On an excursion off Mirissa with John Keells Nature Trails, Shaveen experiences some serious thrills

Our eyes are fixed on the far horizon. The sun’s rays illuminate the seascape. ‘Whale.. Blue Whale!’ a cry is let out from the boat. All eyes turn to the person who made the call and then follow his finger towards the distance. Suddenly the magnificent creature surfaces. The sight itself is overwhelming. The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest animal on earth shows itself for just about minute, before disappearing into the depths of the sea.

The Blue Whales are seen in three locations off the coast of Sri Lanka–Mirissa, Kalpitiya and Trincomalee. Mirissa being the prime spot out of the three, sandwiched between the towns of Weligama and Matara, is a 35 km or one hour drive south of Galle by bus. The whale watching season is just beginning as the Sunday Times joins a John Keells expedition on board a 20-seater power boat off Mirissa.

“Passion is what drives me on this whale quest,” says Nilantha Kodituwakku, naturalist at John Keells Nature Trails who has worked alongside Chitral Jayatilaka – Head of Eco-Tourism and Special Projects at John Keells to promote the operation. Having been inspired by the wildlife and backyard jungle treks of Polonnaruwa, where he grew up, Nilantha has ever since been in love with nature.

“I don’t believe that whales are here for the season, I believe that they are resident creatures,” adds Nilantha. ”Of course the start of the season signifies the best weather conditions to see whales, and has yielded high success rates,” he adds, as the sun glistens across a sky that now beams clear blue.

‘John Keells Nature Trails’ have been pioneers in the industry and are known to have the safety of the passengers and the whales uppermost.

The official season kicked off early November with a few boats going out to sea, in search of luck in its big blue form. At the entrance to the John Keells office at the Mirissa fishery harbour a whiteboard with dated entries lets us know that the last few outings have indeed yielded good results – with sightings of up to a dozen Blue and Sperm whales, and a staggering 300 Spinner Dolphins (Stenella longirostris), on a particular outing.

Nilantha pulls out a sea chart to pinpoint the locations we’ll be heading to. The sea chart reveals the extraordinary fact that there is a high density of whales between the first and second international shipping lanes. “The whales are not deterred by the ships though the reason still remains a mystery,” says Nilantha. As though to solely prove his point, a magnificent Blue surfaces and does a trademark dive as an oil tanker steams past in the distance.

The Mirissa sea is unique in many ways, being upto 300 metres deep within close vicinity to the shore, the continental shelf being very narrow here. This specialty is what makes these waters well-suited for marine mammal watching. The success rate of spotting Blue whales is almost 100%, with Sperm whales, Risso’s and Spinner dolphins showing themselves along the way.

Blue Whale Sri Lanka by Chitral Jayatilake

Along with John Keells, Mirissa Water Sports was one of the first in the industry. With a modest beginning of very few boats – three to be precise, they currently have 15 boats in operation. But these apart, unregulated boating has been a reason for worry, with a large number of fishermen-cum-whale watchers emerging from the region. The thirst for quick money has lured them into this enterprise. With their owners having little knowledge, these boats pose a threat to the long term viability of the industry. “The balance in the industry depends on proper regulation,” says Nilantha. “We know the regulations, we don’t chase the whales, we don’t separate the pack and we certainly don’t encroach on their personal space.”

Such practices were evidently lacking in some of the small boats that took to sea. On one instance a small boat laden with foreign tourists ventured so close to a whale that it was literally on top of the creature. The whale obviously showing signs of panic, vanished out of sight.

NARA chairman Hiran Jayewardene, speaking to the Sunday Times says that regulations are long overdue, although there have been discussions between the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Tourist Board and NARA. Dr. Jayewardene points out that regional co-operation on this matter is being sought. “We are presently working with the Centre for Research on Indian Ocean Marine Mammals (CRIOMM), and the Indian Ocean Maritime Affairs Co-operation (IOMAC), to adopt a common approach and a dedicated Marine Mammal Management Act.”

