Sri Lanka - OutboundHolidays

Stylish Boutique holidays in Sri Lanka

FOR AN exclusive escape that won’t break the bank, boutique travel experts Mr and Mrs Smith tip Sri Lanka, a romantic Indian ocean isle that’s home to a swath of chic and cheerful hotels.

Surely the quickest way to make a destination a must-visit is to utter the word “undiscovered” the mere whisper of off-the-radar has travellers racing for the latest hot spot. We’ve lapped up Laos, pored over Cambodia and now we want the next big thing.

Enter Sri Lanka, a laid-back island nation lolling off the southern tip of India, which, for now at least, remains blissfully untapped.

The civil war and 2004 tsunami conspired to keep tourists away for years, but the advent of peace combined with a wealth of affordable boutique hotels and cultural riches has piqued the interest of style-seekers around the world.

Once known as Serendib, this sultry getaway more than lives up to its original name, delivering a host of unexpected delights. On our week-long trip from country to coast, lush tea fields, soothing temples and surf-lapped beaches unfurl before our eyes.

Though perhaps not worthy of a photo op, the first sight that greets us at capital Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport is memorable. Instead of the haul of whisky and cigarettes you find in most duty-free stores, here it’s all about white goods, with stacks of microwaves, fridges and washing machines lining the path to customs. So far, so intriguing.

Casa Colombo, our bijou base for the night in the southern suburbs, offers another head-snapping moment. A stately pile from the outside, this 200-year-old, 12-suite Moorish mansion surprises within, with a blend of colonial-chic rattan, gold leaf-flecked walls and daring neon accents from owner Lalin Jinasena.

After a seamless check-in, our domo (butler) shows us to our suite, a massive two-room abode with a gadget-filled lounge, bigger-than-king-size bed and a sumptuous copper bathtub.

Breakfast the next day is similarly large-scale, kicking off with fruit, croissants and coffee, before a platter of string hoppers (noodle cakes), fish curry, chutney and sambal is laid out before us.

If we’d lingered longer, we might have swum a few laps in the bubblegum-pink pool, had a massage or strolled along Galle Face Green. Instead, we make for the Kelani River and board a seaplane bound for Kandy in the inland Hill Country.

Touching down in the former royal capital 30 minutes later, we discover a temple-dotted, mountain-ringed retreat with a serene lake at its heart. After biryani at a hillside eatery that bills itself as “Probably the best restaurant in Kandy” (probably not, we reckon), we head to our budget boutique stay on the outskirts of town.

An ancestral manor, the Kandy House, sits among gardens of palms and fig trees slung with hammocks and fairy lights. Owners Tim and Sarah Jacobsen have filled the eight bedrooms with antique furniture and sari-bright fabrics.

Deep balconies and an infinity pool encourage lazy afternoons and a shaded central courtyard becomes the setting for many an arrack sour (the house cocktail made with local palm-toddy brew).

A three-course dinner of grilled prawns, wild boar curry and passionfruit crème caramel is served at the communal table, before the draw of the four-poster proves too strong.

The next day we jump in a tuk-tuk and hightail it into town to join the throngs paying homage at Sri Lanka’s revered Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

Amid much gong sounding, we line up with locals for the chance to glimpse an urn holding one of Buddha’s teeth. Then, after playing spot-the-macaque in the grounds, it’s time for our next seaplane jaunt.

Skipping along under the clouds, the plane offers a breath-snatching view of the country’s rugged interior. Peaks, tea factories and villages pop into view, often accompanied by the striking sight of a Buddhist temple, Hindu shrine and Islamic mosque sitting cheek by jowl.

Our next jumping-off point is coastal Tangalle, home to surf breaks that’d rival those in Australia, and the Kandy House’s sister property, the Last House.

Just metres from the sea, this breezy beach pad was the final project for legendary Sri Lankan architect Geoffery Bawa, and his trademark blurring of indoor and out is evident in the alfresco living spaces and giant windows that act as frames for idyllic ocean vistas.

With six bedrooms, a pool, sprawling lawns and a fully staffed kitchen, the laid-back vibe of the Last House soon has us planning significant birthdays and other group getaways.

We could happily hole ourselves up here for weeks, dining on delicious seafood spaghetti and chilled white wine but before we have time to set down roots, we head for rustic-luxe retreat Maya hotel, 30 minutes inland.

