Yala National Park Sri Lanka Travel Photography

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We decided to try a Taxi down the escarpment and onto the plains far below to Tissamaharama where most people spend the night before an early morning safari expedition into Yala National Park.  Yala has the highest density of leopard on the planet but is still a huge park (378 sq miles) and chances of a sighting were very slim.  We hired a private jeep and guide that would take us into the park arriving a little earlier than most to beet the crazy Sri Lankan queueing system.  We did manage to get near the front of the second queue of jeeps at the parks gate awaiting the 6am opening.  Once inside, jeeps raced by us trying to get prime positions for any wildlife viewing.  Luckily our driver was great and didn’t get sucked in to the mad rush.  Our luck was in as the first stop near a watering hole we managed to get prime viewing of a leopard (not the best shot sorry as we were a long way off).  The magic moment was soon spoiled however as jeeps were jockeying for position.  In the mayhem that followed we were soon totally hemmed in with jeeps all around us, the ones behind having no view at all with drivers and guides getting very agitated.  By this time the leopard had enough and slunk into the long grass for a nap – who can blame him?  About 30 minutes later we’re on our way to explore some other areas of the park.  Some of the animals we saw included Water Buffalo, Wild Boar, Monitor lizards, Chameleons, Mongoose, a lone Bull Elephant, strutting Peacocks, Dear, Crcodile and Monkeys – can anyone spot the Elephant shaped rock?  The bird life was amazing, with Owls, Eagles, Indian Rollers, Pelicans, Sunbirds etc.  We managed sightings of three of Sri Lankans 7 Kingfishers – the Common, Pied and White Throated and also 3 Bee Eaters which I’ve always wanted to photograph – the Green, Blue Tailed and Chestnut Headed.  The beautiful Orange bird with the long tail is an Indian Paradise Flycatcher, we also saw an Asian White version which was also stunning but couldn’t get a shot unfortunately!  The next stop on our tour is the coast and Tangalle………..

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Hill Country Sri Lanka Travel Photography

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The Sri Lankan rail network dates back to British Colonial times.  The train journey between Kandy and Badulla in the Hill Country has to be one of the world’s most scenic.  The first leg of ours takes us to Nanu Oya and nearby Nuwara Eliya.  We climb steadily out of Kandy through Pine and Eucalyptus forests passing many waterfalls along the way.  When we reach the mountain tops the forest gives way to endless tea plantations where the Tamil pickers are all busy with their work.  Inside the carriage is a carnival atmosphere and a large group of locals soon break out some drums and start singing and dancing. We were lucky to get 2nd class tickets which meant we had our own seats although most of the time is spent hanging out the windows and doors admiring the views and having friendly banter with the ever smiling locals – wow what a journey!
We stopped at Nurawa Eliya (often referred to as Little England) for a couple of nights.  The lakeside town has its own golf course and many colonial hotels and buildings one of which, The Grand Hotel is a must to visit for High Tea – also home to a fab coffee shop and Indian restaurant.  We decided to take a very early morning trip to the Horton Plains National Park with a fantastic circular hike that takes you to the breathtaking view of World’s End, a near vertical escarpment that plunges to the coastal plains far below.  We also took a trip out to the Mackwoods Tea Plantation to see how the different grades of tea are made.
From here it was back on the train for a few hours of breathtaking scenery to the beautiful laid back village of Ella with stunning views through Ella Gap of waterfalls, Little Adam’s Peak and Ella Rock.  With it’s great selection of restaurants, coffee shops and cool mountain air this has to be our favourite place so far, next stop is Yala National Park……
For a further look at our images of our Cardiff, South Wales landscape and travel photography, please have a look at our other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.

Ancient Cities Sri Lanka Travel Photography

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We travel north of Kandy to the country’s cultural heartland, firstly to the ancient Sinhalese capital of Polonnaruwa, a small town siting on the edge of a large beautiful reservoir or tank as they are known locally.  We decide to brave the local bus instead of the tourist A/C bus and weirdly prefer it as the driving is not quite so crazy and with all the windows open it’s cool enough. We spent a memorable day cycling around the large archaeological park discovering the many ancient temples, tombs, statues and stupas, also some local wildlife including many monkeys and a few rather large monitor lizards.
We travel an hour West to Sigiriya, probably Sri Lankas most iconic sight.  The near vertical walls of the rock rise out of the surrounding jungle plains.  We climb/scramble up the neighbouring rock Pidurangala for a breathtaking evening sunset view.  Typically we are last off and have to climb down in the dark, good job we remembered the torch and lucky that our tuk tuk driver climbed with us and knows the way.  He is even more helpful the next day and takes us to a sunrise viewpoint and then offers to drive us back to Kandy, a 3 hour trip which proved more relaxing than the buses – apart from the Kandy traffic.
Our next adventure is our first Sri Lankan train ride into the Hill Country.

For a further look at our images of our Cardiff, South Wales landscape and travel photography, please have a look at our other Blog Posts and if you have any questions about our services don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us.

Kandy Sri Lanka Travel Photography

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Here are some pics of Kandy, our first stop in Sri Lanka after a day acclimatising in Negombo – a beach town just outside Colombo.  The journey up to Kandy was via two AC buses and quickly got us used to the fact that getting what appears to be a short distance in Sri Lanka takes a very long time.  The roads are not in the best state of repair and are totally overcrowded, the closer we got to Kandy the more chaotic the traffic – I guess we wont be getting anywhere fast in Sri Lanka!  

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