Land of history and beaches

Cultural high

What lures a tourist? Beautiful beaches, rich green wildlife sanctuaries, places with historical significance and malls to shop? Well, if that’s what you are looking for, then Sri Lanka is the answer. Most of its geographical expanse remains unexplored by tourists. With the country plagued by a civil war some time back, cricket teams were concerned about playing there, many international airlines withdrew their services from the island.

But, all is well now.
The death of LTTE chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran in May 2009 released the country from unrest. Since then, things have started to change. People in Colombo, the commercial capital, or in Kandy walk without fear of a sudden terror attack. Popular shopping malls ODEL or House of Fashion in Colombo, the heart of the commercial capital are packed even on week days, forget week-ends. Side walks are busy throughout the day. “This was not so a few months ago. The end of war has brought many changes to life of the common people here. Within a few days, people may forget the fact their country underwent difficult times", says Achira, a tourist guide in Colombo. The change in socio-political life of people in the country prompted incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa to go for elections two years ahead of completion of his tenure. His calculation proved right for him. Being a part of team invited by Taj Group of Hotels and Sri Lankan Airlines, I visited a few places on the island. The northern parts of the country was under LTTE’s control until recently. Unfortunately, the area is still closed for visitors.

Pinnawela was our first stop after Colombo. We travelled by road for more than three hours to reach this village of elephants. It is known world over for its elephants’ orphanage, believed to the be the first-of-its-kind, which took shape in 1975.
The orphanage houses 86 elephants either orphaned or injured in the forests. Dr Chaminda Dissanayaka, veterinary surgeon treats the elephants. Many orphan elephant babies are also provided shelter here. The best time to visit the place is when ‘mahauts’  take these creatures for bath to the river, Maha Oya, a few metres away from the centre. We were fortunate enough to catch the spectacle. A brilliant opportunity for photography enthusiasts to capture these mammoth creatures enjoying a dip in water. As they returned to the orphanage the last one to follow the crew was the one, which suffered an injury in one of its legs in a mine blast. Bidding them goodbye, we moved on to Kandy.

Rich culture
Sri Lanka is undoubtedly a repository of rich culture and heritage. Kandy is one such destination. If you are visiting Kandy, you cannot miss the culture show. The folk dance forms here have glimpses of Indian folk dance forms. Kandy is also known world over for the tooth relic temple. The temple is referred to as the dwelling place of Lord Buddha. According to a popular legend, the tooth relic of Buddha was collected when he was laid on his funeral pyre. It was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 AD by princess Hemamali. The relic moved from one place to another as and when the capital of the country was shifted. Finally, the Kandyan kings built the temple for the relic in the 17th century. Gradually celebrations and various rituals took shape in honour of the relic. Famous among them is ‘Kandy Esala Perahara’.

Next stop — Bentota. A coastal town of the island, it is popular for its serene beaches. It is here where river Bentota merges with the Indian ocean. “Because of this river we have survived”, said Thussai Gunawardena, who runs a water sports centre in this  town. When Tsunami hit the island in 2005, the town did not suffer much damage as the river absorbed the deadly waves.

Many people from middle eastern countries and Europe wish to visit the place for its unpolluted beaches and opportunities for water sports. Interestingly, hotels here are more expensive than in Colombo. Taj group of Hotels has its Taj Exotica, built on a hillock facing the Indian ocean. The only sad thing, which still afflicts Sri Lanka — the LTTE still haunts the security personnel in the country. It was evident when I bought a book written by an Indian journalist on LTTE and its deeds in Sri Lanka and a security personnel at the airport noticed it, became suspicious and asked me why I purchased it.

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Sri Lankan Airlines offers service to Colombo from six places in India. Mohammed Fazeel, Head of Worldwide Sales of the Airlines, said the company had permits to provide services to Colombo from 21 places in India. “All these years we could not attract many tourists to the island because of violence. Yet, being an airlines, which the government has share in, we could not stop the service. Also, because many international airlines withdrew their services in the region in the past, But now, we have plans to strengthen the connectivity,” he said.
 After the war ended, the hotels in Colombo increased prices by almost 60-80 per cent. “All these years we offered services for a lesser price. If not now, when will we make business?” asks Vimal Seth, a hotelier. A room in a five star hotel was available at $60 a day. Now it costs around $100.