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Published: January 17th 2015
A breathtaking bus journey took us all the way from the highlands of tea country down to the tropical lowlands of
Yala National Park. We stayed in a wonderful guest house just outside the town of Tissa. The staff could not do enough for us and we highly recommend staying at
The River Front if you visit the area.
From there we decided to walk in to Tissa to find somewhere to eat. Ignoring the recommendation of walking along the main road, we chose the minor road through the countryside. What a delight it was to walk next to the paddy fields and see all the wildlife there. Every Sri Lankan we met smiled and said hello, and they seemed so pleased to see foreigners walking off the beaten track. The town itself was nothing to write home about but on one side there is an enormous dagoba which gleamed white in the fading daylight. Just a little further on we caught a glimpse of some fishermen on the lake at dusk. Nearby we had a fabulous local curry in the
Refresh restaurant which seemed to be quite popular.
The next day we were up at 4.30am! Those of you who know us well
will also know just how hard that is for us!! Our Jeep safari began after a cup of tea. It took the best part of an hour to reach the entrance to Yala National Park. The sun actually rose whilst our driver was in the office sorting out our tickets. That was a shame but he was an excellent guide who made sure that we saw a wide variety of birds in addition to a leopard (very hard to spot in the grass!), an elephant, several types of deer and even a huge wild boar. We were on the bumpy tracks of the park for 4-5 hours and also got a welcome rest on a beach looking out over the Indian Ocean. Ten years ago some Japanese tourists were not so lucky. 13 of them lost their lives along with almost 30 locals as the infamous tsunami wreaked havoc. We slept for most of the afternoon and didn't even leave the hotel in the evening as we were too weary!
We went off the beaten track for our final day. First we followed the main road down towards the big lake and watched the pelicans at play. On the
way we had paused briefly to see the dagobas, one of which possibly used to hold the tooth relic now so famously held in Kandy. From the lake we followed a road which have us a close look at more flying foxes in the trees. We then headed along a very minor track to another lake which, judging by the reaction of everyone we met, few tourists visit. The birdlife was rich and varied and we had a great time.
Our style of travel does sometimes leave us exhausted. We travelled by tuk tuk into town and picked up some spicy snacks for lunch before snoozing the afternoon away again. In the evening we had Mother's special Sri Lankan curry which was amazing!
This had been such a good place to stop for a few days and we were in no hurry to leave but the beach was calling and it was only three hours away on the bus...!
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Great photo!
I had no idea there were so many wild animals in Sri Lanka--very fun!