Just as a Blue whale is spotted by Nilantha, our boat slowly approaches from the rear, making sure the 100m distance is kept. The Blue acknowledges our restraint by remaining on the surface for a prolonged period before treating us to another breathtaking tail fluke. Four giant leviathans are sighted, before we head back, only to be greeted with the pleasant surprise of close to a hundred Spinner dolphins, as one chirpy dolphin rose from the water spinning upwards – justifying its name. Spectacular would be an understatement for these sights.

Enjoying the spectacle, tourists Farida and Francis Gueroult from France, tell us that whale watching is what attracted them to the Southern coast. Francis says travelling has been their pastime for the last couple of years. “Sri Lanka is one of our top destinations, because of its ecology and its smiles,” beams Farida.

“This industry should not be abandoned, however small boats should not be allowed to close in on the whales,” they say. Being one of the first to literally point a finger at the rowdy boatmen, Farida reiterates that the tourists should be the first to tell the local boatmen not to disturb the whales – solely to please them.

Another stakeholder is the Sri Lanka Navy who recently launched their very own whale watching expeditions headed by Commander Kosala Wijesooriya. Their boat – the A543 had seen active service in Eastern waters. “We have decided to come into the industry as there was a lack of methodical operations,” says Commander Wijesooriya, explaining that the Navy aspired solely to provide a boost to the industry.

“Sri Lanka has not even touched its potential in becoming a whale watching hotspot,” he claims. The Navy currently has no affiliated naturalist but is keen to take down methodical notes of sightings and log them for future use. “Once the industry blooms, we’ll not continue the enterprise, as the Navy is entrusted with other operations of prime importance,” Commander Wijesooriya says.

The whale watching industry is on a tight-rope, struggling to find the balance between conservation, regulation and national economic gain. To strike this intimate balance is what authorities and conservationists must work towards if it is to be a sustainable and beneficial effort both for tourism in Sri Lanka and the majestic marine mammals that seek our waters.

Keells Nature trails

A three- hour excursion with John Keells Nature Trails costs Rs 7000 per person, and reservations can be made from the John Keells Head Office, Colombo 2, or at the Chaaya Tranz Hotel Hikkaduwa.

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Italian models who participated in the Sri Lanka Design Festival flew to Koggala courtesy SriLankan AirTaxi earlier this week on a tour of the south coast.

These models took part in a fashion photoshoot during their stay in Galle and also toured the attractions of the coastal city.

The 10 models were part of a contingent of an international group of participants at the Sri Lanka Design Festival held from November, 16-19 where SriLankan Airlines was the Official Airline partner.

Over 40 participants from Italy, United Kingdom and India that included international models, design experts and other personalities of the industry were flown down by the national carrier, to be part of the fashion extravaganza conducted by the Academy of Design.

SriLankan AirTaxi has become increasingly popular for domestic travel among both locals and tourists, due its novelty and convenience afforded to travellers.

The fast expanding network of the float plane service covering major towns and cities in the provinces and even the farthest outpost locations that are now emerging tourist destinations, is proving to be a major boost for tourism development in the country.

SriLankan AirTaxi now operates scheduled flights to Kandy, Bentota, Dickwella, Koggala, Nuwara Eliya and to Dambulla from the South coast.

Charter operations are now possible to Tissa, Hambantota, Victoria (Kandy), Castlereigh, Trinco, Ampara, Arugam Bay and Iranamadu in Kilinochchi.

Batticaloa is next up to come online in SriLankan AirTaxis’ charter operations.

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Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is heading towards achieving a golden double by recording one million tourist arrivals and one billion US dollars in revenue soon.

Permanent peace was the key towards achieving this target as the terrorist problem that prevailed for 30 years saw several adverse travel advisories issued against Sri Lanka, which discouraged foreign tourists from visiting this country. Today, Sri Lankan tourism industry stakeholders say that Sri Lanka is among the safest countries in the universe, an accolade which even some developed countries are jealous of.

Last Thursday saw history of the tourism industry in the island being re-written, when the country welcomed the arrival of the 750,000th tourist in 2011 at the Bandaranaike International Airport.

This is the first time that the island’s tourism industry witnessed arrivals exceeding 700,000 in any given year, making it a ground-breaking figure in tourism records.

A team of officials from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau and representatives from the Ministry of Economic Development welcomed the guest, Mohomad Albordiny and wife(Palestinian) who arrived in Sri Lanka via QR 302 flight from Doha at 4:15 p.m.