Overlooking rippling paddy fields, this colonial manor house has five sleek suites spread across Old and New Wings, with a sapphire-blue pool between the two.

In the open-sided dining space, we feast on zesty crab salad, fragrant curries and silky buffalo milk kulfi (ice cream) drizzled with jaggery (palm-sugar syrup).

Here, the morning wake-up call comes courtesy of chants from the neighbouring Buddhist monastery, a soul-stirring start to the day.

Shaking off last night’s deep, food-induced torpor, we’re soon climbing into a van (what, no seaplane?) and heading north towards Bentota. En route, we stop off at UNESCO-listed Galle Fort, a 400-year-old seaside enclave whose cobbled lanes are lined with gem stores, clothing boutiques and charming heritage buildings.

Passing stilts in the sea that are sadly free of fishermen today, we continue on to coastal Bentota and Paradise Road The Villa Bentota, a boutique hotel from Sri Lankan design heavyweight Shanth Fernando.

First built by Bawa in the 1970s, this 15-room resort boasts elegant interiors, a palm-shaded pool and lawns that lead down to the sea. Bawa’s own residence, Lunuganga, and his Bawa House 97 commission for an arty pal now a hotel are within easy reach, both fascinating places filled with antiques and contemporary artworks, and surrounded by verdant gardens.

Our last trip takes us back to Colombo, 90km north, and the Wallawwa hotel in leafy Negombo. With flights into and out of Sri Lanka notoriously ill-timed (between midnight and 2am is the norm), it makes sense to bookend your holiday with a post and pre-flight stay at this peaceful retreat. Once home to the village chief, the 200-year-old manor house now offers 14 modern rooms, with four-poster beds, sleek bathrooms and uplifting splashes of fuchsia and orange.

A relaxing massage in the Z Spa, a dip in the pretty pool and a fabulous pan-Asian dinner of curries and grilled seafood has us feeling fresh and fortified.

Then it’s back to the airport and its curious duty-free stores, sans white-goods this time, before bundling ourselves on to a red-eye flight that will leave us wondering if this whirlwind week was all just a dream.

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Sri Lanka tourism blooms

Brad Hayes arrived at China Bay, just outside the harbour city of Trincomalee on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, in rare style.

The 47-year-old Australian chemical engineer was among the few paying passengers on a Sri Lankan Air Force flight from the northern city of Jaffna. The 45-minute hop was comfortable and generally uneventful, he said, save for the high-calibre bullet hole in the propeller plane’s fuselage right next to his seat.

“At least I had natural air-conditioning,” Hayes quipped.

The military of this island nation has lots of time — not to mention equipment and land — on their hands after the bloody and conclusive defeat of a decades-long insurgency in 2009. So it is turning an eye to civilian endeavours.

In addition to selling domestic seats on its planes, the Air Force runs helicopter sightseeing tours and operates at least one modest seaside resort. The Navy, meanwhile, will take visitors out on various marine excursions, including whale-watching trips. The Army has a travel agency and control of much prime property, especially in the former war zones.

Newly idled armed forces are just one of the players jostling for a piece of the booming travel and tourism pie as concerns large and small, foreign and domestic, launch or relaunch projects that were on hold during the civil war.

It is certainly an almost ideal time and place for the travel industry. A recent devaluation of the rupee, coupled with a rise in fuel prices and interest rates, could tamp down the torrid pace of GDP growth (estimated at 8% and change last year) and cause some real pain to those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. But the peace is going to last. The government won the war decisively by killing, capturing or scattering the entire rebel movement. And it has yet to demobilize the wartime build-up, ensuring that tens of thousands of soldiers with weapons and training are not going to end up on the streets.

Sri Lanka is also remarkably secure from a personal-safety standpoint, with little violent crime and almost none of it directed at foreigners. The most dangerous thing a foreigner can do these days is get in a car or cross the street: With some exceptions, like the new expressway from the capital of Colombo to the southern port of Galle, driving in Sri Lanka is pretty much an endless succession of near-misses.

Reclaiming prime resort land

Luxury hotels are rising on white-sand beaches in the East that were once controlled by the feared Tamil Tigers. Spas and eco-resorts in the highlands and near the religious and archaeological sites of the central dry zone seem to open almost daily.

