 |
| Traditional fishing boats |
On route we stopped at Dondra Head Lighthouse, the sothernmost point of Sri Lanka. It was the first of many, many steps climbed in this holiday.
There are only five main routes in to the mountains of Sri Lanka, and the Ella Gap is one of the most popular.
We stayed in a real back of beyond guest house run by a British lady, in the hills high above the village of Ella. She grew most of her own fruits and vegetables and along with a local cook gave us a real taste of Sri Lanka.
Hiking to, and swimming in, their own private waterfalls, as well as the stunning views, were also the real treats to such a remote place.
Rawana Ella Falls are 19m high falls, and much, much higher up 'our' water falls flowed in to this river. During rainy months the water comes leaping down the mountainside in what is claimed to be the 'wildest-looking' fall in Sri Lanka, but during the dry season it may not flow at all.
From Ella we took the famous train ride up to Nuwara Eliya which sits at 1,889m above sea level (over 6,000 feet). Nuwara Eliya (which means 'City of Light') is often referred to by the Sri Lankan tourist industry as 'Little England'. In earlier times it was the favoured cool-climate escape for the hard-working and hard-drinking English and Scottish pioneers of Sri Lanka's tea industry. A rainy-day, misty-mountain atmosphere blankets the town from November to February, and apparently also for odd days in July.
Tea plantations cover about 1,900 sq km of land in Sri Lanka and came to the island when extensive coffee plantations were decimated by disease in the 19th century. Plantation owners discovered that the Hill Country combines a warm climate, altitude and sloping terrain: a winning trifecta that's perfect for growing tea. Fortunes were made by the early growers, which included a name still famous worldwide today: Thomas Lipton. By the 1890s, Lipton's tea plantations were exporting around 30,000 tonnes of tea back to London. Today Sri Lanka is the world's fourth biggest tea-producing nation, with 340 million kilos produced in 2013, and an annual value of the tea crop estimated at over 1.5 billion USD. Despite its British roots, most Ceylon tea today is exported to the Middle East and North Africa, followed by Eastern Europe and Russia.
Did you know, that after water, tea is the world's most popular drink? More tea is drunk every day than every other drink - including coffee, soft drinks and alcohol - put together.
And drinking the breakast (Broken Orange Pekoe, or BOP) tea with no milk and one sugar really was enjoyable. And definitely FAR nicer than drinking it with milk, which was only available in powdered form in Sri Lanka. But regardless of all that Ceylon goodness, I am glad to be back to my good ole Tetley with fresh milk...
From Nuwara Eliya we travelled down more sickeningly windy and bumpy mountain roads till we reached the cultural capital of Sri Lanka, Kandy. But before hitting them with too much culture and history we let the kids run off some energy at Peradaniya Botanic Garden.
At one time these beautiful gardens were reserved exclusively for Kandyan Royalty but today even commonders are allowed in to what are, at 60 hectares, the largest and most impressive botanic gardens in Sri Lanka.
Kandy served as the capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom, which fell to the British in 1815 after defying the Portugese and Dutch for three centuries. It took the British another 16 tough years to finally build a road linking Kandy with Colombo and the locals still proudly see themselves as a little different to the Sri Lankan's from the island's lower reaches.
Dominating the town is Kandy Lake, created in 1807 by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy. Just north of the lake is the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth which houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic - a tooth of the Buddha. During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists. However you don't actually see the tooth - it's kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (or stupa) which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminshing sizes (a bit like Russian dolls).
The sacred tooth of the Buddha is said to have been snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre in 483BC and smuggled in to Sri Lanka during the 4th Century AD, hidden in the hair of a princess. At first it was taken to Anuradhapura, then it moved through the country on the waves of Sri Lankan history before ending up at Kandy In 1283 it was carried back to India by an invading army but it was retrieved by King Parakramabahu III.
We stayed in a real back of beyond guest house run by a British lady, in the hills high above the village of Ella. She grew most of her own fruits and vegetables and along with a local cook gave us a real taste of Sri Lanka.
 |
| A traditional Sri Lankan/English breakfast, with everything, including peanut butter and jam, homemade. |
 |
| Looking up.... |
 |
| ...before looking down to the pools we were going to swim in. |
Rawana Ella Falls are 19m high falls, and much, much higher up 'our' water falls flowed in to this river. During rainy months the water comes leaping down the mountainside in what is claimed to be the 'wildest-looking' fall in Sri Lanka, but during the dry season it may not flow at all.
