How beautiful is this country. But to say how beautiful is an understatement, believe me. Sri Lanka is beautiful, a country that I loved so much. An incredible fauna and nature that reigns in all its beauty, but one of the factors that make this island so magnificent is undoubtedly the population that inhabits it. In Sri Lanka you have a lot of trouble finding someone who doesn't smile at you and I find this wonderful.

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In mid-July 2023 I land in Colombo, the capital, and after spending a day in the city I head to the station to take the train that will take me to the town of Candy. Pretty with the lake and the temple of the tooth and there for the first time in my life I saw monitor lizards. Shortly after I discovered that there are a large amount but the locals claim that they are harmless to people (they even eat them).

After visiting Candy by bus I move to Sigiriya. There is one of the main attractions of the nation and a large number of wild animals, in particular there are many elephants, on the whole island there are 7500 specimens. In the following photo I was in the area where they live freely and at the beginning of the road there is a sign indicating to be careful in case of close encounters with these large and stupendous animals. I have not met any elephants but the landscape is very beautiful and it is full of particular monkeys

Leaving the area with the wild elephants, I headed to see the Sigiriya rock, an archaeological site in central Sri Lanka made up of the ruins of an ancient palace built during the reign of King Kashyapa (477-495 AD). I have not climbed the rock because I preferred to give more importance to different visits to this country but it is still an interesting site.

After a day spent in Sigiriya where I stayed overnight in a really pleasant Homestay, I headed to the east coast of the island and after a few hours I arrived in Trincomalee, a small village on the ocean that has great beaches

On the beach there are hundreds of typical fishermen's boats and while walking in the afternoon I saw many Sinhalese children playing together happily and the fishermen repairing the nets and arranging the boats. A group of girls even chased me, yelling at me to take a picture together

On board a bus I headed to Arugam Bay , a small town on the coast where many go surfing , a very touristy place ( at least in the season in which I was there ) but which nonetheless has its charm

In the morning at dawn, the fishermen return to the beach, tow the boats out of the water by hand and immediately afterwards sell the catch directly on the spot. That morning they had caught various types of fish including some sharks

The beach of Arugam Bay at dawn is magnificent and the people who animate it with bargaining for the price of fish and the cheers to pull up the boats make it even more characteristic

Leaving Arugam Bay I headed to Ella, a beautiful village in the hinterland of Sri Lanka that really offers many things to do and see. In the following photo is the nine-arch bridge that the train passes over

But in Ella there is not only what to see, there are many rivers that have beautiful waterfalls where you can immerse yourself in pools to swim and be in close contact with nature, there are really big and beautiful butterflies in this area, as well as several snakes

In addition to the waterfalls, it is possible to take various walks and treks that lead to beautiful view points

Not far from Ella are the tea fields of Lipton and so one morning I decide to take the train to go and visit us. A truly wonderful place that left me very surprised. You can walk among the crops and see the locals who collect the leaves ready for processing with which they later make tea

I also visited the Dambatenne factory , the factory founded by Thomas Lipton way back in 1890 . It can be accessed through a guided tour and see the phases of tea preparation and all the varieties they manage to produce.

After spending a few days in Ella I decide to go and see the Sinharaja Rainforest. I took six buses and hitchhiked but I managed to get there, as soon as I found myself there I immediately asked the locals if they knew a good place to set up the tent and a nice Sinhalese man invited me to put it in his garden. I then found this animal on the tent.

In Sinharaja I did a trek in the forest with a local guide, we walked for several hours until we reached a viewpoint completely immersed in the forest.

There are many waterfalls and places to see and here as in Ella I was able to admire some really big and colorful butterflies.

From the Sinharaja forest I moved to the south coast of Sri Lanka and visited several villages and some cities. I have been to Tangalle where the fishermen arrive at the port in the morning and sell their fish, several tunas and many squids and a multitude of various species of fish.

Continuing along the coast I went to Hiriketiya beach where I saw some very large sea urchins. On the beach it is possible to surf and there are a few places to eat

Days later I arrived in Weligama, a small coastal village with a large beach and there I rented a board and surfed the Sinhalese waves.

I preferred to have this experience here than in Arugun Bay because it is less crowded and the waves are good for learning.

Left Weligama I headed to the city of Galle where you can admire the fort, after which I arrived in Hikkaduwa another village on the coast but this one has one more peculiarity

Here is Turtle Beach , the sea turtle beach . A beach where almost every day for several years now, every morning and afternoon various sea turtles come to visit

The first time I saw them I was enchanted, they are beautiful animals, especially the eyes are really special and fascinated me. Here you can swim freely with them and see these enchanting animals up close. 

A few days later I headed to the airport to catch my flight to Indonesia

Sri Lanka has remained in my heart, it is a truly beautiful country, with a wonderful people who are facing a bad economic situation. Wages and wages are very low and prices for locals are high and many live in poverty. I'm really sorry because they are very cheerful and united people who always give you a hand in case of need and are very kind and hospitable. Thank you for everything Sri Lanka , it 'sa big goodbye .

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   Subtitles are in various languages