During 2010, the number of tourist arrivals recorded was 654,476 as opposed to 750,000 so far this year, which is a 34.2 percent annual growth. This year has seen a huge contribution from Latin American, Caribbean and western European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, UK and Germany. These regions have accounted for 250,847 tourists, sharing a major portion of the 750,000 arrivals.

Sri Lanka Tourism offered a special gift and a complimentary package to this tourist, keeping its promise of rewarding the 750,000th tourist.

Similar rewards were available for the 250,000th, 500,000th and 600,000th tourist who visited Sri Lanka this year.

At the beginning of 2011, Sri Lanka Tourism launched its marketing campaign named “Refreshingly Sri Lanka – Visit 2011”, with the aim of showcasing Sri Lanka as an island with new-found freedom; a place where the visitor can experience everything that is refreshing under the sun.

With this new branding, Sri Lanka Tourism promoted eight segments encapsulating eight wonderful experiences which a tourist can enjoy within eight days. Though Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa is still not confident, the private sector feels that Sri Lanka can achieve the one billion US dollar mark by the end of this year.

All promotional activities and events in the next couple of years will be aimed at achieving the target number of 2.6 million tourists by 2016.

Thanks: SundayObserver.lk

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New filming opportunities for Sri Lanka as government promotes the country as an ideal movie-making location.

Once a location of choice for directors shooting Second World War classics and big 1980s adventure films, Sri Lanka is hoping to make a comeback on the movie trail as it emerges from civil war.

Since the island’s bloody conflict ended in May 2009, the government has been trying to promote a new image focusing on its elegant colonial buildings, tropical jungles and golden beaches.

Post-war ethnic reconciliation is still far from certain after the Tamil Tiger militants were crushed, but there are signs that international studios are again looking to Sri Lanka as a film location.

Sri Lanka’s next major foreign film is tipped to be Toomai of the Elephants, an adaptation of a story from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, starring the former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and the veteran Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.

Filming is set to begin in January, with many local film professionals seeing it as a major chance to advertise Sri Lanka as a flexible and attractive film location.

“The post-war era has opened doors for more movies to be shot in Sri Lanka,” said Chandran Rutnam, a Sri Lankan filmmaker who wrote the Toomai of the Elephants script.

“Safety and difficulty to get insurance to cover film productions in Sri Lanka were the biggest drawbacks during the war. People are now willing to invest in films here because we are cheaper than other Asian locations.”

Rutnam knows better than anyone the island’s potential, as he has worked on more than 50 international projects over the decades.

He was a 16-year-old film hand on the multiple Oscar-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), directed by David Lean and starring Alec Guinness, which was filmed in a valley near the western town of Kitulgala.

Rutnam was also the production manager alongside director Steven Spielberg on the 1984 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It was shot in and around the royal city of Kandy.

“We are encouraging foreign artists and film crews to shoot in our country to experience its beauty,” Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene, the deputy minister of economic development, said.

“The whole country is now open for locations. We see this kind of work promotes our country as a tourist destination, promotes skills and helps local economic activity.”

Abeywardene also said that foreign films would advertise “the vast development work the government has undertaken since the war ended” – a claim that many ethnic-minority Tamils and civil rights groups dispute. The north-east of the country – where most Tamils live – remains devastated by the fighting, and thousands of civilians in the area were killed by military shelling in the final months of the war, according to a United Nations report.

The government denies any wrong-doing and has described demands for a UN inquiry as an attempt to drag Sri Lanka back into conflict instead of building on peace.

For Sri Lanka’s film professionals, the arrival of a major new film project cannot come soon enough. The island’s production fraternity of more than 500 film professionals remained active during the war and are eager to work, said P Samaranayake, a consultant for the National Film Corporation.

“The end of the war remains the huge plus-point for us to promote Sri Lankan locations among foreign film producers,” he said.

“As more film crews come here, we are hoping Sri Lanka will be among the top choice of destinations for the next Hollywood thriller.

Thanks: AFP

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Sri Lanka Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne says that the taxi service at the Katunayake International Airport would be upgraded in order to provide a superior and safe service to local and foreign visitors.

