This article looks into week 3 of my holiday in India and Sri Lanka in December 2019.

To get to Sri Lanka, most visitors will pass through Colombo. This was a nice city, with a good vibe.

It was extremely clean with friendly locals. Quite different from any comparable sized city I have been to in India.

I was surprised by how many Christmas decorations were up in Colombo, some of which were very beautiful.

I was not in Colombo for long, but I thought it was a nice place.

From Colombo I travelled to Kandy by train. Kandy is in the central region and we passed by some amazing landscapes on the train on the way there.

Kandy is famous for its Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is a very holy place and I am glad I visited it as it was certainly impressive.

There is also a giant buddah statue on a hillside near to Kandy. This was also good to visit from up close, but was difficult to photograph well from afar.

In Kandy, there is also a very large and world famous botanical garden that is definitely worth visiting.

The orchid house there had some of the best plants that I have ever come accross and they had an amazing collection of some of the best bamboo specimens that I have ever seen.

In Kandy, there is also a really nice national park called the Udawatta Kele Sanctuary. This is very close and easy to get to from the city centre. This was a great place to escape to from the city. You can walk around the trails for hours and not go past the same place twice.  

I went there on a day that it was raining, but there was something special about being in the middle of a rainforest when it was raining.

After being in Kandy I travelled to Ella by train. This is a popular train that is famous for its breathtaking views from the side of the carriage and the journey didn’t disappoint.

Ella is a nice town with friendly locals and a relaxed atmosphere. One of the best things to do in Ella is to climb Ella Rock, which is a small mountain close to the city with excellent views.

I have included a picture above of the mountain itself and the view from the top.

It took around 2 hours to climb from town to the summit. There is a juice bar at the top and refreshment was definitely required after 2 hours of climbing.

In Sri Lanka you see many beautiful waterfalls, I have included a picture of one below.

What you need to know

Sri Lanka has surpassed my expectations as a country.

The hospitality in India is fantastic, but the friendliness of the locals in Sri Lanka is on another level.

I am looking forward to seeing more of the country, including the coast next week.

Thank you for reading,

By Barnaby Nash

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, or reach out to me on social media. Have you visited Sri Lanka, if so what did you make of it?

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P.S.

Please stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as I am planning on publishing lots of interesting content from my travels in India and Sri Lanka.