National Parks and Beaches....Sri Lanka

We hired a Tuk Tuk to take us from the hill country to the south beaches with a stop at the National Park on the way. We enjoy riding in a Tuk Tuk as there is fresh air and always something to see...

Beautiful waterfalls...

School girls running...

Water buffalo on the side of the road...

The milk man doing deliveries...

Lots of produce stands along the road, the fruits here are unbelievably delicious! A view from the tuk Tuk...

We look happy enough...

Even though Sri Lanka is not a big country it has 23 National Parks and we visited this one on the way...

We had our own safari truck waiting for us...

Udawalawe Park is known for its’ large herd of Asian elephant so we were on the look out for them but we also saw lots of beautiful birds, a male peacock, more colourful than the female...

This colorful one...

This handsome owl...

Then we saw our first elephant coming out of the bushes...

The first of many...

They came very close...

They were different colors depending on where they took their mud bath...

This guy was scratching himself on the tree...

There were a lot of new babies in the park so we started to see some signs of them always close by their mothers. The mother is pregnant for 22 months having one baby at a time which weighs around 230 pounds at birth. 

And a herd of elephants which we quietly watched for quite some time, it was so neat to watch them in their natural surroundings...

This one was giving itself a shower.

Then a small herd appeared...

Here they were swimming across the lake with the little one at the front 

Crossing the road...

We came across these three...

And in a few seconds when they realized we were there they immediately closed in the little one in a very protective manner...

We saw many more on our safari and they are majestic animals...

We had another 2 and half hours to go so we were back on the tuk Tuk and on the road again...

This time we didn’t get far before a cable broke of the tuk Tuk and a repair job was completed on the side of the road...

And then the monsoon rain storm started....

We were drenched with the rain as we drove through the lightening and thunder storm, the roads turned to muddy rivers and we were in for quite the ride! But after a couple of hours of this we drove through it and were delivered safely to our destination at the beach, it was quite the full day!

The first beach town we visited was Mirissa where we stayed in a small B and B owned by an Estonian lady and her Sri Lankan husband. It was quite stylish and lovely and a short walk to the beach. 

Our first glimpse of Mirissa Beach at sunset...

It is off season now so the beach was quiet but still a few places open...

The beach by day...

Some days were sunny, others cloudy but we certainly enjoyed our time here! Only a couple more stops and our time in Sri Lanka will be over....😪

Ella, Sri Lanka

Our last part of the scenic train ride took us to Ella through grand landscapes. The train track was situated high in the mountains so we could look down on the villages as we passed through...

There were tall waterfalls and higher up we were surrounded by mists...

Then the sun appeared...

Watching the world go by...

Our homestay was located a short walk outside town...

It only had two rooms and the other was empty so we had the terrace to ourselves...

With lovely views...

We weren’t too impressed with the town of Ella, being the last stop on the train it is very popular with a main strip full of cafes and stores catering to a younger crowd...

And a Post Office with some of the least expensive stamps we have bought in any county...

Posting cards to our grandchildren...

Since Ella is located in the mountains there are many places to hike, so we were up early one morning to do so but even early in the day it wasn’t long before we were hot and tired...

The dogs got it right...lie in the shade...

As we walked the views were beautiful...

There were some tough spots on the trail...

But also shady paths...

The last part to the top was through a lot of steps...

But we made it to the top...

To be rewarded with awesome views all around...

Another popular landmark is the Nine Arch Bridge which is located outside of town. The bridge was built at Gotuwala between the Ella and Demodara stations during the British Colonial period. Locally it is known as ‘Ahas Namaye Palama’ meaning nine skies bridge in Sinhala. The name derives from the visual experience. When you stand below the bridge and look up you can see the sky through the nine arches.

The unique part about this bridge is that it is built entirely from rocks, bricks, and cement with no use of steel or metals throughout the structure. The bridge was commissioned in 1941 and the story goes that as the bridge was being planned World War I broke out. The steel and metal materials destined to be used in the bridge were reassigned to be used for military purposes. The materials were then gathered in the form of rocks, bricks, and cement to make sure the bridge construction still went ahead.

People come here for the views as well as hoping to catch the train going by...

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In order to get there we hiked up another hill and when we got to the top realized we would have to go down again, it wasn’t a pretty sight seeing me scoot down the path mostly on my hands and knees!

We did get a picture of the train coming over the bridge...

It is such a pretty place here with the tea gardens, the mountains and jungle all around...

Since we were not going back up the hill we decided to walk back to town on the train tracks...

Such beautiful countyside as we walked...

The road down below shows are high up in the mountains we are...

As we travel we realize some of our best days are the ones we sit and watch the local life going by...this lady was doing the same...

The pineapple truck came by and this young man brought her some pineapples which she promptly declined and sent him back for more...

Around town there were lots of brightly coloured temples...

And brightly coloured cafes...

Flowers everywhere...

Every morning there would be people selling their produce on the side of the road...

This little one was having her lunch while her grandfather was selling cold coconut drinks...

And how could we forget the delicious food prepared by our host every evening...

We enjoyed our stop here but are now heading south and some time on the beach!