Nuwara Eliya
Also known as “Little England”, the scenic town of Nuwara Eliya lies nestled in a valley more than 2500 m above sea level and is surrounded by misty mountain ranges covered in pine forests and tea cultivations. Nuwara Eliya has a much cooler climate, which is in stark contrast to the tropical climate experienced in other parts of the island. The mountains surrounding Nuwara Eliya is covered with a carpet of tea bushes and the whole process of tea manufacturing, from green leaf to the fragrant contents of a packet of Ceylon Tea, can be watched at many of the tea factories in the area. Also close by is the Hakgala Botanical Gardens.
Peradeniya Gardens
Situated just 4 km outside the city of Kandy, and on the Colombo – Kandy road, the Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya has a reputation as one of the most beautiful in the Asia. With a collection of over 4000 plants, it is beautifully laid out expansive garden, with an incredible variety of spices, palms, orchids and creepers.
With elegantly laid out routes to roam through the gardens, man-made lakes and aesthically pleasing landscaping, it offers a peaceful and invigorating experience to the nature lover.
This garden had its beginnings from Royal times when Kandy was still ruled by Kings. After the British took over control of the country, the garden really entered its most important phase in the 19th century, when much was done to increase the variety of plants and the layout of the garden.
Among its highlights, the garden boasts of a massive Javan fig tree whose branches covers almost 1600 sq metres of area, providing an ideal shady hideout for the visitors, also a suspension bridge over the Mahaweli river and many plant-collection greenhouses that will provide you with an informative and refreshing experience
Sinharaja (Rain Forest)
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a national park and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. The reserve’s name translates as Kingdom of the Lion. The reserve is only 21 km (13 mi) from east to west, and a maximum of 7 km (4.3 mi) from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of endemic species, including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are about 3 elephants and the 15 or so leopards are rarely seen. The most common larger mammal is the endemic purple-faced langur. An interesting phenomenon is that birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless greater racket-tailed drongo and the noisy orange-billed babbler. Of Sri Lanka’s 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive red-faced malkoha, green-billed coucal and Sri Lanka blue magpie.
Reptiles include the endemic green pit viper and hump-nosed vipers, and there are a large variety of amphibians, especially tree frogs. Invertebrates include the endemic common birdwing butterfly and the inevitable leeches.
Yala National Park
The Yala National Park in southern Sri Lanka has the world’s highest concentration of leopards. Much of the nature reserve is parkland, but it also includes jungle, beaches, freshwater lakes and rivers and scrubland. In addition to leopards, the Yala National Park is also home to substantial numbers of elephants, crocodile, wild boar, water buffalo, grey langurs and many more varieties of large animals.The park is also home to birds of prey such as the white-bellied sea eagles, waders, painted Storks, the Indian peafowl and the Sri Lanka jungle fowl. In the southeast, the Park is bounded by the sea and unspoiled natural beaches and sand dunes provide an absolutely beautiful environment.
The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage
Pinnawela is an orphanage for elephants, mainly baby elephants who have been separated from their mothers or elephants that have been injured due to human activity. On the way to Kandy from Colombo, this orphanage is about 5km to your left soon after you pass the town of Kegalle.
It will take you about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs to reach this orphanage from Colombo. Started in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife on a twenty five acre coconut plantation, the orphanage seeks to provide care and protection to the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers, either due to the death of the mother, or due to being lost and stranded from its herd. It started with only 5 elephants those many years ago, but today it boasts of more than 80 elephants.
The orphanage has a set schedule of daily activities, involving feeding and bathing the elephants, which are arranged in such a way that visitor interaction is also encouraged. This is designed to attract tourists and thereby and income to keep the orphanage in running condition. At the orphanage not only will you have many opportunities to take photographs and admire these cute and awesome creatures, but you may even be able to feed milk to one of the very hungry baby elephants.