Sri Lanka – 4 days itinerary
Travel to Sri Lanka was a very short travel for me. I was there only for 4 days and I explored three cities while I was visiting this beautiful island country. I would go back to this country to explore more of the things that it has to offer. Sigiriya is on top of the list of things I wish to do when I travel again. This post outlines the things I did and visited during the 4 days of my visit.
Note: I had hired a car with the driver to drive me around during these 4 days.
Places that I visited during my 4 days of travel
Rough itinerary
The rough itinerary of my travel in Sri Lanka was:
- 2 days in Bentota.
- 1 day in Kandy.
- 1 day in Colombo.
I definitely suggest spending at least a week to cover all these three places as I felt my travel was rushed and I had very less time to see and explore. Among the three places, I loved Bentota and Kandy. I would have easily spent more time in Kandy.
Bentota
The first city I explored was Bentota. It is a resort town in the south west coast of Sri Lanka. The town is only 110 kilometres from the Colombo airport.
Bentota is a coastal town in Sri Lanka. It is located in the Galle district of the Southern province. Bentota has beautiful beaches and they are generally a walkable distance from the stay. I spent 2 days at this beautiful town.
Things to do in Bentota
- Visit the pristine beaches like Bentota Beach or Ventura Beach. The two beaches are absolutely stunning. I also suggest looking at some diving options in Bentota as one can scuba dive with whale sharks.
- Spend some time looking at the precious stones at Aida Gems & Jewellery. And purchase a gem from Sri Lanka as a souvenir.
- Visit Sea Turtles Conservation Research project to see how they are conserving the turtle eggs and the tiny turtles.
Sea turtle conservation project
Have you ever held a tiny little baby turtle? So tiny that they are just two days old and are so fragile that they haven’t even opened their eyes yet? Well, you can experience it at Bentota.
Bentota has a nursery for sea turtle conservation project. The project ensures that the turtle eggs are collected from the sea beds, safely made to hatch within the nursery and the two days old turtles are released into the sea for survival.
Entry fee
There is an entry fee of 1000 Sri Lankan Rupees, paid at the entrance. This is used towards the turtles and their conservation.
My experience
The staff at the nursery do a great job and their main objective is to save the sea turtles that are in danger facing extinction. The nursery not only has the hatch-lings but also is a home for the rescued turtles.
The staff explains you in detail about the egg hatch-ling and how these turtles are let gone into the ocean. There is also an opportunity to go witness these beautiful turtles entering the ocean every alternate days.
Important Information
Note: Please do your research and check for online reviews before going into any turtle conservation project. Some of these are money minting organisations with little or no care towards the turtles or any animals.
Gallery
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Kandy
Kandy is a large city in the central of Sri Lanka. The city was the last capital of Sri Lankan kings and is a World heritage. It is home to the tea plantations and rainforests and the city has been framed as a sacred city with Buddhist temples. I spent only 1 day here and for a thorough guide, read the complete guide to Kandy.
Things to do in Kandy
- Visit the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic. I loved visiting this amazing place and it is worth traveling and spending a few days in Kandy.
- Stroll around Kandy lake.
- Visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage – This was established in the year 1975 and it started with 7 orphan elephants.
- Note: Ensure to do your research before spending any money on the animal orphanage. There were reports of the elephants being given to people with poor caring track records so if going back to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage again, I would ensure that I read and research about them.
- Make paper from elephant poop – This is an amazing process where one can witness and make a recycled paper out of an elephant poop. This place is near the lake where the elephants bathe.
There are many captivated and drugged animals and reptiles that I saw during my visit to Kandy. The people catch snakes and drug them so tourists can take pictures with them. I would definitely not do this now and do not recommend anyone doing this as well. This is not ethical and should not be encouraged.
Colombo
A visit to Sri Lanka is not complete till the capital city is explored. Even though this city has many skyscrapers, it is still home to some of the old buildings retaining the British built colonial charm. I spent the last day here.
Things to do in Colombo
There are many things to do in this city. However, I had only one day so I visited the below:
- Visited House of Fashions.
- Noritake ceramic shop.
- Temple of Sri Kailawasanathan Swami Devasthanam Kovil. Unfortunately, I could not go inside the temple as it was closed when I got there.
- A Buddhist temple – Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of this temple.
- Khan Clock tower.
Safety for solo female travelers
Sri Lanka is relatively safe for solo female travelers. I did not face any issues as such while I was there in Sri Lanka. However, like any other country in the World, be cautious and know your surroundings especially while traveling at nights.
Closing Notes
I loved Sri Lanka. Even though it is such a small country, it still has so many things and caters for all kinds of travelers. I will visit this amazing country again for a longer duration and explore the country.
