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Originally published in The Detour in July 2024
At the beginning of the year, I started bugging the rest of the JFC team to write up all their memorable travel experiences as soon as they get home from an epic trip. We&rsquo;re around halfway through the year now, and I&rsquo;ve already gathered some absolutely phenomenal stories to share with you.
I want to start off with Data Analyst Tara&rsquo;s month-long solo trip to Sri Lanka back in February. Having been to Kerala in South India last year&mdash;and absolutely loving it&mdash;she hoped to capture a similar magic:

&ldquo;Sri Lanka piqued my interest, being geographically close and culturally similar in some respects. Plus there are all those the beautiful beaches, amazing food, the surfing on the coast, the beautiful train journeys&hellip;&rdquo;

And as it turns out, Tara was not disappointed. She had plenty of fond memories to share about the island, so let&rsquo;s break it down:

&ldquo;All the Sri Lankans I met on my trip were extremely open and kind - I found it a really welcoming and safe-feeling place to travel solo.&rdquo;

Not only does Time Out think Sri Lanka is a great place to travel solo, they&rsquo;ve even gone so far as to name it their <a href="https://www.timeout.com/travel/solo-female-travel-best-destinations?lid=8t1t9ktnvbms" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">no.1 destination for solo female travellers</a> in 2024. You&rsquo;ll likely find it hard not to meet other solo travellers if you head there alone.
Getting around safely is easy enough with public transport, though you&rsquo;ll be reliant on somewhat unpredictable scheduling! As with anywhere, just keep your wits and your belongings about you, and you should have no problems. That said, renting a tuktuk or hiring a driver is also perfectly doable if you&rsquo;d rather move to the beat of your own drum.
In general, Sri Lankans are known for being incredibly friendly and welcoming. Although that only goes so far&mdash;make sure to brush up on your <a href="https://www.nathab.com/know-before-you-go/asia-the-pacific/sri-lanka/cultural-dos-and-donts/?lid=dybm38grgelo" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">local etiquette</a> to avoid any sticky situations. What you might think of as an innocent selfie with Buddha could <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/22/305899590/tattoo-of-buddha-gets-british-tourist-thrown-out-of-sri-lanka?lid=igdjmuid2d9i" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">get you deported</a>!

&ldquo;The nature is amazing, everything is so lush and green with amazing birds and strange wildlife.&rdquo;

The community over on Facebook definitely agrees, with several of the country&rsquo;s national parks getting a shout-out. With the highest density of leopards anywhere in the world, <a href="https://www.mahoora.com/yala-national-park.html?lid=z0mudtwlcskz" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Yala National Park</a> is the go-to for leopard spotting (pun intended), while <a href="https://www.ceylonexpeditions.com/bundala-national-park-safari?lid=wl6duucsfyfl" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Bundala</a> is especially great for bird watching during the September&ndash;March migration season.
JFC-er Karen recommends visiting the <a href="https://www.kosgodaseaturtle.org/?lid=awjus9fzfygd" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Project</a>. It&rsquo;s a great opportunity to see and learn about turtles, and support local conservation efforts while you&rsquo;re at it. If you&rsquo;ve got a week or more to spare during your trip, consider volunteering with them!
As for the natural landscapes, there&rsquo;s lush jungle practically everywhere you look, plus unusual rock formations and epic cliffs sprinkled across the island. Adam&rsquo;s Peak is a jaw-dropping mountain in the heart of the Sri Lanka, and high on most visitors&rsquo; list of things to see. It is said that the footprint of Buddha, aka the <a href="https://sripada.org/text-0.htm?lid=c3ckmaattads" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Sri Pada</a>, is imprinted upon the rock near the summit.
At over 2,000m high, most of which involves steep stairs, to say it&rsquo;s a <a href="https://weareglobaltravellers.com/2023/08/adams-peak-hiking-guide/?lid=b73gfgn44zyt" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">strenuous hike</a> would be an understatement.&nbsp; About a four-hour drive to the east, you&rsquo;ll encounter <a href="https://nerdnomads.com/little-adams-peak?lid=c29kt20qje76" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Little Adam&rsquo;s Peak</a>, about half the size of its big brother, and an easier climb with some stunning views.
World&rsquo;s End is equally impressive&mdash;<a href="https://youmeunderthepalmtree.com/worlds-end-sri-lanka/?lid=idve5co47cs6" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">a steep 880-metre cliff</a> with astonishing views across Horton Plains. Although, if you have vertigo, be warned that there&rsquo;s no hand-rail!&nbsp;
That all sound like a walk in the park? Then it&rsquo;s the man-made and truly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C7l_SegNAse/?hl=en&amp;lid=osthpnje5752" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">nausea-inducing Ambuluwawa Tower</a> you need.