The Minister has said that the new taxi service would operate under one emblem and the taxi cars would be of one color driven by drivers in uniforms.

He has observed that the vehicles used in the taxi service would be upgraded with the help of the 50 percent tax relief provided in the importation of vehicles to the airport.

Delivering the 2012 budget speech, President Mahinda Rajapaksa noted that the airport taxi service needed to be upgraded and that measures have been proposed in the budget for the purpose.

Jayaratne has noted that the first step would be to take steps to replace the old vehicles in the airport taxi fleet.

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The Sri Lankan government has received US$ 125 million (Rs.14 billion) for the land given to Shangri-La Hotels to build a hotel-apartment complex in the Galle Face area of the Colombo city.

Land and Land Development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon has said that the Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, has been given 4.0496 hectares (10 acres) for the hotel project.

The company plans to invest US$ 500 million in the project to build a500-room hotel complex.

The Minister has made this statement to parliament in response to a question posed by United National Party (UNP) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera.

The Minister has said that 2.4361 hectares of land was sold for US$ 75 million and 1.6108 hectares under the second phase for US$ 50 million.

CHECK HERE FOR LOTS OF  ‘DISCOUNT HOTEL DEALS‘  IN SRI LANKA

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As tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka keep growing, the island nation celebrates the arrival of its 750,000th tourist on Thursday November 24th, exceeding the country’s tourism goal for the year 2011.

According to Sri Lanka Tourism Board this is the first time Sri Lanka has welcomed over 700,000 tourists in a year, giving a huge boost to the country’s hotel industry.

The arrivals for January through October this year surpassed the annual tourist arrivals of 654,476 recorded in 2010.

With the latest figure of tourist arrival to the country, Sri Lanka has seen an annual growth of 34.2% so far this year over the number of arrivals recorded in 2010.

The tourism industry revenue by the end of the year is also expected to surpass the target and reach over US $ one billion mark.

Since the end of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, the country has seen increasing tourist arrivals every year for the past two years.

The Industry this year has seen a huge contribution from Latin American, Caribbean & western European countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, UK and Germany. These regions alone have attracted 250, 847 tourists sharing a major portion out of the 750,000 arrivals recorded so far.

Sri Lanka launched a new five-year plan under the guidance of the Economic Development Minister to boost tourism in the country.

Under the plan Sri Lanka expects to raise the number of arrivals to 2.5 million and to earn annual revenue of US$ 2.75 billion by 2016. A target of US$3 billion in foreign direct investment by 2016 has also been set. Sri Lanka is aiming for four million tourist arrivals by year 2020.

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Once again National Geography has picked Sri Lanka in its Best Trips for 2012 – with a abundance of beach, wildlife, culture, adventure, history, natural beauty and everything else crammed into 23,000sqkm of tropical jewel, it is far from surprising that Sri Lanka get picked in this category once again.

Read more about National Geography Best Trips 2012 – and view some brilliant pictures of Sri Lanka by clicking above.

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Five countries including Sri Lanka – dubbed the SLIMMA nations – have been highlighted for their future growth potential. The World Travel Market 2011 Industry Report has earmarked Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Argentina as new emerging countries behind BRIC nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and most recently South Africa.

Sri Lanka was named as it is re-emerging after the civil war, investing in infrastructure and emphasising its natural beauty.

Indonesia was credited for its diversity, growing population high levels of disposable income.

Malaysia was described as an Asian country with more freedom than others in the region, with a developing tourism industry and aggressive marketing campaigns.

Mexico’s improved infrastructure, low taxes and high disposable income were highlighted, while Argentina was seen as an up-and-coming destination enjoying positive growth and offering good value to holidaymakers.

In last year’s report the BRIC nations were named one of the biggest growth opportunities over the next five years. South Africa has since been added, with 65% of senior travel and tourism executives viewing it as important a market as other BRIC nations.
However, South Africa was seen as the least important market to the executives’ businesses, with China the most important, followed by India, Russia and Brazil.

China’s high tourist appeal, natural beauty, growing economy and direct flights were highlighted.

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Peter Kuruvita endures tropical heat and downpours to cook for his TV show, writes Lissa Christopher.

