We had been planning a visit to Sri Lanka for a long time and were finally able to make it happen in December of 2024, combining it with our annual trip to India. One of our friends had gone on a guided tour with Darshana Tours – Private Driver Sri Lanka and recommended them highly. Darshana Tours – Private Driver Sri Lanka, offer some standard tours and allow you to customize them to your needs. On our 10-day guided tour we visited the following places.
Some basic information on Sri Lankan history that will help when visiting some of the historical places like Polonnaruva, Sigiriya, Buddha Cave Temple, Galle etc.
Early History
- First known Sinhalese settlers arrived in 6th century BC
- Buddhism was introduced around 250 BC. King Ashoka had sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism.
- The first kingdom developed in Anuradhapura: 377 BC – 1017 BC
- Kingdom in Polonnaruva when Cholas conquered Anuradhapura: 1017 BC – 1233 BC
Colonization Period
- The Portuguese arrived in 1505 and controlled the coastal areas in the 16th century
- The Dutch took over the island in the 17th century, except for the central kingdom of Kandy
- The British took over the island in 1796 and united it as Ceylon in 1833
Ceylon gained independence from British in 1948 and changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972.
Our 10 days in Sri Lanka was fantastic with great weather and not a single day of rain (Dec 2 -Dec 11). Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes and we probably covered 75% of the country’s main attractions. Our trip was a combination of visits to safari parks, hiking, tea plantation, farmhouse lunches, scenic train journey, Buddha temples, and ruins. There were visits to a few UNESCO Heritage sites. As 70% of the population in Sri Lanka are Buddhists, we saw a lot of Buddha temples and Buddha statues.