Brisbane News
30 May 2001

by Lee Mylne

The pace of life in rural Sri Lanka seems to move at a pace similar to the measured, rolling gait of the elephant carrying me through the tropical jungle in the island's heartland.

It is a contrast, after several days in Colombo, to the bustle of city life and one of the many delights of a visit to the country once called the island of Serendib.

Colombo has its attractions, but getting away from the city reveals there's more to this place than the national passion for cricket.

Any visit to Sri Lanka is restricted by the ongoing civil unrest. Most military activity is restricted to the north-eastern zone, where travel is banned. There is a strong military presence in Colombo, with check points and road blocks, but little elsewhere in the country to detract from the beauty of the land.

Colombo has been a thriving seaport for centuries, and retains the legacy of traders from Portugal, Britain and Holland. Many elegant colonial seaside hotels remain. In Colombo, the Galle Face Hotel, established in 1864, promises "yesterday's charm and tomorrow's comfort" and despite its genteel shabbiness is a great place to sit with a cocktail and watch the sun sink into the ocean.

On the southern outskirts of Colombo is one of the country's most famous beach resorts, the Mount Lavinia Hotel, which incorporates the Governor's House, built in 1805 by Sir Thomas Maitland. The love story of Maitland and the local dancing girl, Lavinia, is now local legend - for the seven years of his tenure, the lovers used a tunnel linking the governor's mansion with Lavinia's garden - and the hotel is a popular choice for weddings.

On the palm-fringed coast just north of Colombo is Negombo, a fishing village and popular holiday spot. Here you can watch the traditional outrigger fishing boats sail in their dozens along the coast and come ashore with their catch, then go and feast on their lobster and prawns at one of the many small eating houses along the beachfront.

But our first taste of rural life comes as we head inland to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage, on the Colombo-Kandy road.

Established in 1975, Pinnawala is now home to about 60 young elephants found abandoned or orphaned in the wild. Several of the original orphans are now old enough for breeding and since 1984 another 16 babies have joined the herd.

Visitors flock to the orphanage each day to mingle with the elephants and their mahoots in the coconut plantation, and to watch the babies bottle-fed. Then the crowds move to the banks of the river Maha Oya, the country's third largest - dodging the hawkers and shopkeepers which line the route - before the elephants are walked down for their twice-daily bath. It lasts about two hours, before the pachyderms head home and the tourists disperse.

Kandy, the hill capital and a world heritage site, is often described as the most beautiful town in Sri Lanka, and after Colombo, is the most visited destination. The last capital of the Sri Lankan kings, Kandy is set around a picturesque lake, built in 1860 by the last Sinhala king, Sriwickrama Rajasinghe. The town is nestled in a valley and surrounded by the Knuckles mountains, and there is a lot to see.

But what brings most people to Kandy is Dalada Maligawa - the temple of the Sacred Tooth, the only surviving relic of Lord Buddha, rescued from his funeral pyre in the 16th century. We join a long queue of reverent locals and curious tourists for a glimpse of, not the tooth, but the casket in which it sits in splendour under a golden canopy.

More spectacular is the Lion Rock at the ancient fortified town of Sigiriya, a fifth century fortress built by King Kasyapa. Rising 200 metres from the jungle, this striking citadel was the stronghold of Sigiriya. The approach to the rock - now a World Heritage site - is through what remains of the original moat, rampart and water gardens. As you ascend the first part of the climb to the top, a spiral staircase leads to a sheltered pocket of rock which has protected frescoes of the Heavenly Maidens of Sigiriya for 1500 years. The maidens glow warm and golden from the rock, and the rickety staircase is soon forgotten.

Of the lion, only paws remain, hewn into the rock each side of the staircase cut between them.

The steep climb to the top of the rock is hard but guides are on hand to help - and you may need it, depending on your head for heights - for a small fee. It is worth the effort, for the view is spectacular, even on a day such as we encountered, when the vista of jungle and tea plantations was darkened by storm clouds.

After the effort of climbing the Lion Rock, a night at the nearby Kandalama Hotel is a treat.

Flanked by mountains and jungle, the five star hotel overlooks a vast man-made lake rich in bird life. And here, at last, an elephant ride through part of the 200ha tropical forest which surrounds us. Another of the gentle delights the isle of serendipity can provide.