Horton Plains National Park (Sri Lanka)

A couple of years back, pictures of blue skies and vast plains appeared on my newsfeed. Upon some stalking, I found out that they were pictures of Horton Plains National Park. 

The views you get are weather dependent. If you want to catch the sunrise, I suggest that you get there before 6:30 a.m. 

We reached Horton Plains at around 7 a.m. After paying for our tickets, we entered the National Park where your bags would be searched. You would be asked to tear off the plastic labels on your water bottles and dispose of the same. 

You could either take the route from the left or the route from the right- in terms of distance, it does not make a difference because it is a circular route. The total distance is around 9 km. 

For the most part of the route, the walk was rather straightforward without requiring too much exertion. 

However, at some parts of the trail, you would have to navigate some steep steps or slippery rocks.

The vegetation of the National Park is rather distinct as well. It can be classified into two distinctive groups- grasslands and evergreen forests.

Our first destination was to Mini World's End, followed by World's End. We were pretty lucky because it was not misty on the day we visited. We heard from our driver that the previous day, another couple had to cancel their trip because it was too cloudy.

World's End is a cliff with a drop of about 4,000 feet. As usual, no matter how tempting it may be with your selfies, please exercise caution because you wouldn't want this to be the last picture you take.

According to Wikipedia, the largest and most commonly seen mammal is the sambar dear. We didn't see any animals during our trek, except this.

The final attraction is Baker's Falls. To reach here, there were some pretty steep slopes to overcome. Reaching here was probably the most difficult part of the trail. To be honest, the falls were a little underwhelming after all that effort to reach here.

After Baker's Fall, it was a stretch of plains again. As there is no shade, I highly advise that you start the trail as early as possible, so that it lowers the chances of clouds rolling in, and it wouldn't be super hot by the time you start the trail.

We took slightly under less than 3 hours to complete the trail. Remember to bring your water and sunblock! 

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Eliyanth Udawalawa Hotel (Sri Lanka)

1) Location 

Eliyanth Udawalawa Hotel is located around a 20 minutes drive from the safari. It is located in a rather secluded area without any restaurants in the vicinity. There is a convenience store (with very limited items) around 200 metres away. 

2) Room 

The room was spacious. Insects are to be expected in the room given the proximity to the forest- spiders, mosquitoes, houseflies etc. The mosquitoes had a good feast when I was sleeping at night. 

There was a small TV monitor which had a limited choice of international channels, which included CNN and Discovery Channel. 

The toilet was good- the water was hot with good water pressure. 

The Wifi was extremely slow and/or not working the first day we were there. However, the second day, it worked perfectly fine. 

3) Food

So bad. 

When we first arrived, we were served with a cup of watermelon juice. All's nice and well except that they added sugar to an already sweet cup of juice. 

That's still fine until we got presented with a New Year Eve's menu. There was a "special" menu just for New Year's Eve- when we asked whether they had the normal menu, they said no. 

We were very surprised when we saw the NY Eve's menu. They charged 3500 rupees for the BBQ chicken set (which included toasted bread, rice, meatballs, dessert etc.) and the cheapest on the menu was 2000 rupees for BBQ sausages. By any measure, this was exorbitant by Sri Lankan standards. 

Given that we had no food options in the area and did not want to starve on New Year's Eve, we decided to share one portion. Honestly, this was absolutely the worst New Year's Eve dinner I have ever had. Despite it being a "BBQ", everything on the plate was cold. The sausage which was supposed to be BBQed was cold, and so was the fried rice. They also served cheese biscuits which had softened. 

At the end of the meal, we were asked what ice cream flavour we wanted. We were not served with the caramel pudding that was supposed to be part of the set and had assumed that the ice cream was a substitute. We were shocked to find out when checking out that they had charged for this. After some to and fro, they waived the charge of the ice cream. 

Breakfast- definitely can be improved. Cups of watermelon juice were left untouched on the tables. Houseflies were circling around the bread. The eggs tasted weird I didn't finish them. 

Although I didn't get to try their Sri Lankan dishes, they may be better off not doing Western food until they get the hang of it. 

4) Service

Service can definitely be improved. 

The staff are friendly- but they need to be able to better communicate. When one of them asked whether we wanted any drinks at dinner, we said no. Five minutes later, he asked if we wanted any water, we said no. Ten minutes later, he put a bottle of water on our table.  For breakfast, he asked what eggs we wanted, I said "sunny side up". Once again, he looked very perplexed. 

The owner was the only person who could communicate fluently in English and he was willing to accept our suggestions / comments. 

5) Conclusion

This place has potential, but they need to have better food and better communication.

Eliyanth Udawala Hotel 
2036/4, Walawegama, Udawalawa 70190
Sri Lanka 

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Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka)

I associate safaris with South Africa, not Sri Lanka. 