In Colombo, the five-star hotels are running at near-capacity. Multinational operators who either abandoned the country in the bad times or shied away from investing in it are signing deals for new properties. Across the island, roads are being built or upgraded to allow a quicker flow of commerce, be it animal, mineral or vegetable.

Foreign arrivals, while still relatively low compared to some other Asian tourist hot spots, are growing at an astonishing clip. In 2011, Sri Lanka welcomed about 860,000 visitors, a record and an increase of 31% over the previous year, which was also an all-time high at the time.

Well-heeled Western Europeans made up about 37% of the total, with neighbouring South Asian countries, mostly India, accounting for another 35%. The balance comes largely from places including Japan, China, Russia and Southeast Asia.

Americans account for only small fraction of the trade, at least partly due to the long travel time compared with other tropical destinations like Mexico and Costa Rica, but that could change as the New York Times in 2010 tapped Sri Lanka as the No. 1 “Place to Go” that year.

The government’s stated short-term goal is to reach 2 million tourists and revenue of $2.75 billion in the next few years, a target that many believe is easily attainable barring some unforeseen event.

“Leisure has taken off in a big way,” said Krishan Balendra, head of corporate finance & strategy at John Keell’s Holdings, Sri Lanka’s largest publicly traded firm with interests in tourism, retailing, transportation and other sectors. “We have already come a long way and if Cambodia can get over 2 million tourists a year, we can easily do it too.”

As a local firm, Keell’s had no choice but to stick it out as foreign visitation shrivelled to almost nothing. But he bears no ill will towards the foreign concerns now rushing in to take advantage of what boosters like to call “The Wonder of Asia.”

“We need more hotel rooms on the ground,” he said. “There is enough business for everyone as the country is pretty much sold out. We would encourage anything that attracts more people and the local brands can easily co-exist with the foreign ones.”

New luxury properties

In late February, Hong-Kong based Shangri-La Hotels broke ground on two new properties, one in Colombo and the other in Hambantota.

The latter city, on the southeast coast, is the site of both a new deepwater harbour and international airport. It has traditionally been one of the country’s poorest regions and is also, not coincidentally, the home political turf of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the current president. Rajapaksa has been spearheading an unprecedented multibillion dollar investment in infrastructure that is reaching into almost every corner of this West Virginia-sized nation.

“Sri Lanka is a country of unsurpassed natural beauty, rich in cultural heritage, and above all it is well recognized for its warm and hospitable population,” said Greg Dogan, president and chief executive of Shangri-La International Hotel Management. “The local government is fully committed to rebuilding the economy and we believe that Shangri-La will be able to assist in positioning the country as a prime global tourist destination.”

Shangri-La is putting about $550 million into the two projects, which will have roughly 1,000 rooms between them. The company caught a big break in that it was able to negotiate the outright purchase of 10 acres of government-owned land along Colombo’s magnificent oceanfront park, the Galle Face Green.

While the authorities have technically lifted a long-time ban on foreign land ownership, the issue remains politically charged and most deals are apt to be either management agreements or made on long-term leases.

As to the complexity of getting it off the ground, Dogan merely commented that “all projects regardless of destination require careful negotiations before we will consider them [and] in that sense Sri Lanka was no different from other destinations.”

Lots of interest from resort developers

Shangri-La’s investment is the biggest foreign one to date in the hotel sector but there are other companies in various stages of development. According to some local press reports and government sources, Marriott, Starwood and Hyatt have all given the country at least the once-over.

“We are very active in Sri Lanka looking at proposed projects,” said Avjit Ahulwaliya, Marriott’s director of Asian development. ”The country offers a lot of potential for resort development and we are at the moment looking at many projects which are in the planning stages.”

He added that as the infrastructure improves, “new areas will open up for tourism and we are focusing on many of these areas.”

The “current phase in Sri Lanka is more focused on land acquisition and investment and we expect that the second phase will be of investors finding hotel companies to manage properties,” Ahulwaliya.said.

At least one American casino operator has also been sniffing around, according to a foreign diplomat, but there is unlikely to be much action in that area until the regulatory environment is clarified. As it stands now, the gambling business is dominated by local operators who cheerfully do business under names like MGM Grand and Bally’s, trademarks that are owned in the U.S. by MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment CZR, respectively.