Flying Fish chef and restaurateur Peter Kuruvita has recent, first-hand experience of what it’s like to cook outdoors in the tropics in front of a television camera. ”I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,” he says.

The challenges included ill-timed downpours of biblical proportions; muddy, equipment-laden treks to picturesque locations (where it inevitably rained again); being ”gently baked” under the cameraman’s scrim in ”250 per cent humidity”; and the fact that ”a four-minute cooking segment takes at least five hours to film”.

But the labour has borne its fruits: a 10-part cooking and culture series called My Sri Lanka, of which Kuruvita is rightly proud. The series is beautiful looking and appetite whetting and includes some extremely endearing monkey and elephant cameos.

”I’ve always wanted to be able to show Sri Lanka to people in a positive light,” Kuruvita says. ”I wanted to show how beautiful the country is, how vibrant the people are and how food there really brings people together.”

Kuruvita spent some of his well-travelled childhood in Sri Lanka – his father was born and raised in Colombo – and he still goes back every year.

In My Sri Lanka, he recalls fond memories while strolling through markets or temple grounds, or preparing a chicken and sandalwood curry on the top of a mountain with a hungry dog pacing behind him.

Just about everyone in Sri Lanka is a keen cook and has strong opinions about how things should be done, Kuruvita says. Households make recipes that ”have been handed down through generations but are never written down. And while every household may make a similar curry, they’re all slightly different,” he says.

There’s a sort of local joke, he says, that if you’re invited to eat at another Sri Lankan home and you’re served the most sumptuous feast, after you leave, someone in your party will inevitably say, ”That was really nice but, you know what, not as good as home.”

Ayurveda also plays a significant role in Sri Lankan cuisine – it’s almost medicine before it’s food.

“If you ask anyone in Sri Lanka what something is – at a market, say – they will tell you, ‘Well, it’s really good for your blood pressure’ or, ‘That’s great if your body is overheating’, before they tell you what it actually is,” Kuruvita says.

“And people are so proud of their produce. Even if they’ve got five chillies, it’s the most beautiful pile of five chillies.”

While Kuruvita says he wouldn’t recommend making a TV cooking show outdoors in the tropics, it seems he isn’t taking his own advice. This week, even before My Sri Lanka goes to air, he’s flying off to start filming another series, this time in Indonesia, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands and the Philippines.

”This series will be more about adventure,” he says. ”Sri Lanka, for me, was easy; it’s like home. The next one will be taking me out of my comfort zone.”

My Sri Lanka starts Thursday on SBS One at 7.30pm.

Read more: smh

(Tishani Doshi) — Chances are that when you land at Bandarnaike Airport in Colombo, your taxi driver will ask, “First time coming to Sri Lanka?” If your answer is yes, it’s equally likely your taxi driver will tell you all about the charms of his island, from the “Little England” of the hill country to the beaches in the south.

But if, like me, you’re no stranger to Sri Lanka, chances are that your taxi driver will want to know where you’ve been and what you’ve seen.

I tell Hemantha, who’ll be driving my mother and I around during our week-long stay, that I have visited his country many times. I’ve contemplated Buddha’s tooth in Kandy, watched a cricket match in Dambulla, traipsed around the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, driven up the famous A9 Highway to Jaffna during the ceasefire between government forces and the Tamil Tigers in 2002, and visited fishing towns along the coast after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2006.

This time I’ll be exploring an irregular quadrilateral tract of land starting from Puttlam on the north-west coast, moving south towards the centre of the island, before looping back up north to the old capital of Anuradhapura.

Puttlam, my first stop, is a fishing village in Sri Lanka’s dry zone. Predominantly Muslim, many of its inhabitants were relocated here from Jaffna because of tensions with the Tamil Tigers. During the war, this was a relatively safe place to be, but tourists never ventured here because two of the main attractions in the area – Puttlam Lagoon and the Willpattu National Park, Sri Lanka’s largest park – were off limits, occupied by the Sri Lankan army and navy.

Now you can go looking for pink dolphins in the lagoon, and the park has finally opened its gates again.

It took us nearly six hours to reach Alankuda, the beach resort we’ve booked. Hemantha overshoots, driving us 25km beyond to the town of Kal-pittiyam. There’s no signage to speak of, so we have to ask for directions and after a lengthy phone conversation with the staff, Hemantha finds the correct turning off the road.

