11 – Adam’s Peak
Ella is the gateway to Adam’s Peak, also known as Sri Pada. At over 2000m high, Sri Lanka’s fifth tallest mountain, offers a climb that is a mix of trekking and LOTS of crumbling stone steps. It’s pretty challenging. While you don’t need to be a ‘climber’ to do this, it gets harder as you get further up and coming down with jelly legs can be even worse, so while both young children and the very elderly can be seen doing the climb, I’d personally suggest this is definitely one for the bigger kids.
It takes most people two to four hours to summit based on fitness, crowds, and stops at the various tea shops, and half that to come back down. Many start the climb in the middle of the night in order to reach the summit by sunrise. The views from the top are, literally, out of this world, as is the sense of achievement for getting there! There’s a reason Buddha put his foot here, or Shiva, or Adam, so the (varied) story goes. For Sri Lankans, Adam’s Peak is an important pilgrimage site. For that reason it’s often best avoided on public or religious holidays and full moons.
12 – Galle Fort
Heading to the South Coast, Galle Fort is a (yet another!) UNESCO World Heritage site where winding streets offer a blended cultural feel among cafes and architecture that reflects the history of the Portuguese and Dutch colonies. In addition to the fort and related buildings, you can see Meera Mosque and the Clock Tower. The city is the capital of the south and definitely worth exploring.
From Galle, you can also access Sinharaja Rain Forest, a world heritage and bio diversity hotspot, one of the few virgin rain forests left in the world, that showcases a staggering array of flora and fauna. It’s less than two hours from Galle and is perfect for families to connect with nature and provide an understanding of how precious such remaining ecosystems are.
13 – Mirissa Beach
Mirissa Beach on the south coast, is not called magnificent for nothing. This amazing spot has that powdery white sand that the tropical dreams are made of. The water and shore is safe for kids of all ages to enjoy and the shady palms offer respite from the sun should your younger people need it.
Mirissa offers something for all kinds of families including a great range of restaurants that line the beach and fabulous water based activities including surfing, scuba diving, paddle boarding, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, sailing and sea kayaking, plus amazing trips from the harbour out to Taprobane island to watch whales and dolphins. Sri Lanka is one of the few places in the world where you can see the world’s largest marine mammal, the majestic blue whale. Sea trips and whale and dolphin sightings here are usually best from November to April. So Christmas/Easter with Trinco better for summer.
14 – Rekawa Turtle Conservation Project
Just up from Tangalle on the south coast is Rekawa, a turtle watching conservation project, dedicated to providing a safe and secure nesting environment on one of Sri Lanka’s most important turtle beaches.
I’m always cautious of ‘conservation tourism’ especially wildlife, but if it is ethical observation of a ritual that contributes to the survival of a species, not their exploitation, then it’s worth supporting and that is most definitely the Rickshaw way. Observing these creatures and helping them stay safe and wild is often one of the highlights for families visiting Sri Lanka. It’s a pretty unique experience! In some instances and with very careful handling, children can hold the baby turtles
15 – Yala National Park
In the country’s southeastern corner is the stunning Yala National Park. Home to nearly fifty different types of mammals, including stunning leopards, rare sloth bears, crocodiles, deer, peacocks and elephants, not to mention hundreds of species of birds.
You can enjoy a real family adventure here as you go on safari in jeeps across the park. The beauty is that, unlike Africa, it doesn’t take you seven hours to get to where you are going! You can access a wonderful diversity of wildlife easily, in safaris that are just a few hours long. There are also options to stay in tented accommodation (comfy beds and private bathrooms!) to immerse the family in among the wilderness, safely of course.
En route to Yala, it’s definitely worth stopping to visit the orphans at the Elephant Transit Home (ETH). They are best seen from the viewing platforms at the three feeding times during the day. The ETH is less than half an hour’s drive from the entrance to Udawalwe National Park, which has one of the highest densities of wild elephants anywhere in Sri Lanka and is where the orphans spend the rest of the time, out of view of people, in preparation for their return to the wild when they are about four years old.
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