Itinerary Advice

As you are obviously budgeting for a driver to take you around for some of your time, I would use this option on arrival in Sri Lanka to get you to the cultural triangle. There seems no point in wasting time travelling into Colombo city in order to get a train for this part of your journey. A driver could take you swiftly to Polonnaruwa with time to do a late afternoon safari at Minneriya.

Sun: Morning at Polonnaruwa and then visit Dambulla before continuing your journey by bus or driver to Kandy. Stay overnight there.

Mon: Take train to Ella.

Tues: Explore Ella - walk to Little Adams Peak or Ella Rock

Wed: Train to Haputale

Thurs: I would probably take the train back to Kandy overnight again, which would be a cheaper option than having a driver and then use Friday to travel back towards the airport by road, visiting the Elephant Orphanage on the way if you want to see it, rather than have a full day with both Thurs and Fri nights in Colombo. If photography is your main interest, there are far more interesting places than Colombo to spend that full day. Really no need to stay there at all. Negombo is more convenient for your final night if you are just looking to be fairly close to the airport.

Recommendations for accommodation in Ella and Haputale: Tea Garden in Ella is wonderful ... magnificent views and a shared balcony with a hammock to lie in and savour them! The chef there is amazing .. ask him to do his Lampris .. best meal we have ever had in Sri Lanka. Rooms are about 2000/2500 rupees for B & B. Haputale: Sri Lak View Guesthouse. Again, magnificent views, great service and food. Similar price.

Just one other suggestion though .. with only a week to play with, you will be spending a fair amount of time travelling if you want to do Ella and Haputale. You could do things in a slightly more leisurely fashion if you get your fix of fabulous hillcountry scenery in the Knuckles mountains, situated to the north east of Kandy. It would mean more time out with the camera and less on the road or on the train .. although that is an amazing experience too. Your choice ...

Sue

Thanks for the suggestions Sue.

You lost me on the afternoon trip to Minneriya on the first day though. My flight arrives at 11:00am, so let's say I get through customs & immigration & get money changed & the driver gets me out of the airport by noon. I figured it was a 6 hour drive to P'uwa - I just don't see how I would arrive there in time to then hook up with a 4x4 to see the park and after 30+ hours of flying/driving, I doubt I'd be in any kind of shape to do that.

When I was coming up with this itinerary, I really struggled with the Ella/Haputale part as it does take a big chunk of time to get there & back. I may be better off saving Ella for my next trip - go Colombo -> Ella then bus it down to the south coast from there. I'll research the Knuckles Mountains as that may well be the best compromise.

I have some things I want to do in Colombo so need to be there at least by noon on Friday and already have a pre paid room in Colombo for that night

For such a small island, there are so many places to see but not so easy to get to them all!

Maybe I was being a bit ambitious about the Minneriya idea! But it sounded less tiring than the option you were suggesting, with that trip into congested Colombo and an endless train journey on your first day!!! The drive to Minneriya should not take 6 hours from the airport. It should take a maximum 4.5/ 5 hours with a driver and if this was prearranged, he could have a jeep waiting for you at Minneriya. We drove back to Negombo (close to the airport) from Sigiriya and did it in just over 3.5 hours. Minneriya is not far from Sigiriya at all. Or alternatively, and probably more sensibly, do Dambulla on the first day en route to Polonnaruwa and do the other two the following day which is what we did on one visit. It's nice there in the mid to late afternoon and was very quiet when we visited. Going back to the subject of Minneriya, we enjoyed the huge numbers of elephants there and would recommend it over the Elephant Orphanage. As a photographer, you would appreciate the sight of truly wild elephants in their natural habitat, as opposed to the orphanage (not my favourite place it must be said ...) With a limited amount of time in Sri Lanka, I would skip the touristy elephant orphanage without a doubt, but so many people do seem to like it ....

Another suggestion for you, if you don't do the elephant orphanage, is to return via Kitulgala from either the Kandy or hill country part of your tour. I am also a keen photographer and obtained some of my most dramatic and beautiful pictures in this glorious area of forest, fast flowing rivers and backed by misty mountains. Brilliant for birdwatchers too. There are a number of places you could stay overnight if you wished and you could be back in Colombo by Friday lunchtime too. It's a three hour bus journey to Pettah (Colombo) from Kithulgala, quicker by taxi.

One more thing .. if you do decide to look into the Knuckles area and are looking for a truly wonderful place to stay, look at the Hunas Falls Hotel near Elkaduwa. We are more guesthouse people these days, but I have to say that this place is amazing and not too expensive either. The views are breathtaking and you can just walk and walk, up through mountains, through tea plantations, photographing much wildlife along the way too. Saw everything from otters to monkeys to Shaheen falcons whilst on a short stay here (oh and a few leeches but won't go into that ...)

Wow - that is great information Sue - much appreciated. My first (and last) visit to SL was back in 1975 when I had just turned 19...I'm sure the place is a lot different than how I remember it (but hopefully some parts of it are still the same)

The driving times you mentioned are really helpful. In '75 I was there for a month so we didn't care how long the bus or train took. In fact, I don't recall any of the trips taking very long but that's the difference between traveling as a 19 year old who can stand all day on a crowded bus versus a 53 yr old with a bum knee & ankle...!

Speaking of bad ankles, how is the climb up to the Dambulla caves? If there are steps cut into the hillside, I'll probably be OK but if I have to scramble up uneven terrain, I may not be able to do it (too great a risk of rolling over on my ankle and re-tearing a tendon).

Thanks for sharing your expertise.

Dave

Hello again Dave

You won't have any problems with Dambulla .. don't worry! It's a few years since we were there, but it was not a hard climb at all. You hardly notice it as you are gazing around and dodging pesky macaque monkeys, watching the occasional snake charmer, etc! There are steps .. so you do have to climb, but it is not a scramble.

If you want to see any photos from any area of Sri Lanka that I've mentioned, send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send some to you.

All the best
Sue

Dambulla is easy, as #5 says. If I were to go somewhere early in the morning it'd be nearby Sigiriya, which is more of a climb and outdoors--the sights at Dambulla are indoors so the level of sunlight is not so important.

I agree you should skip Colombo given where else you are going.

CK