However, since the safari in Sri Lanka is known to be pretty popular, we decided to make a visit to the Udawalwe National Park. Food options and accommodation nearby are few and far between- do yourself a favour by not staying the night or at least pack some food (just in case). 

It was my first ever visit to a safari in a jeep and I must say it was quite an experience, trying to spot the animals. 

Two of us were on the jeep, while the driver would stop to point out certain animals. 

We saw so many elephants in the park. It was quite exciting to observe the elephants up close- the way they use their trunks to pull out the grass, how they feed themselves etc. We also learnt to identify male elephants from female elephants. 

After a while, the novelty of seeing elephant after elephant wore out a little. Till we saw the elephants having a mud bath! It was also rather hilarious how some white bird would always follow the elephants, apparently because they would like to eat the insects circling the elephants.

As we travelled on, we also saw storks. I was struck by how they were more or less facing the same direction.

We were ever ready to press the shutter button to take pictures of the water buffaloes- until we heard some angry stomping and frightened elephants running away. I never knew elephants could run that fast That scene was quite memorable because it was the only drama in the otherwise seemingly peaceful safari.

We got to spot a number of peacocks as well, their calls are unmistakeable.

While there were plenty of birds flying around, the most colourful was none other than the honey bee eater.

After the initial congestion of jeeps near the entrance, it felt as though you were the only people in the safari to enjoy nature for the remaining journey. This was a birds haven where birds would perch on the branches of these weathered trees.

The whole tour took around 2.5- 3 hours.

Overall, going to this safari was definitely an eye opener, seeing animals in their natural habitat and being in awe of nature.

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Lucky Fort Restaurant (Sri Lanka)

We were excited to try the food at Lucky Fort Restaurant- 950 rupees for 10 curries certainly sounded like quite a steal. The set is good for two. Plus there were plenty of good reviews for this restaurant. I also liked the greenery around the restaurant.

Many of the curries were pretty interesting, such as mango curry and pineapple curry- those were firsts for me.

However, while the food was decent, it was not as spectacular as others make it out to be. The curries seem a bit muted in flavours, although you can certainly ask them to make it spicy. They will also give you some sambal upon request.

While we overheard the next table saying that the mango curry was so "awesome", I couldn't really taste the mango as it was overwhelmed by the curry. The eggplant curry was pretty interesting- it was deep fried and sprinkled with sugar, making it an addictive snack.

A cheap meal with different kinds of curries, but not really worth the hype.

Lucky Fort Restaurant
No. 7 Parawa Street
Galle, Sri Lanka

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The Original Rocket Burger (Sri Lanka)

We are usually not burgers people but The Original Rocket Burger looked pretty enticing. 

The shop occupies two stories although the seating area at the second floor was rather small. 

There is a hipster vibe to this place with interesting posters around. I especially liked this: "Annoying the cook will result in smaller portions". 

I ordered the Shipwreck (900 Rs) which consisted of the catch of the day (mahi mahi), tamarind sauce, coleslaw, onions, ketchup and mustard. I have to say that ever since I had eaten Ferberger in New Zealand, all other burgers pale in comparison.

That said, the burger was decent and had a large piece of fish. The mahi mahi was a little dry for me but it might be due to the nature of the fish.

The Fries (Rs 200) were not greasy and had a slightly crispy skin.

If one had had too much curries, this might be a good break! 

The Original Rocket Burger
24 Pedlar Street
Galle Fort
Galle, Sri Lanka 

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The Highlands (Sri Lanka)

1) Location 

While the hotel is located on the slope, it is around a short 10-15 minute drive to the city centre. 

2) Room

The room was tastefully decorated and I was impressed the moment I stepped into it. The bed and pillows were comfortable. 

3) Amenities 

Wifi was strong. 

There was an open area with sofas and a foosball table. 

4) Toilet 

When we wanted to take a shower, all that came out was cold water. We were told by the staff to wait for 5 minutes for the water to heat up. Alas, the water was very mildly warm / never hot. We were essentially bathing in cold water when the temperature outside was 11 degrees. The room was cold and there was one little portable heater on the table. 

5) Service 

Initially, we were quite impressed when the staff served us with cookies and fruits in the afternoon. 

But there were several misses. 

After we made payment in cash, the staff at the reception told us that he will pass us the change later as he didn't have enough change at that time. The change never came and we forgot about it. 

Also, we were impressed when the staff asked us what time we wanted breakfast the next day. We told them that we were leaving the hotel at 5:30 a.m. the next day and that we might not be able to have breakfast. The staff said that it was no problem and they would be able to pack sandwiches for us. We appreciated their gesture. 

However, the next day, when we were about to leave, we asked the staff at the counter whether the sandwiches were ready. Looking extremely puzzled, he said that there were no sandwiches. Had we known, we would have bought our own breakfast the previous day. 

6) Conclusion

While this property looks luxurious, improvements await- in particular, service and fix that heating please!

The Highlands 
41/3A Unique View Road
Nuwara Eliya 22200 
Sri Lanka

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