6 Days In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, an island nation to the south of India, yet quite different from it’s neighbor. Known for it’s culture, beaches and nature, Sri Lanka has become one of the most popular destinations for a quick and an affordable getaway. A little more than a year ago, February 2016 to be precise, I planned a 6-day holiday to Sri Lanka with some friends and it turned out to be way better than I had expected it to be, here’s what we did:

Booking.com

Where to stay in Sri Lanka?

• Unawatuna – Prime Time Hotel – not exactly at the beachfront but 20 seconds walk from it, a small compromise for the price but it had a splendid breakfast.
• Hikkaduwa – Royal Beach Resort – A decent budget friendly resort right at the beach front so you could wake up to the sound of the waves.
• Kandy – Clock Inn Kandy – the location of this hotel was just perfect, bang in the middle of the city, walking distance from everything and the best part it had private as well as dorm rooms.

What to do in Sri Lanka?

Day 1

Arrived in Sri Lanka at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo at around 9am after a pretty impressive Sri Lankan Airways flight from Dubai and hired a taxi from the airport to our first beach side destination UNAWATUNA (cover photo), this took about 2 hours. 

Unawatuna beach is a red sand beach with clear waters, not so crowded at that time but not dead either, just perfect. We strolled around the beach, enjoying the sounds of water and the sand beneath our bare feet with an occasional drink at one of the many restaurants and cafes at the beachfront until our first meal-stop in Sri Lanka at HOT ROCK RESTAURANT, wow that meal was delicious, naturally the seafood in this area is epic and we took full advantage of that, the meal was so good that I put it in one of the must dos in Unawatuna.

After a beautiful siesta, we spent the day in the tranquility of the beach. You will notice a lot of places offering snorkeling and diving services which would definitely be a must do. Unfortunately we didn’t try any of the activities due to my fear of water, although I honestly regret it now. Maybe someday I’ll go back to tick it off. If you are interested in any of the water activities head to Unawatuna Diving Center on the beach.

The day ended early with dinner at one of the beachfront places alongside the sound of waters and the breeze of the sea. One thing you will notice is many places on the beach really light up during the night, some offering candle light dinners while others offering a subtle nightlife for the night owls.

Summary:

• Arrive Colombo and travel to Unawatuna
• Lunch at Hot Rock Restaurant
• Explore the beachfront

Day 2

As always, I was the early bird while others snored away so I decided to take walk around the area to discover some breath taking views and some really nice beach resorts with private beaches, ideal for couples and families.

Private Beach in Unawatuna

View from Galle Fort

The hotel breakfast was unexpectedly awesome, BURP!! before our tuk tuk journey into the heart of unawatuna to GALLE FORT, a fort built by the Portuguese in 1588 and later fortified by the Dutch. An hour walk through the main gate and around this fort will offer you some great sense of history and brilliant views, however, keep in mind that this place will be crowded with tourists and locals. If the weather is good, you could spend a few hours exploring Galle on foot and checkout some of the other famous places in Galle, many built by the Dutch like the Point Utrecht Bastion with a still operational lighthouse and the church. Galle Fort goes in the must dos.

On the way back, our tuk tuk driver took us to a spice garden, one of many in this country. A donation based guide showed us around the the different species, a pretty interesting thing to do here in Sri Lanka. Once back, we decided to hog in one of the famous restaurants in Unawatuna KINGFISHER, more seafood followed but this time it was more continental inspired than the spicy Sri Lankan cuisine, a perfect place to eat if you want an escape from the richness of Sri Lankan spices.

Last night in Unawatuna, started with bar/“café” hopping until we reached the western end of the beach beating a lively party section. I really don’t remember the name of the place but it was next to Unawatuna Diving Center. The laid back beach nightlife, mediocre house music, groups of people socializing (mostly tourists) and some shaking to the beat. The night ended early thanks to the thunder gods who decided to pour out rains, generously.

Summary:

• Visit Galle Fort
• Lunch at Kingfisher restaurant
• Beaching
• Enjoy the night life at the beach

Day 3

An hour long tuk tuk journey to our second destination HIKKADUWA. This place has a white sand beach known for surfing and nightlife. This beach was a bit more busier than Unawatuna, with a lot more activities here. There were places offering, surfing lessons, yoga classes, water sports, a whole bunch of stuff to make you fall in love with this beach. Since we just had one night here, we started off with my personal favorite thing to do in my travels, eat.

Curries Place @ Asian Jewel Boutique Hotel

A highly recommended restaurant in Hikkaduwa is CURRIES PLACE AT ASIAN JEWEL BOUTIQUE HOTEL, a 5 minute tuk tuk ride is required from the beach. The curries in this place are just to die for, they have a big Sri Lanka thali special which they prepare with an advance booking, but the staff was kind enough to do it for us on the spot. We enjoyed the best Sri Lankan food here with great views of the lake, a definite must do in Hikkaduwa.

The rest of the day we spent chilling at the beach with  arrack cocktails and prepared to experience the nightlife in Hikkaduwa.

This place has some really amazing beach side bars and our stop for the evening was FUNKY DE BAR, a place with a very lively atmosphere, good music, good vibes, met some tourists from India and partied the night away. The club VIBRATION popped up many places during my research, but it was closed that night.

Summary:

• Arrive Hikkaduwa with a Tuk Tuk
• Lunch at Curries Place at Asian Jewel Boutique Hotel
• Beaching
• Party at Funky De Bar

Day 4

Our driver Mahinda, drove us to our next destination in Sri Lanka, KANDY. The ride was pretty captivating as we passed through the country side of Sri Lanka with an occasional stop for coconut water (a must do if you are a coconut-water person like me) and one stop at a Tea Shop recommended by our driver, to sip and buy some famous Sri Lankan teas.