Horton-Plains-National-Park-Sri-Lanka-2 — Sambur at Horton Plains

‘Bargain’ label in jeopardy

Manesh Fernando is the general manger of the Hilton Colombo Residence, which caters to a mix of business and leisure travellers. He said the property has experienced “phenomenal growth” with annual revenue increasing 35% to 40% since the end of the war. The hotel, which is owned by a local family and managed by Blackstone Group’s Hilton brand, was built in 1997 but has never seen such good times.

“People keep coming to this country and there is lot going on but we need to do more to promote the low seasons and to go to markets that are not our traditional ones: Malaysia, Indonesia and China,” he said.

Fernando is also confident the number of tourists will rise to 2 million a year as “the only reason we would not be able to do so is if we don’t get enough capacity” to handle that number.

A recent devaluation of the rupee has given the industry an additional hand, he noted. After expending billions in foreign reserves to keep the currency at an artificially high level, the central bank finally threw in the sponge a few months ago and let it float with the market. The result has caused no small pain for a country where so many are dependent on imports, and created a political headache for the ruling party.

But Fernando said “it will help the tourism industry as we will overall make more money in rupees” from rooms that are priced and paid for in U.S. dollars.

Hotel operators are also getting considerable support from the government when it comes to rates. To avoid the kind of cutthroat competition on price that characterized the war years, the minimum rate for a five-star hotel is currently $125 a night. Tack on 27% tax, of which 10% is a service fee that goes to hotel staff and the rest to the treasury, and Sri Lanka is apt to soon shed its reputation as a bargain destination.

That is not lost on Hayes, the Australian engineer who has made several lengthy visits here over the years.

“This is still a very nice place to come, with lots to see and do,” he said. “But it is definitely getting more expensive, even at the lower levels.”

William Spain is a MarketWatch staff writer in Chicago.

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Sri Lanka international airport expansion to accommodate increasing tourist…

The Sri Lankan government is to develop the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake and other facilities in order to accommodate the anticipated increase in tourist arrivals to the country.

Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena has said the BIA would be further modernized to international standards due to the increase in the number of tourist arrivals and the country’s trade activities.

He has said the Japanese government has agreed to provide a yen loan amounting to approximately Rs.40 billion through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the development work of the airport.

The Minister has explained that the government’s aim is to convert the airport into a commercial and business hub in the country.

According to Abeywardena, measures have already been taken by the government to develop the tourism sector in the country and increase the number of star class hotels and rooms in the country.

Meanwhile, the government says the construction work of Sri Lankan’s second international airport at Mattala in Hambantota district has nearly been completed and the airport will be opened for international flights at the end of this year.

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Cathay Pacific looks at Sri Lanka as a growth…

Hong-Kong based Cathay Pacific Airline has been operating in Sri Lanka since 1993 and continued to remain in the country, even during the height of the war, except for one year which the airline says it went offline.

As of now, it operates seven flights from Colombo to Hong Kong every week via Singapore and Bangkok.

The airlines Country Manager for Sri Lanka, Edward Coles, joining for an interview with News360.lk said, Cathay as of now deploys its largest capacity aircraft on the Colombo route.

He said, as the country’s tourism industry is showing growth prospects, the Airline will continue to add destinations to the network, increasing access to the Island through its Hong Kong hub.

Below we produced the full interview we had with Edward Coles, who has worked at Swire group before joining Cathay Pacific.

1. Tell us little bit about Cathay’s Colombo operations?

a. Cathay operates daily passenger flights from Colombo with our B777-300 aircraft in a 2 class configuration. Cargo is also a very important part of our business, and the 777 allows us to carry significant belly cargo.

2. What are the destinations you operate to/from Colombo?

a. Cathay flies daily to Hong Kong, 3 flights per week route via Bangkok, and the remaining 4 route via Singapore. We serve over 160 destinations worldwide through our Hong Kong hub.

3. How do you view the new situation, which has emerged in Sri Lanka, I mean the post conflict opportunities?

a. It has every right to be a really exciting time to be in Sri Lanka. The sense of optimism post conflict in Sri Lanka is still very evident, in addition Sri Lanka’s strong academic base should serve the country very well as it continues to grow.

