Let’s Never Settle

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Sri Lanka

23 stories from 19 places visited between 2014 and 2025

September 2025 Galle, Sri Lanka An off-season hunt for woodapple, soursop and king coconut Shopping a Sri Lankan fruit market in the off season: jambola, woodapple, soursop, red bananas and king coconut, plus a first go at harvesting soursop.
August 2025 Colombo, Sri Lanka Market mornings, paper dosas and a Dilmah tea tasting A 2018 summer in Colombo: a covered vegetable market, a paper dosa longer than the tray, a Malinga sticker and Dilmah tea tasting, plus a city day back in 2025.
July 2025 Galle, Sri Lanka Sunset on the fort ramparts and a turtle hatchery down the coast Sri Lanka's south in one film and two photo sets: elephants in Yala, Dilmah tea, sunset on the Galle Fort ramparts and hatchling turtles down the coast.
July 2025 Yala, Sri Lanka The safari where the elephant walked up to our jeep A July 2025 jeep safari in Yala National Park: an elephant that strolled straight up to our jeep, a painted stork at a waterhole, and dust everywhere.
January 2025 Sri Lanka Turning up unannounced for Christmas We flew to Sri Lanka for Christmas and didn’t tell the family we were coming. The plan, the travel, and the moment they opened the door.
June 2019 Sri Lanka travel tips what to know before you land Sixteen things worth knowing before Sri Lanka: taxis, three-wheelers, street food, the monsoon by region, drone rules, rabies, and which hand to use.
June 2019 King coconut the orange one you drink all day in Sri Lanka Thambili, the orange king coconut native to Sri Lanka. What it tastes like, how the roadside vendors open it, and why you should ask them to split it afterwards.
June 2019 Ceylon cinnamon vs cassia how to tell them apart Most cinnamon sold worldwide is cassia, not cinnamon. How to tell true Ceylon cinnamon from cassia by look, feel and taste, from the workshops in Sri Lanka.
June 2019 Sugar apple or custard apple? Telling them apart in Sri Lanka Sri Lankans use the names interchangeably, but they are two different fruits. How to tell a sugar apple from a custard apple by the skin, and what each one tastes like.
May 2019 Seven types of banana worth eating in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka grows 29 varieties of banana. Seeni, ambul, kolikuttu, red, anamalu and ash plantain: how to tell them apart and what each one is good for.
July 2018 Sigiriya, Sri Lanka Up the lion paw staircase to a fortress with a horizon view Climbing Sigiriya in June 2014 with Dileep's parents: the frescoes, the lion paw staircase, wild bee combs on the rock face, and a summit with a view.
July 2018 Trincomalee, Sri Lanka The golden Shiva at Koneswaram and the view from Swami Rock Trincomalee in July 2018, where a casual dinner order turned into a dosa longer than the table and the kitchen watched us work out how to eat it.
July 2018 Girihandu Seya, Sri Lanka The hilltop stupa that says it got here first Girihandu Seya at Thiriyaya: stone steps up a rock hill, a ruined vatadage ringed with pillars, and a board claiming the island's first stupa stood here.
July 2018 Jaffna, Sri Lanka The bus down the causeway, jackfruit markets and pittu for breakfast Jaffna in July 2018: walking the tracks of the railway yard near Kankesanthurai, past rusted carriages left over from the years the northern line stood still.
July 2018 Nainativu, Sri Lanka Snake Island, where golden cobras guard both temple gates Nainativu, the Snake Island off Jaffna, in July 2018: a boat across turquoise shallows, a cobra-hooded Buddha by the sea, and a kovil the colour of a paint box.
June 2014 Ella, Sri Lanka Ravana Falls, tea terraces and one very quiet main street Ella in June 2014, before the crowds: village lanes and corner shops, Ella Gap from a guesthouse lawn, Ravana Falls, and tea bushes in every direction.
June 2014 Hill Country Line, Sri Lanka Riding the Ella train through the tea with every door open A June 2014 ride on Sri Lanka's hill country railway: blue carriages curving through tea, token loops, station name boards, heads out of every window.
June 2014 Maalu Maalu, Sri Lanka Boardwalk chalets and a reef trip on Pasikuda bay Maalu Maalu at Pasikuda in June 2014: sunrise over the infinity pool, a catamaran out to the reef, a wave from the fishing crews and a banana-stall town run.
June 2014 Pigeon Island, Sri Lanka Snorkelling the coral reef off Nilaveli beach Pigeon Island in June 2014: a small boat from Nilaveli beach, snorkelling over coral gardens full of butterflyfish, and one souvenir scratch to show for it.
June 2014 Kandy, Sri Lanka Barefoot at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, then a tea factory Kandy in June 2014: the white walls and moat of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, then a working tea factory, from withering troughs to the tasting cup.
June 2014 Dambulla, Sri Lanka Cave temples full of Buddhas, painted straight onto the rock Dambulla in June 2014: a shaded climb past stalls of brass curios, and the giant golden Buddha of the temple gazing out over the green plains below.
June 2014 Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka The rock-cut Buddhas of Gal Vihara and a stone book Polonnaruwa in June 2014: brick ruins of the medieval capital, rows of carved stone pillars, faded shrine murals and the rock-cut Buddhas of Gal Vihara.
June 2014 Minneriya, Sri Lanka Inside the Gathering of wild elephants The Gathering at Minneriya, the largest known congregation of Asian elephants on earth, plus how to get there from Colombo or Kandy and where to stay nearby.