Travelin' Lanka - Hike, Relax, Surf

Arrival in Colombo. We drive to the hotel and rest after the long flight. In the afternoon we make a relaxed excursion into the city and gain our first impressions of the country, i.e. we get to know the Sinhalese cuisine, have our tired bodies massaged and make our first walking attempts at haggling with tuk-tuk drivers.

On the second day, we will take the old colonial railroad to Kandy. The last capital of the Sinhalese kingdom houses - so the belief - a canine tooth of the Buddha. It is therefore one of the most important pilgrimage sites of Buddhism. In Kandy we will visit the ancient temple complexes and take a detour to the royal botanical gardens.

From Kandy, we will take a bus to Sigiriya ("Lion Rock"), a 5th-century fortress and palace complex that stands out on a rock above the jungle. Sigiriya takes its name from a lion's head that once marked the entrance to the fortress, of which only the paws remain today.

We continue by train and bus to Nallathanniya, from where we climb Adam's Peak (Sri Pada). We arrive in Nallathanniya in the late afternoon, have an early dinner and go to sleep. At 2:30 am we get up and begin our ascent so that we can reach the top of the mountain in time for sunrise. Adam's Peak is over 2000m high and is revered by Hindus, Christians and Buddhists alike. Depending on the religion, I am supposed to find the footprint of Shiva, Adam or Buddha on its summit. After sunrise we go back to the guesthouse, shower, have breakfast and drive to Hatton, from where we take the train to Ella.

We take the train from Hatton to Ella, crossing the heart of the island, passing countless tea plantations stretching over the hills. We will not stay in Ella itself, but on the beautiful Amba Estate, a tea plantation where high quality tea is grown without the use of pesticides. From Amba Estate you can make excursions into the surrounding countryside, e.g. visit waterfalls, climb Little Adam's Peak or just enjoy the landscape.

From Ella we will go by bus to the south coast, to Ahangama. There we will stay one week in a surf camp (possibly guesthouse). The south coast offers many surf spots for beginners and advanced surfers with beach breaks and reef breaks. If you want, you can make day trips from Ahangama to the national parks Udawalawe or Yala.