The landscape here is dry and wild, with salt flats, prawn hatcheries and goats wearing odd contraptions made of sticks around their necks to keep them from wandering too far. The entry into Alankuda’s wooden gates is one filled with relief and beauty. We leave the arid dunes behind and arrive in a mini oasis – dry-zone grass and Palmyra trees everywhere.

Alankuda is an innovative entrepreneurial venture based on the rather rare idea of sharing. Four properties (Bar Reef Resort, Palagama Beach, Khomba House and Udekki) have pooled their resources to promote the area around their resorts in the hope of turning Puttlam into a beach destination with a difference. This isn’t the beach experience you’ll find in the sheltered southern coast of the country, which is greener and gentler. Here, the sea is rough, raw and virtually abandoned. There’s even a kite-surfing school nearby for adventurous types.

Bar Reef Resort (until recently, it was named Alankuda Beach Resort) is the main hotel, and is a lovely sprawl of mud and wood cabanas and villas. The abiding theme is space: lots and lots of space. Everything is made out of natural materials – grass roofs, mud walls, a shower that magically sprouts out from a tree. It’s all very relaxed and comfortable. The cabana we’re assigned is simple and elegant, with the bed, walls and floors all made from mud and painted a warm ochre colour. It’s a bit of a trek to get to the bathroom, but the privacy each place offers is really one of the highlights of this property.

You can while away your day at the gigantic saltwater pool facing the ocean or you could relax in the ambalama – a traditional wooden hut, originally built as a resting place for travellers. At Bar Reef Resort, all meals are taken at the ambalama, buffet-style for breakfast and lunch but western-style for dinner. Guests sit informally on cushions, balancing plates on their knees, chatting with a glass in hand. While I was visiting, a Sri Lankan family equipped with a guitar sang the night away while fibre-optic stars shone from the depths of the swimming pool. It was magical.

After a few days of looking unsuccessfully for pink dolphins in the Puttlam Lagoon an hour up the coast – dolphin season, we were told, is November through April – we moved south-east towards the town of Anamaduwa, to a property called The Mud House. Its unique selling point is its lack of electricity, offering instead a back-to-basics jungle experience.

We are met at a 2,000-year-old landmark, the Paramakanda Temple, by Tom, an Englishman who came to Anamaduwa a decade ago to teach English and is now part owner of The Mud House. He arrives on a motorbike; behind him come a few other guests on bicycles, and behind them comes a colourful tractor with three beaming children on board. It’s a pretty jolly procession, but then we meet Kumar, another part-owner of The Mud House, who must be the jolliest man on the planet. Kumar takes us on a tour around the property – which sits on 24.3 hectares of forest and lake – pointing out various trees and birds in between loud bursts of laughter, warning us about the jungle squirrels and their fondness for soap.

The idea behind The Mud House is simple: to recreate the experience of Sri Lankan village life without compromising on comfort. The huts are made of traditional wattle and daub with thatched roofs. Bathrooms and shower areas are outdoors, down the garden path. And hammocks are strung up between every possible beam because this is the kind of uber-relaxing place where being horizontal is the default position. Even though a stay at The Mud House feels a bit like camping, (which is why it’s a hit with families, kids, and romantics), there’s also a real sense of luxury. Time slows down the minute you arrive. At night, all you can hear are the calls of crickets, frogs and red loris, a tiny and endangered Sri Lankan primate. And in the morning, you’re woken by the majestic chorusing of the birds. I cannot remember sleeping this deeply anywhere else.

At night, when the kerosene lamps are lit, illuminating the pathways and casting their gorgeous, soft light over everything, there is little to do but talk, play cards, sit by the bonfire, and enjoy the stillness. Oh, and eat. You will eat well here: simple, fresh, Sri Lankan cooking, served in the woods, by the lake, or in the privacy of your own yard.

From The Mud House, our itinerary takes a distinctly luxurious turn as we head towards Dambulla and the Heritance Kandalama hotel. Built by the legendary Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, the father of tropical modernism, its most distinctive feature is that nothing in the natural environment, not even a tree, was disturbed or destroyed during the construction. Cut from rock and covered with foliage, it looks from afar like a grey cave covered in creepers.

