The pearl of the ocean — Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon — is a country rich in culture, filled with beautiful landscapes, lush greenery, historical monuments and mountain ranges. It truly has everything to offer.
Sri Lanka was the first country I ever dreamed of visiting. I planned for it, booked tickets, applied for the arrival card (and paid 50 dollars), booked accommodation, spoke to a tour guide and yet had to cancel. Somehow, it just wasn’t happening.
In December 2024, I wished to celebrate the New Year for the first time in a new place. The four of us read about Sri Lanka’s new visa-free policy for Indians, found affordable flights and great Airbnbs — and we didn’t give it a second thought.
Our runner hearts started looking for events to participate in, but we couldn’t find a single one happening in Colombo. Still, Sri Lanka is beautiful everywhere, so we decided to turn it into a trip full of hiking and exploration instead.
We had first tried Sri Lankan food in Malaysia — and immediately fell in love with it. It has that comforting, home-cooked vibe — like food made by mom. We knew we had to try more once we were in Sri Lanka. During our visit, every meal and snack we had was unique and delicioso!
The only thing we repeated was Italian gelato — we went thrice! The ice cream shop owner even recognized us. We enjoyed our gelatos carefully as Colombo is spotless and we wanted to keep it that way.
There are countless places to visit in Sri Lanka — it’s hard to choose and even harder to skip anything on a one-week trip. My inner child wanted to add everything to the list, but the adult in me said, “Let’s go slow. Let’s live like locals, enjoy the days and visit historically important places.”
So we planned our itinerary: land in Colombo, stay for a day, and then take a train to Kandy.
Our accommodation in Kandy was my absolute favorite. The place had a view of a stupa right at the entrance — a 900-year-old temple with Buddha’s shrine inside. The entire property looked like a beautiful park. From our host, we learned that their family had a long history of serving at the Temple of the Tooth Relic. We even had the opportunity to meet a monk.
We were served delicious home-cooked food and were touched by their hospitality and warmth. The host explained every dish and ingredient to us and the quantity was like a wedding feast!
The surroundings of the house were so pretty that I could’ve spent the entire week just there. I literally counted how many plants they had — so many varieties of lilies, flowers and patterns!
We visited the Sri Dalada Maligawa — the Temple of the Tooth Relic. It was closed in the afternoon, so we waited until it reopened in the evening. Because of the crowd, I couldn’t see the main shrine properly (and not wearing my glasses didn’t help). The temple had such a serene vibe. Despite the crowd, everyone moved calmly and respectfully in queues, offering water lilies and white flowers with a delightful scent. Hardly anyone was taking photos.
After my first darshan, it didn’t feel enough. I couldn’t believe what I had seen — I felt lost in the moment. So, I joined the queue again, waited for almost two hours, and had another darshan. It was a truly divine experience.
After that, we visited the Kandy National Museum, the old royal palace and the Museum of Tusker Raja. We also did an amazing hike in Kandy — the Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, a protected forest reserve located in the heart of Kandy.
We ended our Kandy trip with a cultural Kandyan dance show at the Kandy Lake Club. The cultural show moved from powerful Kandyan steps to soothing traditional dances, offering a glimpse into Sri Lanka’s deep-rooted traditions and folklore.
Next, we headed to Dambulla Royal Cave Temple. It has five main caves carved into a massive granite rock, each filled with numerous Buddha statues and murals. The Dambulla Cave Temple dates back over 2000 years. It was established by King Valagamba during the 1st century BC. When he was exiled, he took refuge in these caves. Later, after regaining the throne, he converted the caves into Buddhist temples to offer gratitude to the monks who had sheltered him.
Then we visited Sigiriya Lion Rock. (If you’d like to read about our Sigiriya and Pidurangala journey, check out our full blog post here.)
Finally, we returned to Colombo for New Year’s. It was the first time I celebrated New Year’s outside my hometown — and it was grand! The sky was filled with fireworks.
Sri Lanka is one of those places you can visit multiple times — there’s always more to see, more to feel and more to love.
To travel, to experience and learn: that is to live.
Tenzing Norgay
