Yala national park, is an absolute treasure trove of wildlife. Safaris here are not too regulated, but with the right amount of bargaining can be much cheaper than the ones in India. Also with a whole day safari option including a lunch on the beach available, the park is quite popular with many tourists. The prime highlights are the leopards, which are followed with extreme obsession by the drivers. With the high density on display, it is only a matter of time before one is spotted and the droves of jeeps close in. The other common attractions here are the elephants, wild buffaloes, hares and monitor lizards. Managed to see a lizard catch and eat a scorpion in front of our room in the resort. After rains, tortoises are another frequent visitor with a star tortoise and other species cross the road in the night as we drove down. Birding is quite rewarding here as well with plenty of species, endemic and migrant visible throughout the park. The sights included woolly necked storks, peacocks, yellow wattled lapwings, multiple species of cuckoos, crested serpent eagles, changeable hawk eagles, sirkeer malkoha, shrikes and kingfishers.
While driving along the coast, multiple Buddha shrines, monasteries and beaches catch your attention. The resort in Galle had its own private beach to chill and the town has forts and museums for the curious. The fort itself runs through a large part of town with colonial buildings and beaches for the crowds. The museum is another interesting place for the naval history of Sri Lanka. The beaches in this area are some of the best there are with white sands and turquoise clear waters. There was also an option for whale watching which we had to skip due to lack of time.
Along the coast towards Colombo are many more places for water sports and scuba. A river boat-ride on the backwaters through the mangroves is highly recommended. With stops for fish therapy, viewing cinnamon production and mangrove tunnels, the boat ride is a pleasure for 2 hours. Early mornings or late evenings would also have a number of birds or monkey in trees. We had gone in the afternoon, but we still spotted a kingfisher catching its lunch. The glass bottom boat is not as good with the boatmen trying to shorten it and the boat itself not being in good shape. Would recommend scuba or snorkeling instead to get close to the fishes
The final leg of the trip in Colombo was spent in the Mount Lavinia hotel, a massive colonial palace converted into a hotel. The hotel itself has plenty of places to explore within while the beaches on the side provide some fantastic views of the sunset. The city itself has many more Buddhist temples, historical monuments, museums and modern architecture to view. One of the temples had a fantastic collection of artifacts and felt more like a museum, while the independence memorial museum had another fine collection. The final morning was spent across the city streets and museums but although the flight was only in the evening, the distance of the city to the airport resulted in us heading back in the afternoon itself.
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