Anuradhapura is our first unplanned stop on the trip. Originally, we had planned to spend three days in both Sigiriya and Kandy, but we heard there wasn’t really enough to fill three days in Kandy, and the heavy rain in Sigiriya made hiking impossible. So, we decided to change our plans.
We had heard that the safaris in Anuradhapura are really good, with fewer jeeps crowding the area, and there’s even a decent chance of spotting leopards. With that in mind, we decided to take a day from both Sigiriya and Kandy and spend two days here instead.
in the hopes of avoiding getting all of our clothes wet, we got a taxi instead of waiting for the bus in the rain. Again we got a super friendly driver and he insisted on buying us corn on the cob for breakfast, which was actually super tasty, and putting on western music for the drive, which ended up being a ‘Justin Bieber top hits’ playlist. It was a fun if not unusual journey chatting with him, and he made us take a selfie with him at the end.
Unfortunately, the rain followed us to Anuradhapura. After arriving, we headed out for lunch, only for the heavens to open once again, completely drenching us. When we finally reached the restaurant, the staff hurried us inside and handed us towels to dry off.
At least the meal made up for it! We had rice with chicken and an array of delicious vegetable curries—dahl, aubergine, beetroot, jackfruit, green beans, and banana plant flowers. It was absolutely delicious.
We ended up staying at the restaurant for a while, waiting for the rain to stop, and then hurried back to the hostel. Unfortunately, the downpour stuck around all day.
On the bright side, this hostel has four kittens, so between booking our safari for the next day and doing some trip planning, we got to play with them—a welcome distraction from the biblical-level rain that seems to be following us.
A little later, five Dutch travelers arrived, and we spent the evening chatting and playing cards with them, making the most of the cozy indoor time.
On our second day in Anuradhapura, our positive thinking finally paid off—we had our first rain-free day in Sri Lanka! Well, almost. There was a brief shower while we waited for our safari pickup at 4:30 a.m., but as soon as we reached the park, the rain stopped, and the skies stayed clear for the rest of the day!
Our safari guide, a man in his 20s named Mr. T, was absolutely wonderful. It was clear that wildlife was his passion—there wasn’t a single question we asked that he couldn’t answer, and he had an endless supply of fascinating facts, local myths, and legends to share.
Mr. T had started out as a safari driver and worked his way up to running his own company. Unfortunately, not even he could change the fact that the morning’s rain had scared off all the leopards—there were no reported sightings all day. It was a little disappointing, but honestly, his safari was so good that we didn’t feel too bad about it.
Since we were the only ones on the tour, we had plenty of time to ask questions, and he took the time to point out different lizards, bats, and birds, even playing us recordings of their songs and calls. We still saw some incredible mammals too—wild boars, water buffalo, monkeys, deer, jackals, and even a sloth bear. The biggest surprise was spotting an elephant, which is super rare in this area. So, even without the leopards, there was still plenty to see!
We got back to the hostel around 1 p.m., and after running on just four hours of sleep, I was exhausted—I crashed for a two-hour nap. When I woke up, I panicked, thinking I had wasted the sunshine, but to my surprise, it was still dry!
Wanting to make the most of the clear weather, we decided to visit a Buddhist temple on Mihintale Mountain Peak.
We took a tuk-tuk, and once again, our driver was incredibly kind and helpful. Along the way, he made a stop at a site where we could see a 2,000-year-old tree, free of charge.
He also offered to wait for us while we climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the mountain, which was much appreciated!
At the top of the mountain, there were three more sets of steps—one leading to a high viewpoint, another to a giant Buddha statue, and the third to a large pergola. We climbed up to both the Buddha statue and the pergola, taking in the impressive structures and the stunning views from above.
We also attempted to reach the top of the high viewpoint, but about three-quarters of the way up, the path narrowed, and we found ourselves stuck in a traffic jam of people trying to go up while others were coming down. It started to feel a bit unsafe, so we decided to turn back. Even though we didn’t make it all the way to the top, it was still a really cool afternoon!
In the evening, we went to a nice local restaurant, where I decided to finally try the “deviled” meat that we kept seeing on menus. I assumed it was a spicy rub, but I never actually found out—my order got mixed up, and I somehow ended up with a spicy chicken curry instead! Thankfully, it was still delicious.
They also gave us hoppers to try—crispy, bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut milk. They were also very good.
Overall our detour to Anuradhapura has been a success. Our next stop is Kandy. Tell you all about it soon,
love Alice x