Nuwara Eliya and Galle

We made the journey slightly south across the mountains to Nuwara Eliya. Upon arriving here we rapidly discovered it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Laying amongst some mountains at approx 2000m, the countryside is staggering.
When the British were in rule here they came to Nuwara Eliya to cool down. The climate is similar to a warm English summer...bliss! They call it little England because of this. The countryside, however, is like England on speed! Huge rolling hills, jagged mountain faces, ginormous, crashing waterfalls, lush fauna, brightly coloured flowers and all of this joined together by sprawling rows of gently rippling tea plants.

Nuwara Eliya is not particularly geared towards tourism and is more of a place to bed down for the night. Our guest house was impossibly high up in the clouds. If we left any of our clothes out during the day they were damp when we got back! We spent one day in Nuwara Eliya relaxing and having a high altitude game of tennis, and the rest was spent exploring the mountains.

We visited a tea plantation and factory and saw the process that the leaves go through from picking to shipping. Tea production is a huge part of life in Sri Lanka, especially up here in the hills. About 5% of all Sri Lankan employment comes from these plantations. They predominantly employ a group of Tamils who are proud to be collectively know as Plantation Tamils. The process is incredible and takes place in 24 hours from picking to shipping. The process involves de-moisturising the leaves (withering), crushing them and then fermenting. When the fermentation process is halted will determine the strength and quality of the tea. Tea is further classified by how high up it is grown. The higher it is grown the more delicate and full bodied the tea is, and needless to say, more expensive. The highest tea grown in Sri Lanka is grown in the Nuwara Eliya area.
After the tea tour we enjoyed the freshest, most delicious cup of tea. It was made even better because we were sat overlooking the acres and acres of rolling tea bushes where what we were imbibing was grown.

Whilst out visiting the plantations we stopped to have a look at a few waterfalls that seem to cascade down the face of every mountainside you come across! They were without a doubt the most dramatic waterfalls that I have ever seen. One that we saw was 110 metres tall and completely worth the walk down to it.

After a few nights in Nuwara Eliya we decided it was time to move on to our next destination. We made quite a day of it by getting up at 5am to go to Worlds End, which is between Nuwara Eliya and Kitulgala and where we were going. After a very bumpy taxi ride right up into the clouds we were deposited out on the edge of Horton Plains. The plains are a huge plateau covered with rough grasslands interspersed with thick forest. Worlds End is the main reason people come to see Horton Plains, as at 880m high, it affords you some fairly spectacular views, to put it mildly.

The walk was about 9km around and worth every second of pain caused by the early morning start. Once the initial grogginess was shaken off we could really start to enjoy ourselves. We began the walk by taking in Mini Worlds End which is a strong indicator of what's to come. We were unlucky enough to be there on a day when the view was of clouds, instead of the countryside (on a good day you can apparently see all the way to the sea!). We were disappointed only momentarily, as being surrounded by clouds was like being in an aeroplane, without the obscured view. Amazing!

A steep walk uphill took you to The Big One...Worlds End. Only actually being there can do this view justice. Lilac-hazed mountain tops were caressed by swirling mist and cloud, the sheer mountain sides gave way to miniature plantation villages that seemed impossibly far away, the moon hung in the ever brightening blue sky whilst a vivid orangey-red sun was peeking between the mountains. We enjoyed the view with a breakfast of mini-bananas and Milo (a chocolate malt drink).

After a suitable amount of time enjoying the incredible view we continued our trek to the stupendous Baker Falls. What this waterfall lacked in height it made up for in width and sheer velocity. After an adventurous start to the day we started our journey west to Kitungala, where we did some white water rafting.

Kitungala was a fairly dull, un-imaginative place that was only made worthwhile because of the grade 3 rafting that we partook in. Driven to the top of the rapids we descended the choppy waterways in a small raft that only held 4 of us (Niall, two instructors and myself). The fast moving river snaked between some towering mountains so when you had time to enjoy the views, they were pretty stunning. Somewhat scarily, we saw a crocodile sunning himself on a rock. Shortly afterwards our instructors told us to jump in. Taking a giant leap of faith, we complied. What ensued after that is called 'body rafting' where you travel down the rapids on your back. Half of me was enjoying this activity whilst half of me was fearing an imminent crocodile attack.

Having enjoyed the best of Kitungala we continued our journey south-east to the National Park called Yala. Hailed as being a top place to spot Leopards (no pun intended), it is also rich in wild elephants and other wildlife. The nearby village of Tissamaharama was a good location to organise a trip to the park. Rising for another 5am start we were picked up by a safari jeep which remained me of the Popemobile as it had raised, forward facing seating that allowed a good view of the wildlife.
Yala Park truly is nature's playground, made up of dry grasslands, thick bushes and trees, murky lagoons, all edged with an Indian Ocean border. The trip to the depths of the park allowed us to get good views of a diverse range of wildlife. We came across giant, lumbering elephants slowly eating a path through the jungle, crocodiles sneakily submerged in lagoons, wild peacocks dragging their glorious tails behind them as they climbed into the trees, wild deer, sambar, mongoose, huge monitor lizards, eagles, storks, parrots and many other tropical birds that we were unable to name. It was a shame not to see a leopard, but as they are so elusive our hopes did not eat too high in the first place.

As exciting as our recent exploits had been, we were missing the beach. We decided that a quick stop off in Galle was necessary, and then we would hit the beach further east along the south coast.

One night in Galle slid into 2, and ended up being 4! We stayed in the old part, within the walls of a small, but perfectly formed Fort. Fort was originally built by the Portuguese in 1589, added to by the Dutch in 1640 and handed over to the British in 1796 and is a wonderful European love-child of the three that possesses a charm at envelops you, and makes time stand still.
Galle Fort really is the gem of the south of Sri Lanka in terms of atmosphere, architecture and culture. It oozes easy colonial style. The streets are cobbled and spotless. The large, airy buildings are held up with columns and decorated impeccably in rustic Mediterranean meets colourful Sri Lanka themes. You can't walk 2 metres without stumbling upon a beautifully adorned shop selling local art and crafts, or a rooftop restaurant offering mouthwatering food from any number of countries. Our favourite, called Crepology, was a little Moroccan styled rooftop cafe decorated in jewel colours and serving up savoury and sweet crepes delicious enough to make a grown man cry (ask Niall about this!).
The sunset in Galle was typically dramatic, with the yellows, purples and reds lighting up the dark orange Fort walls, and the faces of the many bystanders come to marvel at the view.
The strong Fort walls withstood the tsunami with very little damage, but the rest of Galle was pretty much totalled.

Despite Galle's beauty, the beaches were calling us, and we had to go! Next stop white beaches, and clear waters...