Whales & Dolphins Watching (seasonal)

Whales and Dolphins watching is done in Sri Lanka off Dondra in the south coast, Kalpitiya in the west coast and Trincomalee in the east coast. In fact, large scale whale watching commenced almost three decades ago and was a lucrative past time off the coast of Trincomalee where whales and dolphins move closer to the coast during certain parts of the year. Whale watching is done during the times of the year when the sea is not rough. This is a recreation that is gaining importance in the south in Dondra where both blue whales and sperm whales can be sighted by viewers. In Kalpitiya, one can mostly sight dolphins in large numbers freely moving and playing in the water and this being a fishing area, the dolphins are quite used to humans moving around in boats all the time and do not shy away when sighted. To those interested in whale and dolphin watching as a past time, there are these three locations off the coast of Sri Lanka, which is a luxury for a small island such as Sri Lanka. It only takes one to join in a boat trip out into the ocean through any of these three locations

Yala Safari Game Drive
 Yala National Park situated on the south east coast of Sri Lanka is 309km from Colombo along the coast line. Yala contains different habitats such as jungles, scrublands, inland freshwater lakes, lagoons, a wide and generous stretch of the beach and even rivers, all giving rise to wide biodiversity. As a result, one finds wild elephants and other animals such as leopards, wild boar, deer, gray languor, crocodiles and peacocks and other birds, all in their natural habitats. Yala is considered the best place in the world to watch leopards in their natural habitat.

One needs to spend two to three days leisurely to view and enjoy the entire park. Tours through the Yala sanctuary are generally made in open jeeps and elephant tracks and leopard tracks within the park are known to tour guides. Apart from enjoying wild life, one can enjoy the vast beach stretch along the deep blue sea that makes a beautiful and relaxing sight for the visitors. As the park is bounded along the south by the coastline, once the visitors reach the beach, they can freely enjoy the open beach, the sand dunes, the natural bays and the mangroves that line the lagoons. Those wishing to visit the Yala sanctuary need to note that it is closed in September and October

Up-country train ride
 A visitor to Sri Lanka never misses a trip to the up-country full of luxurious tea plantations and waterfalls. One can tour the hills through automobile or train. For a relaxed and convenient journey, the latter is preferred. The railways in Sri Lanka were built by the British during the colonial times. These sometimes bypass the hills, go round the hills, pass along bridges between hills and most importantly they go through tunnels in hills.
The train journey to the hill country is an experience even for a Sri Lankan, so much so that one has to book seats much ahead of travel dates. There are train journeys to Kandy, Matale, Nanu Oya, and to Badulla passing through breath-taking views of the hill country, its valleys, mountains, greenery, streams, and more. The morning train to Badulla from Colombo has an Observation Salon with a limited number of seats. Yet if one wishes to travel with the local community, the second class would be comfortable. As the train winds its way towards the hills, at various stops one finds vendors passing through compartments with tender coconuts complete with straw for quenching one’s thirst and succulent fresh fruits and fried cadju nuts and peanuts. Later on come hot vadai made of Mysore dhal and prawns. One is never in want of food on this train journey. To the sight seers, the train journey is quite an experience. One can deviate to Kandy or Matale along the route or leave at Nanu Oya for proceeding to Nuwara Eliya just 10km away or go right down to Badulla. As the train moves up the hills it gets colder and mistier and some of the railway stations are fully covered with mist. One passes through quite a number of tunnels and the scenery becomes more and more breath-taking as one views the green topped terrains with tea plantations as far as the eye can see, interspersed with milky white water falls and enjoy the picturesque scenery of the hill country. The train journey to the up-country is simply an unforgettable experience