The hotel is a striking piece of architecture, with an infinity pool and three varieties of cheeky monkeys running around. My favourite aspect is the hypnotic view it offers of the Kandalama Reservoir and the Sigiriya Rock Fortress in the distance.

Kandalama makes the perfect base to explore Minneriya Park an hour and a half away. After lunch, we seek out the hundreds of elephants that gather here each September, attracted by the water on offer at the end of the dry season. Minneriya is a small sanctuary but it also has beautiful and abundant bird life with peacocks and jungle fowl (the national birds of our respective countries) along the way. At the reservoir, we spot about 50 elephants chewing peacefully on grass. Unfortunately the elephant herd is not the only gathering taking place and we also see 4x4s full of tourists. Hemantha, ever thoughtful, artfully positions us in such a way that we don’t see other humans through our camera lenses.

Later that night, my mother and I head back to the jungle. A casual lunchtime conversation with a Sri Lankan producer and his wife ended with us being invited to the wrap party of an American TV drama, Close Encounters. The jungle has been the predominant theme of our trip so far, so it seems like the most natural thing in the world to be sitting with strangers in this Out of Africa setting, surrounded by swaying grasses, kerosene torches and a table full of barbecued meats.

It’s difficult to wake up the next morning but we’re scheduled to climb Sigiriya at dawn. Sigiriya is the lion-shaped rock fortress built in the fifth century by King Kashyap and deemed by the locals to be the eighth wonder of the world. I climbed it nine years ago and it’s as difficult now as it was then. You have to cut through three levels of gardens, all fed by an intricate but defunct terracotta underwater piping system, before starting the dauntingly steep ascent. What I realise, as I huff and puff my way up, is how much easier it must have been for King Kashyap, who had four stalwart soldiers to ferry him up and down on a litter.

At the midway level are the Sigiriya frescoes, 21 paintings of ample-busted women of King Kashyap’s court, vaguely reminiscent of the ladies that line the Ajanta caves. There were 500 frescoes originally, but over the years some have been destroyed by natural erosion, while others, our guide explains, were defaced by the Buddhist monks who took up residence here after King Kashyap’s fall. “Some monks don’t like topless ladies,” he said.

After climbing Sigiriya we drive north-west on to Ulagalla resort, a brand new property close to the ancient city of Anuradhapura. Arriving here is like entering an oasis, a sanctuary for our tired and overheated bodies. The main office and dining area are housed in a wallawe (literally, a mansion) decorated with wonderfully ornate old fans. At Ulagalla they call their suites chalets and their staff associates. “It’s ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,” the resident manager, Lalin, tells us. It’s the most luxurious place my mother and I have stayed at to date.

Everything runs with wonderful precision at Ulagalla. There are 25 chalets built on stilts, and spread over 23.5 hectares. You can either bike around or call for a golf buggy and the activities on offer include archery, horse riding, kayaking and bird watching, and a gorgeous spa, but when you can lounge about in your own private plunge pool and Jacuzzi, I wonder, who would want to move? My mother and I finally decide to make an effort at sunset. We ride our bikes around the property, stopping to take pictures from lookout towers, imagining how the place must look when the paddy fields that surround the estate are at their brightest and most luminous.

It’s very difficult to say goodbye to Ulagalla, and especially after we finally figure out how to operate the ultra high-tech entertainment system, safe and switchboard. Also, let’s face it: the Jacuzzi on the deck is a big bonus. Still, we must soldier on to the final, and perhaps the toughest part of our journey. A one-day historical blowout at Mihintale and Anuradhapura, plus the long drive back to Colombo. Is it possible? You bet.

Mihintale is the place where Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka from India in the third century BC, via Emperor Ashoka’s son, Mahinda. It wasn’t on our original itinerary but Hemantha seemed very dejected about bypassing it, so we decided to call in. Our guide for the day, Kapila, had studied biochemistry and spent two years in prison because of his involvement with the JVP, the youth Marxist party. Mahinda convinced King Tissa, ruler of Sri Lanka at the time, to convert to Buddhism, and soon, more and more people were brought into the fold. Today, Buddhism is Sri Lanka’s official religion.

Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka’s most historic city, has been off the tourist circuit in recent years as, being strategically positioned on the road to the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Jaffna, it was home to a large army base. Ideally you need a couple of days to wander around the ruins here. We have just two hours in the city, so must do a drive-by tour, though we still manage to take in giant stupas, swimming pools and pleasure gardens, a 2,000-year-old Bo tree, and countless other treasures.

As we make our way back to Colombo I make note of the lyrical names of the towns we pass through: Katuneriya, Mangaleiya, Nikaweratiya, Rajakadaluwa. I love the way the names roll off the tongue, part of the magic of Sri Lanka – as varied and wonderful as the many different peoples and climate zones.

Being such a small place, and having such a behemoth as a neighbour, Sri Lanka is often thought of as “India Lite” or “India diluted”.

I disagree. Sure, some of the landscape is evocative of Goa or Kerala, and there are elephants and tea plantations and cricket-obsessed folk, but to reduce it to an extension of India is to deprive it of its own special powers, the greatest of which is that it is an island: small, contained, able to look in and out at the same time.

After stopping for a final night at The Wallawwa, a new and very chic heritage hotel near Colombo airport, we say goodbye to Hemantha, who has been a stellar guide and companion. I tell him it won’t be long before I’m back to discover more of this tear-shaped island. “Hari, hari,” he says jokingly. This has become the phrase of the week, translating as “Yes, good, it’s all right, OK”. When you make your trip to Sri Lanka, make sure you say, “Hari, hari,” because those words work as a blessing, really. Just say yes, and everything will be OK.

*^* Tishani Doshi’s new novel, The Pleasure Seekers, is out now.

CHECK HERE FOR  ‘HOTEL DEALS’  IN SRI LANKA

Winter can certainly be a depressing time of year; with dreary weather, cold mornings and dark nights, it can feel as though the season is never-ending, especially if springtime is late in arriving. One of the best pick-me-ups is to have something to look forward to, something exciting on the horizon to take your mind off yet another gloomy evening. Winter sun holidays are becoming increasingly popular amongst those eager to escape to a tropical paradise for a week or so, especially for those who want to return with a healthy glow and a spring in their step.

If you’re looking for the ultimate exotic getaway, Sri Lanka is the perfect choice. Not only is this stunning island blessed with beautiful beaches on which to catch some rays, but the food, friendly locals and ancient monuments will give you plenty to do throughout your break. If you’re looking for a winter holiday on a budget, Sri Lanka has an abundance of high-quality budget hotels across the island, perfect option to help save a little money this year.

While staying on the island, one of the first things that will strike you is the stunning landscape and pristine beaches that are dotted around. To really relax, head east to Trincomalee, a beautiful coastal town that offers white sand and clear waters all year round. Trincomalee is a relatively quiet destination, making it perfect for recharging the batteries, and many of the nearby budget hotels back straight onto the sands: perfect for sun worshippers and water sport enthusiasts!

The country also has exotic and extensive wildlife, with elephants, leopards and jackals all calling the island their home. As a result, there are several game reserves to choose from, with Uda Walawe in the south being the most popular for elephant spotting and Horton Plains offering birdwatchers the chance to see some of the island’s rarest and most exotic birds up close. However, remember that many tour guides are not affiliated with the parks themselves, and as a result may not be the best option in helping you spot the animals; if in doubt book an official tour guide through the park.

History lovers will also find plenty to keep them occupied on the island, as Sri Lanka is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the most impressive of these is the Temple of the Tooth in the hill town of Kandy, where a sacred relic (believed to be the Buddha’s left eye-tooth) is stored in a beautiful casket and is the subject of daily ceremonies and devotions from worshippers. Such ceremonies are extremely popular with tourists, although remember to dress and act conservatively should you visit; it is, after all, a religious service.

However you choose to spend your time in Sri Lanka, a much needed injection of winter sun should be just the thing to see you through the rest of the season. If you’re concerned about planning your tour or finding the cheapest deals, websites such as Travel Republic can be extremely helpful in comparing prices and finding the best bargains. Get ready to make friends jealous with your fabulous winter tan!

Thanks: LES

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