Sri Lanka South

A trip through Sri Lanka South

A dear friend of ours took a trip through Sri Lanka South by tuk-tuk just two weeks ago. As his wife was not entirely happy about this adventure, we decide to hire a driver for the route. On recommendation, we booked our driver Dilan with Travel Dreams of Sri Lanka, who picked us up from the hotel on time and with a clean car.

And then, on the journey through southern Sri Lanka, practically everything we had been told beforehand was confirmed: on the country roads and in the towns, traffic rules are nothing more than a recommendation. Instead, driving is more a matter of survival of the fittest; at least that’s how it looks for the first few kilometres.

The further we drive, however, the more it becomes clear that practically everyone expects the driver in front, beside or behind them to be just as reckless, consistently using every centimetre of space between vehicles. The wildest hell drivers are bus and some lorry drivers. Buses usually come towards you in the middle of the road because they are about to overtake a car, tuk-tuk or moped travelling at normal speed.

And the really amazing thing about it all is that even after a week of driving through southern Sri Lanka, we haven’t seen a single accident. Sometimes dogs lie in the middle of the road and don’t think it’s necessary to make way for an approaching car. So drivers brake and drive around the animals.

Then suddenly a cow or even a whole herd appears, and of course drivers brake for them too. At least these animals react to the horn and move to the side of the road, albeit very relaxed.

Everywhere we see more or less sturdy stalls along the country road where farmers offer their products for sale or everyday items are sold. And so, on our way through southern Sri Lanka, we pass through Galle, among other places.

Galle is a historic town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, famous for Galle Fort, a well-preserved European fortress from the Dutch colonial era, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers a mixture of colonial architecture, charming alleys, boutiques, cafés and cultural attractions, making it one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions. Wikipedia knows more about Galle.

We continue to the heart of southern Sri Lanka, the area around Udawalawe, which Dilan describes as a relatively dry region. There we stay at the Elephant Rest Udawalawa, a nice little guesthouse where we are served an excellent meal in the evening.

From here, it is only a few kilometres to the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home. This is a wildlife conservation facility in Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka, which was founded in 1995 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation. This measure became necessary, among other things, because a huge reservoir was built in the middle of the elephants’ territory, rendering their traditional habitat uninhabitable.

In Sri Lanka, up to three elephants are killed each week due to conflicts with humans, often leaving behind orphaned calves. These elephant calves are kept in a part of Udawalawe National Park so that they remain familiar with their habitat. At the facility, the calves are each given a ration of milk and can then eat their fill of corn and green fodder. The facility is largely financed by admission fees from visitors, who come in large numbers to watch the elephant calves being fed. After feeding, the calves trot back to the national park.

 

We visit another commendable facility in Habaraduwa, namely a sea turtle hatchery. There, turtle eggs that have been rescued from the beach are placed back in the ground until the tiny turtles hatch. They are then nursed back to health in various water basins until they are ready to be released back into the sea. The centre also cares for sick animals.

Once again, we would like to express our gratitude to our extremely cautious and conscientious driver. He was able to answer all our questions and showed us things that we would certainly not have seen on our own.
So if you ever want to take a trip to Sri Lanka, feel free to put your trust in Dilan from Travel Dreams of Sri Lanka!