4. Sri Lanka last year, received 850,000 tourists to the country and more is expected this year, your observation on this fact?

a. I think this is a great growth industry for Sri Lanka-the country is so naturally set up for tourism. In my experience, Sri Lankan people are very friendly and welcoming, whilst there are a seriously impressive number of attractions, both natural and cultural, which means Sri Lanka has every right to attract many more tourists over the coming years.

5. With the influx of tourists to the country, both in terms of leisure and business, how is Cathay planning to gain advantage from this situation, are you planning to increase flight frequencies and include new destinations etc.?

a. Currently Cathay deploys it largest capacity aircraft on the Colombo route, in addition we continue to add destinations to the network-increasing access to Sri Lanka through our Hong Kong hub. Cathay is a prime choice for some of the main inbound growth markets, for example we fly from 18 ports across China to Colombo via Hong Kong. Cathay Holidays, one of our subsidiaries runs packages to Sri Lanka, while we regularly feature Sri Lanka in our in-flight magazines as well.

6. After the end of the war, a number of new airlines have entered Colombo, how does your airline cope with the competition?

a. Cathay will continue to offer its award winning service to passengers, and aim to deliver value for money in its products. The competition is indeed stiff, but Cathay strategy which has been at the core of our success so far has been to pursue long term steady growth in the market.

7. Sri Lankan government’s aim is to make Colombo a logistics hub, your thoughts on this goal?

Infrastructure is hugely important, and it’s great to see the investment in this area, the highway to Galle of course being a case in point! There are some really interesting plans for growth, and provision for this into the future should hopefully stand Sri Lanka in good stead.

8. Can you tell us little about yourself?

a. I was born and brought up in Hong Kong, so I know this side of the world better than I do Europe! I’ve been with the Swire group (which counts among its members the well known local Finlays) five and a half years now, working with Cathay Pacific throughout. It’s a great company to work for, which really puts people high on its priorities. The group covers a very diverse collection of industries, but its aims for excellence in operational and service fields applies throughout, whilst maintaining a culture of doing things in the right way as well.

9. How do you enjoy your stay in Sri Lanka?

a. Having a friendly team in the office makes moving to a new country a lot easier. However I’m also a keen traveller anyhow, so it’s great to get the opportunity to live here-learn about a new culture, as well as the chance to explore local sites. I’ve been able to hike up Adams Peak, and watch whales off Mirissa since I’ve been here so far, but there is plenty more to do!

– Prasanna Rodrigo writes for News360

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Polish Enter Airlines becomes biggest charter carrier to Sri…

Embarking on another significant milestone in Sri Lanka-EU relations, Poland’s largest charter airline Enter Air (ENT), commenced their direct flight operations from Warsaw to Colombo with effect from November 2011.

The inaugural flight from Warsaw ENT-1293, landed in Sri Lanka on November 08 at 8.45 am with a total number of 184 passengers and crew on board.

The group & crew were warmly welcomed by senior officials of the appointed supervisory agent MAC Holdings Private Limited at the arrival lounge of BIA.

MAC Holdings Private Limited is a Sri Lankan group with over 150 years of history and experience. The group was formed to meet customer demands together with its subsidiaries, serving in all aspects of global logistics, total transportation solutions, hospitality and leisure service requirements.

Its strong financial position, partnerships with global industry leaders and solid operational infrastructure have placed MAC among the top of single-source providers in the Indian sub continent.

The group’s prime business activities revolve around supply chain management, airline GSA representation, ships agency representation and travel & tourism. Enter Air will operate its charter services until April 2012 contributing significantly to the influx of tourists from Poland to Sri Lanka which is a true endorsement of Sri Lanka been identified as one of tourism’s most important emerging economies by the global travel industry at the recently concluded World Travel Market 2011 in London.

It further stated that Sri Lanka has been identified as a nation to look out for both inbound and outbound tourism for a variety of reasons including investment in infrastructure, natural beauty and high disposable incomes.

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Sri Lanka focuses of Golfing Holidays

Sri Lanka’s state-run carrier SriLankan Airlines recently sponsored the Asia Pacific tour event as part of efforts to boost the profile of the island’s golf courses and promote up market sports tourism, officials said.

“One way to get to the end user of our airline is through sports,” Srilankan Airlines chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said.

“We do it with rugby, we do it with pro-surfing, and through golfing.”

In February, a three day SriLankan Airlines Asia Pacific Senior Gold Masters Championship Trophy teed off at the 18-hole course at Victoria Golf and Country Resort in Kandy in the island’s central hills.