 |
| Looking bak down towards the Ella Gap |
From Ella we took the famous train ride up to Nuwara Eliya which sits at 1,889m above sea level (over 6,000 feet). Nuwara Eliya (which means 'City of Light') is often referred to by the Sri Lankan tourist industry as 'Little England'. In earlier times it was the favoured cool-climate escape for the hard-working and hard-drinking English and Scottish pioneers of Sri Lanka's tea industry. A rainy-day, misty-mountain atmosphere blankets the town from November to February, and apparently also for odd days in July.
 |
| Tea fields as far as the eye can see |
 |
| Up in to the clouds... |
Tea plantations cover about 1,900 sq km of land in Sri Lanka and came to the island when extensive coffee plantations were decimated by disease in the 19th century. Plantation owners discovered that the Hill Country combines a warm climate, altitude and sloping terrain: a winning trifecta that's perfect for growing tea. Fortunes were made by the early growers, which included a name still famous worldwide today: Thomas Lipton. By the 1890s, Lipton's tea plantations were exporting around 30,000 tonnes of tea back to London. Today Sri Lanka is the world's fourth biggest tea-producing nation, with 340 million kilos produced in 2013, and an annual value of the tea crop estimated at over 1.5 billion USD. Despite its British roots, most Ceylon tea today is exported to the Middle East and North Africa, followed by Eastern Europe and Russia.
 |
| Taking a tour of a tea factory |
 |
| Within 24 hours the tea goes from being picked to being shipped |
Did you know, that after water, tea is the world's most popular drink? More tea is drunk every day than every other drink - including coffee, soft drinks and alcohol - put together.
 |
| Drinking (breakfast) tea the Sri Lankan way... |
 |
| ...black with one sugar. |
 |
| Or you can ignore the tea and enjoy the cake. |
And drinking the breakast (Broken Orange Pekoe, or BOP) tea with no milk and one sugar really was enjoyable. And definitely FAR nicer than drinking it with milk, which was only available in powdered form in Sri Lanka. But regardless of all that Ceylon goodness, I am glad to be back to my good ole Tetley with fresh milk...
From Nuwara Eliya we travelled down more sickeningly windy and bumpy mountain roads till we reached the cultural capital of Sri Lanka, Kandy. But before hitting them with too much culture and history we let the kids run off some energy at Peradaniya Botanic Garden.
 |
| These trees were FULL of bats |
At one time these beautiful gardens were reserved exclusively for Kandyan Royalty but today even commonders are allowed in to what are, at 60 hectares, the largest and most impressive botanic gardens in Sri Lanka.
Kandy served as the capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom, which fell to the British in 1815 after defying the Portugese and Dutch for three centuries. It took the British another 16 tough years to finally build a road linking Kandy with Colombo and the locals still proudly see themselves as a little different to the Sri Lankan's from the island's lower reaches.
 |
| One of the thousands of Buddha shrines we saw |
 |
| Looking down on to Kandy lake |
 |
| A Buddhist flag |
Dominating the town is Kandy Lake, created in 1807 by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy. Just north of the lake is the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth which houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic - a tooth of the Buddha. During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists. However you don't actually see the tooth - it's kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (or stupa) which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminshing sizes (a bit like Russian dolls).
 |
| Inside the temple |
 |
| Not a fan of the drumming |
 |
| These hankies are tied to show a prayer/wish has been made |
The sacred tooth of the Buddha is said to have been snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre in 483BC and smuggled in to Sri Lanka during the 4th Century AD, hidden in the hair of a princess. At first it was taken to Anuradhapura, then it moved through the country on the waves of Sri Lankan history before ending up at Kandy In 1283 it was carried back to India by an invading army but it was retrieved by King Parakramabahu III.
The tooth gradually grew in importance as a symbol of sovereignty, and it was believed that whoever had custody of the tooth relic had the right to rule the island. In the 16th century the Portugese apparently seized the tooth, took it away and burnt it with devout Catholic fervour in Goa. Not so, say the Sinhalese. The Portugese had actually stollen a replia tooth while the real incisor remained safe. There are still rumours tht the real tooth is hidden somewhere secure and the tooth kept here is only a replica.
Sri Lankan Buddhists believe that they much complete at least one pilgrimage to the temple in their lifetime, as worshipping here improves one's karmic lot immeasurably.
And after all that cool weather, culture and history, it was time to hit the beach again...
 |
| The room containing the dagoba |
 |
| The dagoba (with tooth inside) in all its glory |
 |
| Ancient writings on palm |
 |
| The original temple, now surrounded on all sides |
 |
| Alut Maligawa - a newer and larger shrine hall |
 |
| 19th Century Audience Hall |
And after all that cool weather, culture and history, it was time to hit the beach again...
No comments:
Post a Comment