When completing a Sri Lanka road trip, I had an itinerary that I only briefly followed. I allowed myself lots of flexibility to change the plan and add locations on, as and when I wanted to. The Sri Lanka road trip from Habarana to Kandy was one of the busiest days on the road in the Tuk Tuk, and some of it was very stressful.
If you are planning a Sri Lanka road trip in a Tuk Tuk, you need to be prepared for some long journeys. The majority of the journeys took approximately 3 – 5 hours, but this journey from Habarana to Kandy took 12 hours in total. This did include plenty of stops – including a couple of hours at an incredible family run restaurant which I stumbled upon, and it was a highlight of the trip! More on that below!
Pirurangala Rock
Pidurangala rock is one of the infamous hikes in Sri Lanka, offering an incredible view of Sigiriya Lion Rock from the top. Originally I had planned to visit Sigiriya Lion Rock, but I was recommended to visit Pidurangala Rock by a local, as the entrance price is only £3 compared to £30!
The climb up Pidurangala rock was fairly easy, but some of the rocks were a little loose towards the top and required some tricky climbing and pulling your body weight up and over the rocks. I saw a few people climbing with children, and they changed their minds and went back down when they reached the top – so maybe do not attempt to climb Pidurangala if you have any injuries, or if you are hiking with children. I visited Pidurangala rock at approximately 11am, and there were only 8-10 people at the top when I arrived. This was a huge contrast to what I could see for Sigiriya Lion Rock, as the standstill queue was trailing so far down the rock!
I really wanted to visit Pidurangala Rock at sunrise. However, was strongly advised not to drive in a Tuk Tuk at this time due to the wild elephants walking on the streets. I’m so glad that I took this advice as during my time in Sri Lanka, very unfortunately a Canadian tourist was brutally attacked by an elephant on the road during sunrise around these streets!
Polonnaruwa
I will start this story by stating that this huge diversion in our trip was very disappointing! I planned on visiting the ancient ruins and the temples which were recommended by a friend’s grandparents who were born in Sri Lanka in in the 1940’s. When pulling up at the first stop, we were swarmed by tour guides, attempting to sell their services. A guide was adamant to get into our Tuk Tuk, and we resorted to driving away and making a quick exit.
This felt very sad, as I’m sure that the temples and the ruins are an incredible sight and are a great way to learn about Sri Lanka’s history. However, the vague pricing of the tour guides, stating “not that much money” was a bit of a red flag.
Priyamali Gedara – Restaurant
Wow! Wow! Wow! Visiting this restaurant was a highlight of the whole trip. God, how much I would love to be back there right now!
After travelling over an hour off-route to visit Polonnaruwa, and left feeling very disappointed and about to embark on another lengthy journey, I was a hangry girl! Doing a quick Google maps search, I found Priyamali Gedara Restaurant as somewhere close by for lunch located in Polonnaruwa.
Pulling up in the Tuk Tuk to a large house overlooking fields of tea plantations with the smell of curries and rice being cooked over open fires, I could not believe the hidden gem that I had stumbled upon. A family run business, serving a buffet of traditional Sri Lankan food: curries, rice and a variety of side dishes. The hospitality at Priyamali Gedara was incredible, and I could not believe my luck to have stumbled upon this place.
Opalgala Ella Waterfall
I located this waterfall using the Google Maps location, but this was actually the wrong point. It took approximately 15 minutes of walking through overgrown trees to reach the water, and then another 10 minutes walking through a shallow river. After this short hike, I ended up at the top of the water fall rather than the bottom! It was beautiful, it just was not where I planned to be.
Kandy
The final destination. The last stretch of this journey was less than ideal as it poured with rain and visibility was extremely limited when driving in the Tuk Tuk.
Overall, the journey door-to-door from Habarana to Kandy took over 12 hours. Despite the amount of miles that were covered, it was a very enjoyable day. We made a few toilet stops, a stop to get some ice-cream, drove through a protected area and threw some bananas to the monkeys (a real life game of Mario Kart!) and we pulled over onto the side of the road to watch an elephant bathe in the lake. It was incredible journey as a passenger lounging in the back of the Tuk Tuk catching some rays, but I was feeling very grateful for my driver as I would have definitely struggled driving all day in the 34 degree heat!
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