&ldquo;The surfing spots were very fun, travelling on my own, it was a great way to meet people and get active first thing in the morning. The beaches were beautiful, I loved driving along to find secluded spots (for example <a href="https://traveltriangle.com/blog/silent-beach-tangalle/?lid=lj5ix3zbexzw" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Silent Beach</a> on the south coast).&rdquo;

When it comes to catching a wave, you can&rsquo;t go wrong <a href="https://thesurfatlas.com/sri-lanka-surf/?lid=3luz23gw9ow6#surf-spots" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">anywhere on the south coast</a>, from Colombo in the west, right round to Arugam Bay in the southeast. Beware, though&mdash;not all these beaches are ideal for a gentle swim or paddle, as the waves come thick and fast, especially from May&ndash;October.
The north of the island also has glorious, sandy shores, and they tend to come with the added bonus of fewer tourists. A visit to Trincomalee (aka&nbsp;<a href="https://beyondwildplaces.com/trincomalee-travel-guide-sri-lanka/?lid=rdbritv4pbuy" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Trinco</a>) will offer up quiet beaches, great snorkelling, whale watching trips, beautiful Hindu temples, and a whole load of tasty seafood.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The coworking/co-living spots were great - Clics coworking in Hiriketya was my spot - I could have happily stayed there all year! There's a lot of people doing the digital nomad thing, so I was part of a community quickly.&rdquo;

I was as surprised as most of you probably are to learn that Sri Lanka is a big destination for remote working. But why wouldn&rsquo;t you want to have the option of splashing directly into the warm ocean after logging off for the day?&nbsp;
Cool surf towns like Weligama and Ahangama on the south coast have already developed the infrastructure needed to keep you connected. There&rsquo;s no need to rely on dodgy caf&eacute; Wi-Fi, with <a href="https://christinaintheclouds.com/coworking-spaces-in-sri-lanka/?lid=iazz54spqttg" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">several co-working</a> spaces to choose from, and no shortage of cute brunch spots and bars with live music for some chill time.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The food was fab! I was having dal and egg hoppers for breakfast every day and rice and curry for lunch and dinner. I also did a cooking class when I was in Ella which was phenomenal.&rdquo;

As a fan of the champion of all breakfast foods (egg, obviously), but not a lover of drenching it in hollandaise sauce, elevating a humble egg to the next level often proves complicated for me during brunch. But no more! For crispy, coconutty <a href="https://www.eggs.ca/recipes/bittara-appa-sri-lankan-egg-hoppers?lid=64rrmcungagq" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">bittara appa</a> are here to save us.&nbsp;
In general, you can expect a lot of fish or meat curries in Sri Lanka, served alongside steamed rice, lentils, popadums, chutneys and pickled veg. And then there are those big, orange <a href="https://www.cocossa.co.uk/post/coconut-vs-king-coconut?lid=0mnyluzge50r" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">king coconuts</a>, which are just as good for a sweet snack as they are for cooling down a spicy sambal. Just make sure you don&rsquo;t go too fiery before a long day out in the jungle&hellip;
If you like the idea of taking home a few new recipes, arranging a cookery class once you arrive in Sri Lanka will be easy-peasy, or you can book one in advance through Viator. But if you like the idea of food being the main focus of your trip, tour companies such as Intrepid offer <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-real-food-adventure-144009?lid=3b776eqdc5pr" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">fully curated culinary trips</a> around the island. Don&rsquo;t worry, they still make time to see the sights as well!&nbsp;

&ldquo;The train journeys were beautiful, I didn&rsquo;t want to do the long journey from Kandy to Ella, so I got an early morning tuktuk to Demodara and took the train over the Nine Arch Bridge back to Ella - it was amazing!&rdquo;

The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/jacksflightclub/permalink/829409737414889/?lid=y7yydkrlezhf" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">consensus among the JFC Facebook community</a> is that the train between Kandy and Ella is not to be missed! Unsurprisingly, most have the same idea and tickets will often sell out in advance. The ever reliable <a href="https://www.seat61.com/SriLanka.htm?lid=lge8ero7r753#how-to-buy-tickets_online" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Man in Seat 61</a> has all the info on how you can grab some online before you go.
All is not lost if you don&rsquo;t plan ahead, though. JFC-er Katie managed to book last-minute spots on an early morning freight train, which made for a fantastic experience in its own right.
As beautiful as it may be, like Tara mentions, that trip between Kandy and Ella is pretty long at around 6 hours. Demodara, on the other hand, is only 4 miles/6.5 km away from Ella, along the line crossing the spectacular <a href="https://www.saltinourhair.com/sri-lanka/nine-arch-bridge-ella/?lid=074idcw2oigv" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Nine Arch Bridge</a>. Either follow Tara&rsquo;s lead and hop on a train to/from Demodara, or make like the locals and walk the <a href="https://www.adventuresofjellie.com/sri-lanka/the-demodara-railway-loop-a-sri-lankan-railway-marvel-hidden-in-the-mountains?lid=am157ckgvo3r" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">Demodara Loop</a> to see it on foot.
And now for Tara&rsquo;s final Sri Lanka recommendation: visit Galle to witness <a href="https://www.johansens.com/inspiration/stilt-fishing-on-the-galle-coast-a-sri-lankan-tradition/?lid=4fsx9ls1au69" style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0ebfff;">traditional stilt fishing</a>. There are few things as uniquely Sri Lankan as a group of fishermen on poles hovering a few metres above the water.

Train Trips, Surfing, And Solo Travel In Sri Lanka

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