Golfers from the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Philippines, Switzerland, Malaysia and the UK took part in the championship tournament.

“Golfers look for different experiences, and Sri Lanka has some special attractions,” says Mike Varney, chief executive of International Golf Solutions, which is organizing the event.

“For example Royal Colombo Golf club is the world’s third oldest course outside the UK.”

SriLankan Airlines forked out 100,000 US dollars as title sponsor.

Mike Harwood, former US PGA Tour card holder and Thailand’s Jamnian Chitrasong, who won a recent Asia Pacific championship tour were also in attendance, the airline said.

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Sri Lanka: Where time stands still

Nuwara Eliya Stand and stare, stay and feel

Hill stations are a gift of the British Raj. Nuwara Eliya in upcountry Sri Lanka is a typical ‘little England’ left behind by the British. It has often been compared to the Nilgiris of South India.

But in the case of Nuwara Eliya time seems to have stood still or, at best, travels at a snail’s pace. The picture-postcard hill station is best enjoyed by those who have the time and the temperament to stand and stare, stay and feel.

A park, a lake, a racecourse and a golf course make up the two well-known hill stations. Both are almost at the same elevation and get as much rainfall. But Nuwara Eliya’s weather is milder.

Both the resorts nestle in an amphitheatre of hills. Pidurutalaga (2550m), highest peak in Sri Lanka overlooks Nuwara Eliya, while Doddabetta (2637m), the second tallest peak in South India, towers over Ooty.

Curiously enough, the two resorts were ‘discovered’ at about the same time, in 1819. Administrator Dr. Major John Davy, while on a hunting party, tumbled on a great extent of open country, ‘the aspect of which was not less novel than agreeable’. The natives called it Neuraellyia-pattan. Administrator John Sullivan, who had ‘discovered’ the Nilgiris in 1819, accidently came upon a valley called ‘wotokymund’ which later became Ootacamund or Ooty.

Soaking in the warm winter sun along the deserted Lake Gregory that meanders over the best part of Nuwara Eliya town, childhood memories of the Ooty of yore flood my mind. Even as I gaze longingly, a sea plane makes a gentle landing on the placid, blue waters and takes off soon like a giant water bird. The sea plane, an air taxi service between Peliyagoda near Colombo and Lake Gregory in Nuwara Eliya, has been introduced recently. It takes only 30 minutes to fly 15 persons.

A luxury houseboat with 4-5 star comforts is to be plied soon on the lake. There is a helicopter service too which lands in the middle of the race course adjoining the lake.

English horticulture thrives in Nuwara Eliya. The landscape, despite the winter, is a riot of natural hues of English trees, flowers and vegetables. The hills are wooded with cypress, eucalyptus and pine. A variety of vegetables is grown on the slopes and in kitchen gardens — potato, turnip, carrot, beet, cabbage, cauliflower and leek. Extensive private gardens raise dahlias, snapdragon, petunias, roses and daisies amid well-tended lawns.

The fruit of the season, it seem, is strawberry. Local girls pick the berries in the morning from the endless rows on the steep slopes. It would be a shame if one cannot taste the fresh berries. Opposite the southern end of the lake, a nondescript factory sells fresh strawberries, jam and strawberry recipes. The pancake with strawberry, cream and ice crème we try is delectable.

Tea is the lifeline of Nuwara Eliya and half the 7-lakh population there comprises Tamils who work in the plantations. Colonial tea gardens and factories offer a variety of orange pekoe teas in cosy tea centres.

The Victorian charm of the town lingers with old English buildings housing the post office, police station, clubs and high-end hotels. About 200 hotels cater to the various budgets of the visitors. Houses with mock Tudor half-timbering and hedges add a quaint charm to the place.

April is the season when everybody who is somebody flocks to the hills to see and be seen by those who matter. The Sinhalese New Year falling in that month attracts the largest number of visitors.

For visitors of longer stay, there are plenty of outdoor attractions such as the mountains, the forests and national parks that are within easy reach. Nuwara Eliya is said to be a very popular base for bird-watchers and eco tourists. The Haggala Botanical Gardens are only 10 km away. The uniquely grassy Horton Plains National Park is just an hour away.

