Sri Lanka safaris and vacation tours … an amazing travel location that we will focus in this post. These two parks are within half an hour’s drive of each other in the North Central Province, situated around two large reservoirs. Scrub jungle surrounds the lakes and contains many mammals, but game viewing is generally poor – except for the wonderful seasonal congregation of elephants. The ‘gathering’ takes place in Minneriya during September and October, when over 300 elephants come together on the bed of Minneriya Lake, which dries out to create a lush grassland.
Udawalawe National Park: has fewer leopards, it’s a fact. The population is around 10-12, so the chances of spotting them are quite rare. We were extremely lucky to be able to watch two cute young leopards playing with their mother for about 45 minutes at Udawalawe National Park. It was just us and them, and no other jeeps! We were told this particular family of leopards at Udawalawe had grown used to the jeeps so were not shy to make an appearance for us. However, this experience is probably more the exception than the rule. Nonetheless, there is so much wildlife to see at Udawalawe, that we would have found the experience amazing even without spotting the leopards.
This white sand beach in the small seaside town of Unawatuna is a great place to relax. There are a number of snorkeling and diving operators in town who take advantage of the abundance of coral reefs just off the beach. Colorful fish and plentiful turtles are the norm in these waters. There are a number of great dining options along the beach, which welcome visitors to use their sun loungers and relax the day away with a drink in hand. Visitors can find Gal Viharaya in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. Gal Viharaya is a famous Buddhist site and is celebrated for its many caves and large sculptures of Buddha which are carved into the rock faces. They are extremely well preserved, even though they were crafted in the 12th century. To the side of one of the statues, a code of conduct is inscribed. The code, when followed, was meant to purify the Buddhist monks and bring them together under one order. It was created by a very famous king: King Parakramabahu the first. Today, Gal Viharaya is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular sites of pilgrimage. Find additional details https://lankan.holiday/.
Diyaluma Falls is the 2nd biggest waterfall in Sri Lanka and is the perfect spot for a full day adventure. There are multiple falls and natural pools throughout this hike in the Badulla region. I could’ve spent days here. The hike was almost entirely downhill and led us through the long grass but the trail was marked the whole way. It appeared that the trail wasn’t used too often as the trail was quite overgrown in many parts. After about 30 minutes we reached the top of Diyaluma Falls. Here you have a series of pools cascading towards the edge of the cliff. When the falls finally reach the edge they fall into one final pool before crashing 628 feet into the pool, far below. This is the 2nd highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and it is hard to get a good look from this vantage point but if you are game enough you can peer over the edge. After chilling on the edge for over an hour we headed back up the track passing the upper falls and arriving at the top of the upper falls. This was a 15-minute hike and we just followed the track alongside the upper falls. Here we found more pools. It looked quite average until we explored further towards the edge of the upper Diyaluma falls and found a spot where we could jump. We checked the depth and found an area with no rocks and spent the next hour flipping through the refreshing water.