City Birds As park and playing field walls are being torn down and roads cleaned up, Colombo is fast regaining its colonial reputation as a Garden City. Although the original sprawling cinnamon gardens that once formed the city’s boundary has become the prime residential district of Colombo 7, Vihara Mara Devi (formerly Victoria) Park… Read More »
Highest Peak Now Open The hill country town of Nuwara Eliya has always been a favourite of travellers who want something different after exploring the cultural ruins and exotic beaches of the rest of Sri Lanka. With its colonial bungalows and chilly, misty nights, it seems an anachronism situated within seven degrees of the tropics.… Read More »
The Flowering of the Lotus Pond Theatre The inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Colombo in November 2013 brought to the world’s attention the magnificent Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre. This spectacular building, familiarly known as Nelum Pokuna (Lotus Pond) Theatre, began life as the… Read More »
Christmas in Sri Lanka Season’s Greetings! Sri Lankans love to party and happily join in the celebrations of the feasts or holy days of all religions. December 25 is a public, bank and mercantile holiday throughout Sri Lanka. Even though it is a Christian festival, the government sometimes regards Christmas Day as equivalent to a… Read More »
By Rasitjha Wickramasinghe A few months ago I realized one of my lifelong ambitions. I am 41 years old and lived in Sri Lanka until the age of 18. All that time the furthest north I have been was to Mannar. With the heightening of civil war and the JVP insurrection I… Read More »
Colombo’s Bouqinistes Paris may be famous for its bouquinistes, stalls selling second hand and antiquarian books lining the banks of the River Seine, but Colombo also has them. They don’t line the banks of the Beira Lake and tourists seldom find them but they are invaluable for the traveller. These wayside booksellers are to be… Read More »
Escape CHOGM The CHOGM roadshow rolls into town from 10 to 17 November 2013. CHOGM is the acronym for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and 54 HOGs representing Commonwealth nations around the world, plus 10,000 delegates, spouses and entourage members, as well as participants in Commonwealth youth and business forums, will be taking over… Read More »
Lipton’s Seat For hikers and those who appreciate extravagant (360 degree) panoramic views of forest and tea clad valleys, Lipton’s Seat, at over 6,000 feet above sea level, is a rewarding excursion. You get there via Haputale (an eight hour journey by train from Colombo through magnificent scenery) and then by tuktuk (unless you’re ready… Read More »
Kandy in a Day August is the month of the world famous Kandy Perahera. It climaxes this year on the Full Moon day of Tuesday 20 August with the evening parade of whip crackers, fire dancers, jugglers and elephants, including one bearing a casket containing the revered Buddha’s tooth (or a replica of… Read More »
Market Day Every village in Sri Lanka has its market day and for visitors who can tear themselves away from the beach or cultural sites, the village market is a fascinating place to visit. There are daily markets in permanent buildings in different parts of Colombo and in important towns like Kandy, Nuwara Eliya… Read More »