Kandy

After a 5 hour car ride, we reached our hotel. It was about 15:00 and set out for our first stop TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH, a beautiful temple right in the heart of the city just steps away from the hotel. It is surrounded by a lake and hills giving a lot of opportunities to capture this picturesque city.

Once done with the temple we walked to SLIGHTLY CHILLED LOUNGE BAR AND RESTAURANT, this place is about 10-15 minute from the temple with some inclined paths but the views from this rooftop bar are totally worth it. Sit back, relax with a coffee or a cold drink and enjoy the aerial views of Kandy.

Licensed To Grill

Our dinner was at a place called LICENSED TO GRILL, a small roadside shop close to our hotel and the temple. This internet recommended place served a handful of items with Sri Lankan flavors to it and one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. If you are going to Kandy, please do not leave without grabbing a bite at this gorgeous treat here.

The Temple Of The Tooth defines this city and so almost all of it closes by 7-8pm so we spent our late evening at a place called THE PUB which was the only place opened till 11pm.

Summary:

• Drive to Kandy
• Stop at a Tea Shop
• Visit Temple Of The Tooth
• Drinks at Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar and Restaurant
• Dinner at Licensed To Grill
• Drinks at The Pub

Day 5

We had pretty much covered all the major things Kandy had to offer, so we took a day trip to a place called SIGIRIYA (a.k.a. The Lion Rock). Located 2 hours drive up north of Kandy, this place really takes you back into the history of Sri Lanka. Take one of the guided tours offered by locals there in many languages, just after the ticket stand (you gotta pay approximately 4,000 LKR to enter) and climb up this fortress’s 600 steps and reward yourself with another lovely viewpoint. Sigiriya, a must do.

Sigiriya (a.k.a. The Lion Rock)

Resting Point at Sigiriya

Now you know why it’s called THE LION ROCK

View from the top of Sigiriya

Isn’t this what the climb is all about?

Dambulla Cave Temple

Right next to Sigiriya is the DAMBULLA CAVE TEMPLE, a must do if you want to experience the culture first hand. The most unique thing about this temple it is located inside a cave.

Sigiriya and Dambulla took up most of our day so we grabbed a bite on the drive back, crashed in our dorm rooms and called it a night.

Summary:

• Day trip to Sigiriya
• Visit Dambulla Cave Temple

Day 6

We head back to Colombo today after a midway stop over at one of the most famous places in Sri Lanka, PINNAWALA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE. Walk around these warm creatures of nature and watch them being fed, bathed and taken care of. The entrance to Pinnawala is approx. 2,500 LKR and I would say it’s a must do here. There are many places around this orphanage that offer elephant rides, a chance to bath and feed the elephant yourself or just learn some interesting facts about them, Mahinda helped us around with that.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Pampering @ Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Reached the busy city of Colombo by evening, ordered some room service, laughed at some horribly directed Bollywood movies and snored off the night to prepare for our return flight next morning.

Summary:

• Drive to Colombo with a stop over at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Other Things to Do in Sri Lanka

• Water Activities, I can’t stress enough on this, almost all the beaches have a lot of activities to choose from.
• Watch a traditional dance show in Kandy, in a theater close to the temple.
• Visit NUWARA ELIYA, a province south of Kandy engulfed in nature. Unfortunately it was a little out of our way so we couldn’t make it.
• Hike to the ADAM’S PEAK (a.k.a. Sri Pada which means sacred footprint). It’s a conical mountain in the central region of the country, close to Nuwara Eliya, on the top of which is believed to have the left footprint of Buddha. If you decide to go for this hike, make sure to do your research and go before dawn because a lot of locals come here for pilgrimage and you can imagine the rush.
• Visit BENTOTA, another beach an hour and a half drive away from Colombo known for its resorts.
• Experience the wildlife and nature in the dozens of national parks in this country. One of the most famous one is the YALA NATIONAL PARK, which offers safaris and overnight camping trips. I personally really wanted to do it, but the weather was unpredictable during our stay so we skipped it. For more info visit https://www.yalasrilanka.lk/

General Tips For Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka is a very safe country, there is practically no crime and the locals are very friendly. They didn’t even try to hustle me because I was a tourist, but bear in mind I am Indian.
• Our driver Mahinda was a gem,  extremely humble, helpful and had a lot of knowledge about the country. His prices were also the best compared to other drivers. I highly recommend him if you need a driver.
  • Contact Number: +94 71 – 6445321 / +94 77 – 1731071
  • Email: mkothalawela@yahoo.com
• The beaches are filled with Russian hippies for some reason, so don’t be surprised if you hear srilankan’s speaking Russian.
• If you had to pick one beach, i would suggest Hikkaduwa.
• The local beer LION is pretty good.
• They have a local liquor called ARRACK, quite different and nicer from the other country’s arracks, people have them as shots. However, the beach bars make really nice cocktails with it.
• Sri Lankan cuisine is spicy and focuses a lot on rice so come prepared.
• Most popular street foods you will see around the country:
  • Hoppers – something like a savoury pancake with some toppings
  • Roti – bread filled with stir fry meat and vegetables., in other words, stuffed paratha.
• The shops on and around the beaches don’t except cards so carry enough cash around. ATMs can be found at few locations around the town.
• If you are planning to get a local Sim card, which is really cheap, get one from MOBITEL or ETISALAT at the arrivals in Colombo airport.
• Depending on the season, mosquitos could be a problem, get a mosquito repellent spray or cream from any local vendor if required.
• On your return journey, arrive at the airport well in advance because the security check takes forever.
• If you are a citizen of a SAARC country (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), then you will get a massive discount on the prices of the main tourist attractions like pinnawala and sigiriya, just don’t forget to carry your passport.

HAPPY TRAVELLING!!!