mirissa Beach later the same day and with much larger and rougher waves to deal with we absolutely failed!
Weligama Snake Farm
I’m not sure how to feel about this place. It’s run by a third-generation snake researcher who lost a thumb to a cobra bite five years ago. He obviously knows a lot about snakes. But it was pretty freaky having a black cobra on the floor right by your sandalled feet – and I’m not even particularly scared of snakes.
You can hold some of the non-venomous snakes including a python, which is quite cool. But it’s hard to tell how ethical the place is and if the snakes really have enough room in their cages. We were here for about 30 minutes and it cost 2,000 LKR (£5.35) per person.
Eat and drink
As a laid-back surf town, Mirissa is packed with great food and drink options. Our favourite spots in Mirissa were:
Oh! La La (laid-back vibe and great views)
Tuana Lounge (a new cocktail bar with a trendy feel)
O Mirissa (great pizza and seafood)
Concept La Mer (amazing food and friendly staff)
A++ (the tacos come in roti)
Mila Mirissa (chill for drinks)
South Coast (more great tacos)
Zouk (evening drinks on the beach)
Sudu Weli (our favourite place to relax at the beach)
Ready to go? Find out what to pack for two weeks in Sri Lanka here.