There is no dearth of waterfalls — the Ramboda, Hellboda, Devon and the Lakshapana falls to name a few.

Nuwara Eliya is best approached by road from Colombo with a stopover at Peradinia gardens and Kandy, a distance of 180 km on a fine and scenic drive, surrounded by dense forests and tea gardens.

A mountain train on a narrow gauge line was operating from 1910 to 1940. There is now a demand to revive it.

A trip to Nuwara Eliya is not complete without a visit to Sita Eliya, a short distance from the south end of Lake Gregory. According to legend, Goddess Sita was kept in confinement in these idyllic environs. A stream roars past the fine temple. On the rocks across the stream can be seen giant foot marks of Lord Hanuman as he carried Sita away to safety. A short distance down the road, the copious waters of the Rawana Ella fall from great heights.

– Dharmalingam Venugopal writes for The Hindu

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Sri Lanka: Oh what a beauty…

EARLY morning on Kandalama Lake in central Sri Lanka and an elephant is sloshing through the shallows, while around him iridescent kingfishers plunge dart-like into the water.

This lake is an artificial creation, the origins of which date back perhaps 1000 years. Rising from the jungles in this relatively dry part of the country are the ruins of cities that were once wonders of the ancient world. Complex and extensive irrigation channels, reservoirs and water gardens were an integral part of these.

It was the British who coined the term “tank” for these lakes, although that hardly does justice to some of them, which can extend over 2000 hectares.

Today the tanks remain vitally important to this region – providing water for agriculture and resources for fishing as well as being havens for wildlife, from elephants to a myriad of bird species.

Children duck and dive in the tanks, women crouch in the shallows washing clothes and people sometimes still bathe and shampoo in the water.

Much of the credit for the creation of these tanks goes to Parakrama Bahu, a 12th century king who declared: “Let not even a drop of rain water go to the sea without benefiting man.”

What makes Kandalama special is that on its shores is an extraordinary hotel that has won awards for not only its architectural design but its environmental policies and practices.

Heritance Kandalama was built by Sri Lanka’s most illustrious architect, Sir Geoffrey Bawa. His mission at Kandalama was to design a hotel that would settle into its natural environment and in time be almost invisible under a curtain of vegetation.

Enormous rocks from the hill behind the hotel are incorporated into the building which stretches a staggering 1.8 kilometres along the lake shore on seven levels.

Entry to the hotel is through a cleft between the smooth, golden flanks of a giant boulder that also serves as the back wall of the main reception desk.

The hotel is set on pillars so that rain and spring water from the hillside can flow unimpeded into the lake and so that animals too can move about freely.

Infinity edge pools were one of Sir Geoffrey’s signature features. The main pool at Kandalama seems to flow seamlessly into the tank beyond. I swam in it at dusk as the lake began to glow with sunset colours and langur monkeys bounded along the pool’s lip.

The hotel prides itself on its environmental awareness and has its own resident ornithologist who takes guests on jungle treks and on early morning lake cruises. Even on the way down to the shore we saw golden sunbirds darting through the trees. Out on the lake it was a flurry of avian activity: herons, egrets and storks sat perched in trees or flapped lazily overhead. They were watched imperiously by several pairs of fish eagles.

Sir Geoffrey practised architecture for nearly 40 years, his career being ended by a stroke in 1998. He died in 2003 and is now regarded as one of the most important Asian architects of the 20th century.

I am sure that if he could see how his beautiful hotel is now, almost totally engulfed in plants that are teeming with birdlife and monkeys, he’d be delighted.

Although it’s tempting just to stay at the hotel, watch the birds, swim in the pool and indulge in the food (I became happily addicted to having a chef prepare me a hot crispy dosa rolled up with potato masala each morning), Kandalama is also at the heart of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle. Within this are several World Heritage Sites (and some which are on Unesco’s tentative list for consideration as heritage sites), which include some stunning examples of Buddhist art.

If you are approaching Kandalama from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, one of the first sites you will encounter is the rock fortress of Yapahuwa. During the 13th century a Sinhalese king, on the run from invading Indian armies, set up his capital here on top of a 90-metre-high granite outcrop.

Each time the kings moved their capital, they took with them Sri Lanka’s most treasured relic, the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha and the Bo tree (under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment).

Today, little remains of this short-lived capital apart from a beautiful stone staircase which would have once led to the king’s palace and temples.

