Visiting Sri Lanka

1. Point Pedro - another town by the sea and renowned for its sea food! It is at the tip of the Sri Lanka. The lighthouse is a must visit place but it has now been closed off.

Once the kids and me learned our history properly, we did all the touristy stuff. It was a 5 day- trip in a hire van. The places we recommend you see are:

1. Trincomalee - you need a good 2 days to enjoy what Trinco can offer you. We first went to Trinco beach but instead of swimming at the beach, we took a small boat ride to an island called Pigeon Island. It is is national marine I park and is sublime! If you ignore all the rocks and the cuts you come out with (I'm still suffering from my deep cut on my for -4 weeks post), the marine life is amazing. Even standing in ankle- deep water, you'll see different species fishes. You can go snorkelling which we did and saw so many beautiful beaches. You can go quite deep in the sea and the views are amazing. The island has also got the best corals in Sri Lanka! You can also go see dolphins but you have to be there very early in the morning so we didn't go. Once we came out of the paradise, we went to a temple called Koneswaran temple which holds significant historical meaning. We also visited the 7 wells where the natural spring water is not cold as you'd expect was hot. Very hot! 
2. Sigiriya - this rock housed a famous King back in the 14th century I believe.  It was stunning to see the engineering work of the older day from underground sewage and drainage system and venue a water mill on top of the rock, 660ft high! The king had his queen but also 500concubines from all over Asia! And you see some drawings of them on the rock! It took us altogether 3 hours to climb up and down Sigiriya but the view is absolutely stunning! The kids didn't find it difficult at all but if you are scared of heights, you can climb it half way up and come down!you can see the foundations of where the king's palace, royal courts, swimming pools and dancing halls were! The fact that there was a palace on top of a 200m high rock is fine enough to go and visit it! And you must! Sigiriya is a UNESCO world Heritage site.
3. Dambulla Cave Temple - before you go to the cave you will cross the huge Dambulla Temple with the tallest Buddha temple in the world. The cave temple is surprisingly not underground but on top of a mountain so again some climbing to do but Sigiriya trained us well so this was nothing . Inside is a lot of Buddha statues depicting Buddha's life and is another World Heritage Site.
4. Kandi - a refreshing beauty right bang in the middle of Sri Lanka. You are surrounded by greenery. The view oat night is magnificent. During the day, we visited the Temple of the Tooth, a Bhuddist Temple where Buddha's tooth is located. It also has a museum with great information and displays.
5. Ramboda Falls - we climbed the falls and took us a gold 2 hours altogether but the view from the top was beautiful and the water was chilly, a great reward when you are sweating like a pig. The pathway is narrow so be careful with children but if Mahi ( my running rowdy) did it without being hurt, anybody can do it. You can also swim in it either at the top or near the bridge area.
6. Tea plantation factory - you cannot go to Sri Lanka and not see the tea plantation. We visited a tea factory and learned how tea was made and then were treated to tea with leaves directly picked from the plantations around us with no additional chemicals added. It was yum!
7. Nuwera Eliya - a beautiful little town, in the middle of tea plantations with lots of activities to do! We went on a pony ride and jet skiing but most of all the scenery is the star! You'll get dizzy going and round and round, up and down hills but the scenery is magical!
8. Pinnawala Elephant orphanage - the kids couldn't wait to see the Elephants up close! The elephants come to take a bath in the nearest river and what a sight it was! We had our favourite naughty elephants which we loved to watch. It was such a wonderful experience! 

So this was our trip. We missed the south coast but that'll be on our next visit! The country is beautiful and one with so much history! The kids and you will love every minute of it! Enjoy!