From Galle on the south coast to Point Pedro at the northernmost tip on the Jaffna peninsula The route Above is my route that I’ve just highlighted in thick green ink showing the steps I’ve …
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Day 15 – Stage 2 of the Pekoe Trail and my final blog of our trip
Yesterday’s Lesson Lesson learnt from yesterday – set off as early as possible, and than even earlier, and be walking the trails by sunrise – we were out by 05.45 and heading by tuktuk for the start …
Continue readingDay 13 & 14 Hanthana arrival and trekking Stage 1 of the Pekoe Trail
We left our Kandy guest house for Hanthana, a remote tea picking area an hour’s drive from Kandy where we’re now staying for 3 nights. Uduwela is the local village about a 20 minute walk …
Continue readingDay 12 – Visit to WDC, the shop Sthree and Krystyna’s wonderful weaving
Women’s Development Centre (WDC) Women’s development censtaff were waiting for us when we arrived first thing in the morning to discuss the programmes they are working on and which we are supporting. Suzana and Gill …
Continue readingDay 11 – our colourful day in Manahapa Temple and pre-school with Rev. Ragama and his community
Warmest Welcome We received the warmest welcome today from Rev. Ragama and his community at Manahapa temple, Kuranagula where he, along with his community, began their Sinhalese and Tamil new year celebrations. We were presented …
Continue readingBlog 9 – Sigiriya summit by sunrise and Suzana’s volunteering
Alarm set for 4am today so we could climb Sigiriya Rock in time for the 6.05 sunrise. I wrote a blog last year with a brief history of Sigiriya when doing this with Kiran so I …
Continue readingBlog 8 – From Nilaveli to Habarana
First non big walking day today, but we managed to saunter a few kilometres around Kantalle tank, stopping at a roadside food seller for the unique to this region buffalo curd (fresher, richer, thicker and tastier …
Continue readingDay 7 – To Trincomolee via Kokkalai lagoon and sanctuary
Fundraising and trek update The best news today is that I’ve now completed my planned trek across Sri Lanka, achieved over three trips since Easter 2022. I’ve raised over £27,000 so far, with the support …
Continue readingBlog 4 – Elephant Pass
We learnt only this morning that the place we’ve been staying for the past three nights, Fox Resort Jaffna, was used as the headquarters for the (LTTE) Tamil Tigers’ Commander during the Sri Lankan Civil …
Continue readingDay 3 – Kayts Island
Kayts, Leiden or Velanai depending on whether you’re British, Dutch or Tamil, is one of the islands off Jaffna’s mainland that you get to by driving or cycling over a 21km causeway, or in our …
Continue readingAugust 2023 update
The 10th anniversary of the passing of Pearl Stephen The 31st July this year was the anniversary of the death of Pearl Stephen who was my inspiration for returning to Sri Lanka to volunteer following …
Continue readingBlog 15 (Final Blog) – To a remote village in Kurunegala to celebrate the beginning of the Sinhalese new year
Welcoming Wow! Another amazing visit to a village community just outside of Kurunegala. I’ve been coming to this particular village since 2015 and the experience is always so warm, welcoming and colourful. It’s lovely to …
Continue readingBlog 14 – The Temple of the Tooth Relic
The history The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa, is considered to be the most important Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. It’s also one of the most famous in the …
Continue readingBlog 13 – Our visit to a Spice Garden in Matale
On our drive back from Trincomolee to Kandy we were treated to a stop off at Matale spice garden. It was like walking into a mini paradise which included us having a face massage with …
Continue readingBlog 12 – A relaxing day on Niraveli beach
Niraveli is just north of Trincomolee and where we’re staying for 2 nights to conclude our trek across Sri Lanka. Niraveli is popular for whale and dolphin watching as well as snorkelling and diving. Pigeon …
Continue readingBlog 10 – Habarana village tour and an amazing simple recipe for you to try
Resting our feet Our village tour as a 3 minute movie Coconut sambol recipe This recipe was made for us almost everywhere we’ve been. It is amazing and so simple to make if you have …
Continue readingBlog 9 – Climbing Sigiriya Rock – the ancient fortress in the sky
We were up before the cockerels woke us this morning and on the road by 5am. We made the steep climb to the top of Sigiriya Rock in time to see the sunrise at 6.05. …
Continue readingBlog 7 – the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in the dry zone of Sri Lanka
Polonnaruwa is hot: very very hot. I wrote a bit about the history of this ancient city in my planning blog over 2 years ago so won’t repeat that here. If interested in some of …
Continue readingBlog 6 – A visit to a Veddah community – the indigenous peoples of Sri Lanka
Today was all about visiting an indigenous community in Dambana, eastern central Sri Lanka. A highlight was a personal meeting with the Veddah Chief, Uruwarige Wanniyalaeto, which had been arranged for us as part of …
Continue readingBlog 5 – Spotlight on our elephant safari
Wasgamuwa National Park Our late afternoon Wasgamuwa elephant safari turned out to be a bit more of an adventure than we’d expected. We’d hoped to spot a few of Sri Lanka’s Asian elephants in their …
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