Sri Lanka, god's own kingdom

My last visit to Sri Lanka was a good 15 years ago. Despite it being a short work trip, I did find time to go around a few interesting places and had come back with some great memories.

So when another opportunity of visiting our beautiful neighbour presented itself again in the form of a family holiday, my joy knew no bounds. I couldn't wait to go back again!

We departed to Colombo by the Sri Lankan Airlines on a wintery January night. We took a taxi from airport to our hotel in the city which takes about another hour or so. Since it was way past sleep time, we just crashed for the night. The next day we hired a taxi to take us to the much renowned rock fortress 'Sigiriya' “ referred by the locals as 'The Eighth Wonder of the World'!

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the place derives its name from 'Sinhagiri' or 'Sihagiri' meaning the lion rock. It's a huge mound of frozen magma that rises to the height of 660 feet. Atop this is the ruins of an erstwhile impenetrable fortress much renowned for its beauty. It's a slow winding climb of 1220 steps to reach the summit. But once you are at the top, you are rewarded with an incredible view of the surroundings. There are also the ruins of a palace, some gardens and few royal ponds.

The entire place is decorated by a number of frescos and wall paintings. Most of them are lost in time but what remains is still breathtakingly beautiful.

The next day we visited the Cave Temples of Dambulla - another historical place. It's a temple complex of five big caves, on top of yet another hill, with dedicated Buddha shrines in each of them. The first cave houses many shrines of giant Buddha statues in various poses along with a shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The second and the largest of the caves has a total of 56 Buddha statues in various sitting and standing postures. Among others, the main attraction in the third cave is a 30-feet long glorious Sleeping Buddha idol. Most of these shrines are functional.

All these caves have their interior walls and entire ceilings inscribed with various stories of Buddha and Bodhisattva. They have been meticulously painted in natural colours and dyes by generations of Buddhist monks

Our next destination was Kandy. This city is vibrant with a rich cultural heritage and art forms of the erstwhile Kandyan kingdom. At the heart of the city is a large lake resplendent with variety of aquatic life forms and birds. Situated on its bank is the Buddha Temple of the Tooth Relic - Sri Dalada Maligawa - considered as one of the holiest places of Buddhist worship. This magnificent temple was built in the 17th century AD and believed to house the tooth relic of Lord Buddha. There is also a historical museum with rich collections of Buddhist artefacts.

In Kandy, we tasted some of the best local cuisines, watched panoramic sunset view of the city from a hilltop, visited the neighbouring province of Peradeniya, dropped in at the wood carving centre and gemstones museum, went shopping and bought Ceylon tea! Our other visits in Sri Lanka included Nuwara Eliya, a picturesque hill station; Sita Eliya, the place believed to be the Ashoka Vana of 'Ramayana', Pinnewala which houses the Elephant Orphanage. On our way back, we did get to spend a day in Colombo main district. But we didn't seem to have enough time for anything else apart from a customary walk along the Galle Face Beach front. We look forward to returning to this beautiful country, next time possibly to explore more of its coast lines.

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