However the staircase is worth a visit on its own. It’s guarded by two stone lions and is decorated with carvings of musicians and dancers. It’s extremely steep – in fact almost vertical – but the reward for puffing to the top in the tropical heat is the view over the plains below and being able to study the amazingly well preserved carvings on the way up.

It’s also good training for the climb to the top of the much better known and more spectacular rock fortress of Sirigiya. More about that next time…

– Jill Worrall, writes for Central Queensland News

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Cruise Holidays to Sri Lanka on the up

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau says that 20 luxury cruise liners will call at Sri Lanka’s ports this year bringing thousands of tourists to the country.

Arcadia cruise ship of UK’s Carnival PLC was the first of the lineup that reached Colombo Port last week with 2100 tourists from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

According to the Sri Lanka Port Authority officials, more than 20 such luxury carriers, coordinated by the Shipping Agency Services (Pvt) limited, had already been programmed to tie up in Colombo by the end of 2012.

Some of the international cruise lines already making regular calls in the island’s ports include Carnival Cruises, Swan Hellenic and Crystal Cruises.

The island used to attract about 130 cruise ships a year before the conflict but saw cruise calls falling by nearly half during the three-decade war. Even during the war the country used to get about 65-75 cruise vessels a year, says Lanka Business Online.

Last year around 30 cruise lines have called at Sri Lankan ports. Although the industry is somewhat affected by the current global economic crisis Sri Lanka hopes the industry will pick up in due time.

Sri Lanka has high expectations to boost the number of tourist arrivals to 950,000 by the end of this year.

Tourism officials say the development in the tourism sector is also vital to the economic development of the island.

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Sri Lanka Tourism pursues green initiatives

A four-year project to support the reduction of water, waste and energy-usage in one of the world’s fastest-growing tourist destinations has reached its half-way milestone.

Building on a pilot project delivered in 2008, Greening Sri Lanka Hotels is a European Commission-funded initiative which aims to help 350 hotels in Sri Lanka reduce their water and energy consumption and waste production.

The project is led by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with the Travel Foundation, the Responsible Tourism Partnership Sri Lanka, the Institute of Environmental Professionals of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority as partners.

By providing training materials, workshops and ongoing expert support and advice, the project aims to help hoteliers reduce their water and energy consumption, making significant cost savings and helping to conserve natural resources.

Srilal Miththapala, project director, believes the project will help businesses meet increasing demands for sustainable accreditation from tour operators offering holidays to Sri Lanka.

He said: “Like many sectors, the travel industry is recognising the value of offering a sustainable product. The Greening Sri Lanka project is a real win-win, helping hotels not only to save money, but to protect the environment in which they operate and demonstrate to contractors their long-term commitment to sustainable tourism.”

Since the end of the 30-year civil war in 2009, the country has seen tourist numbers grow. According to Sri Lanka Tourism, Sri Lanka is soon set to welcome 1 million visitors per year, with more than 750,000 having already visited the country so far in 2011 compared to 654,476 during the whole of last year.

Sue Hurdle, chief executive of the Travel Foundation, said: “Following so many years of unrest, it”s heartening to see new-found prosperity in Sri Lanka with hotels filling up and new opportunities being created for local businesses. However, as with any fast-growing destination, a careful balance must be struck to preserve what makes Sri Lanka so special for the people who live there and for future generations of visitors.”

“It is hoped this project will help Sri Lankan hoteliers to reduce their impact on the environment and dependence on costly and finite resources, in so doing, demonstrating the country’s commitment to sustainable tourism.”

To date, 139 hotels have signed up to the project and nearly 70 walk-through audits have been conducted in hotels. The local delivery team is planning to engage further hotels through participation in local events and workshops during 2012, as well as highlighting success stories through a communications campaign.

One hotel involved in the project, Heritance Tea factory in Nuwara Eliya, found that replacing roofing sheets with transparent alternatives on its housekeeping department, obtaining increased sunlight to aid drying of linens, has reduced energy use by almost 1,400kWh, while removing bathroom heaters saved another 41,040kWh of energy, producing a first year cost saving of almost Rs. 400,000 (£2,250) – more than 10 times the average monthly household income in Sri Lanka

For more information on the Greening Sri Lanka project, visit: http://www.greeningsrilankahotels.org

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