Part of my goal with this blog is to share some of my ‘hidden gems’ and places that you might not have thought about visiting before. A lot of people end up in Sri Lanka because of needing to leave India to renew their visa. But I think there are a lot of awesome reasons to go to Sri Lanka other than adhering to your Indian visa requirements. If you prefer to watch instead of read, check out my YouTube video!
Today I’m going to be listing 5 reasons I think you should make Sri Lanka a top choice if you are travelling to Asia.
Perfect for those travelling on a budget
Part of the reason why Asia is sometimes a good choice for budget tight backpackers is because of how affordable it is. A lot of people may rave about how cheap everything is in South East Asia, but I’m here to tell you if you want to really (and I mean REALLY) stretch how far your dollar goes, then the better choice might be Sri Lanka. Of course like any place in the world you can spend as little or as much as you want. But I think it’s easy to get by with very little in Sri Lanka.
Public transport in Sri Lanka is incredibly cheap. There are different types of buses and trains available, but in my experience, I usually would pay a fraction of a dollar to get wherever I needed to get to. To get from the beaches in the South to a tiny town in the central part of the country, I think I spent only a few dollars (I was on buses the entire day though). So long as you take the public buses and commuter trains, then you won’t be thinking about how much you spend on transit.
I thought that accommodation was also crazy reasonable. If I was spending close to ten dollars on a night’s stay, I was outraged. This price won’t get you a fancy hotel room, but a clean bed in dorm is what most backpackers I know would be looking for.
Beautiful Beaches
Some of the most beautiful white sandy beaches I’ve seen have been in Sri Lanka. Though I never travelled to the North end of the country, I can say all beaches along the West, South and East are stunning. I personally fell for the beaches in the South. I was staying in Polhena, but most tourists opt for Mirissa or Unawatuna which are both near by. Either way though, the beaches are amazing.
And even if laying on a beach and cooking yourself isn’t your idea of a great vacation, there are other really cool things to do on the coasts of Sri Lanka. Almost every day I stayed in Polhena, I would see sea turtles swimming close to the shore. Many places are famous for diving, and whale watching, so even as a non-beach person there is reason to make your way to the coast for the marine life. Sri Lanka is also a prime spot to head to if you’re keen on surfing. Many beaches along the coast offer waves for beginner and experienced surfers!
Vegetarian (and even vegan!) friendly
I’m not a very strict vegetarian or vegan by any means (though I try to eat like that as often as possible) I have to say that Sri Lanka is a great country to travel to if you are on either of those diets.
Although fish is readily available throughout the country (and it is great!) you don’t have to opt for the fish options. In fact my preference was the green jackfruit (shown raw in the photo above) rice and curries, which in my opinion have the consistency of tuna anyway.
Sri Lanka country is a tropical island, so coconut is incorporated into food in many ways, and coconut oil is used a lot in cooking—making those creamy curries and dishes dairy free! This is great because if you are vegan, that means the curries will be safe for you to eat! If you do eat meat, chicken, fish, and eggs are usually available to be incorporated into any street food if you wish.
Don’t forget to indulge in all the fresh tropical fruit—this is one of my favourite things about travelling to countries like this. Oh, and the king coconuts in Sri Lanka—they are the best coconuts I’ve ever had. Do yourself a favour and try and drink one a day. It won’t kill you, in fact I bet it’s actually good for you.
The country is small
You might be thinking, “Isn’t that a bad thing? I don’t want to get island fever.”
Don’t worry you’re not. It’s not like you can walk around the perimeter of the island—although that could make for an interesting adventure. I mean the island is relatively small when you consider that it is a country itself, even though it’s one of the world’s 26 largest islands.
Why is this a good thing? It means that you’ll have an easier time seeing different parts of the country without spending days in transit. A backpacking trip across India would entail many days spent on a train, where as in Sri Lanka, you would only really need about a day to get from one end to the other. For example, taking the train from Mirissa in the South, all the way to Jaffna in the North would take you around 15 hours in transit. This means you are spending less time in transit, and more time enjoying yourself and the beautiful scenery the country has to offer.
But just because the island is so small, that doesn’t mean there aren’t many different things to see and do there. Which brings me to my last point in this blog.
Diverse landscape and experiences
My most important reason to travel to Sri Lanka is a combination of the above with this point. For a relatively small mass of land, the diversity of the landscape, culture and experiences to be had is vast. And this my friends, is my most favourite thing about Sri Lanka. I believe there is something for every one in Sri Lanka, and I’m going to name a few that I think you might be interested in.
I already mentioned beaches. Like I said, there are many beautiful beaches to lay down on and chill, or surf or scuba dive if that’s what you prefer. So beach lovers will have no issue staying here. If lazing on a picturesque just isn’t enough for you, then you can get your adrenaline rush in with some surfing or scuba diving. If you’re really into that adrenaline, there are also options to go white water rafting in the south central part of the country (check out Kitulgala).
If you’re a sucker for wildlife like me, you’ll be happy to know that there are several national parks on the island where you can spot countless animals. Elephants, leopards (though hard to spot, they do exist), hornbills, monkeys, snakes, and many other things I likely can’t name. Sri Lanka is a biodiverse hotspot on our mother earth, and is a nature lovers delight because of it. So make sure to make room in your bag for those binoculars!
Does driving through rolling hills of green tea leaves and forest sound like a dream to you? If you can stomach a winding bus ride without getting car sick, then I’d say this is something you’ll really enjoy. To be honest, one of my favourite memories of Sri Lanka was the long bus rides, watching the hills roll past the window. But if just thinking about a long ride in a car or bus is making you nauseous, then I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the trains in Sri Lanka as well. One of the most famous things to do in Sri Lanka is to take the train from Kandy to Ella, which is nothing short of beautiful. This is what some of central Sri Lanka has to offer you—rolling green, forested hills. And incase you didn’t know this, the colour green is soothing to your mental health. I usually say, “if it’s green, it’s good for you,” and I don’t always mean eating vegetables.
And if the green landscape isn’t appealing to you, then maybe the distinct cultural and historic sites will float your goat. Though the country is mostly Buddhist, it is also home to many Hindus (particularly in the north). In the northern Hindu area of the country, you’ll be immersed in a totally different culture unique from the rest of the country. Remember that 15 hour train ride across the country I mentioned? Well in one day, you might feel as if you crossed the ocean over to India. Which is pretty neat if you ask me!
There is no shortage of temples and ancient historical landmarks to explore and absorb some of the unique culture of Sri Lanka. One of the most famous sites being Anuradhapura, which is an ancient city from the Sinhala civilization. Even if you aren’t into exploring these types of places, I would find it very surprising if this city does not impress you. If you have been there and you didn’t like it, please message me, I’d be interested to know why.
With all that said, I hope that you might consider Sri Lanka as your next adventure, because I truly believe it is a wonderful place to explore and to learn about a unique culture and way of life. I myself would definitely consider going back, and do some more exploring in some places I missed.
Soon I’ll be posting about some of my favourite spots in Sri Lanka, so subscribe to my email list so you don’t miss out on that!
If you want to share one of your favourite things about Sri Lanka please leave a comment. Sharing is caring!
Thanks for reading, and happy travels everyone!