Sri Lanka tailor made holidays top pick ?Sri Lank wildlife safaris and vacation tours … a fabulous travel location that we will focus in this post. Udawalawe National Park: does not have an “ideal” time to visit as animals at Udawalawe can be spotted at any time of the year, including leopards. The park has the biggest concentration of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka, so your probabilities to see them are very high. Udawalawe is always open for safaris even during the dry season in September / October. This is when the water levels are at the lowest and when most of the mating occurs for the Asian elephant. If you want to spot baby elephants, come from October to January during the rainy season when most births are occurring.
Wilpattu, Sri Lanka’s largest park, is situated in the dry lowlands of the island’s north-west and comprises a series of lakes – or villus – with varying degrees of freshness and salinity. The park reopened in 2003 after nearly 15 years of closure. Over time, the wildlife should recover to its former abundance and become more habituated to vehicles – at the moment the animals are wary of any human presence. Wilpattu was famous for its leopards, and big-cat enthusiasts are hoping this reputation will return. The park’s fauna is similar to Yala, but visitors also have a chance of seeing barking deer.
History of the tooth relic of Lord Buddha: When the war-torn situation of India threatens the existence of the tooth relic of Lord Buddha, king Guhasiwa decided to take the relic to Sri Lanka for safekeeping. King himself assigns this important job to his son-in-law prince Dantha and his own daughter princess Hemamala. Their ship secretly landed to Lankapattana during the reign of Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura in 4th century BC and handed over the tooth relic to king King himself. The King Sirimeghavanna enshrined it Meghagiri Vihara, now it is called as Isurumuniya Viharaya. Safeguarding the relic became king’s responsibility, overtime custodianship of the relic came to signify the right to rule. Time passed and reigning monarchs used to build tooth relic temples considerably close to their royal palace. Last Sinhalese King of Sri Lanka, Vira Narendra Sinha of Kandy built the present-day temple Meghagiri Vihara, First Tooth relic temple, present-day Isurumuniya Viharaya Famous painting of princess Hemamali and prince Danthaat at Kalani vihara. Present-day tooth relic temple Sri Dalada Maligawa Casket of tooth relic of Lord Buddha.
The Kandy to Ella train journey is said to be one of the most scenic, epic train journeys in not only just Sri Lanka but the world. So with a few days to spare in Sri Lanka, I decided to purchase a ticket for $1.50 and climb aboard for the 5-hour journey. Yes, the train really does cost just $1.50. I have now taken the train in both directions. From Kandy to Ella and in reverse from Ella to Kandy. On both occasions, I just arrived at the train station and bought the cheapest ticket and walked on. I didn’t sit in a seat, I preferred to an open door and hang my legs over the edge for the entire journey. Find additional details Best tropical holiday destinations.
The Temple of the Tooth is a highly sacred place. The temple contains one of Buddha’s teeth. Legend has it that the tooth was taken from the Buddha on his deathbed, then smuggled to Sri Lanka from India. It was smuggled in the hair of a princess, after her father’s kingdom had been besieged. It immediately became an object of great importance and has been celebrated and paraded throughout history. However, many attempts have also been made to steal or destroy the tooth. Twice daily, pujas are held to celebrate the relic and offer visitors and devotees the chance to get a glimpse of the tooth within its casing. At the summit of Adam’s Peak is a footprint cast in stone. It has spiritual significance to a number of different religions, however, there is currently a Buddhist monastery at the summit. To the Buddhists, the footprint is that of Buddha’s; to Christians, the footprint is Adam’s; and to Hindus, the footprint is attributed to Shiva. The site is a popular place of pilgrimage, especially on full moon nights. The trek to the top of the mountain to see the footprint is via a steep staircase containing over 5000 steps. The trail is lined with many tea stalls and food shops which act as places of rest. Most people begin their hike at 2:30 am to reach the summit in time for sunrise.