The ancient Indian epic Ramayana documents a 30 km bridge over the Palk Strait connecting Rameswaram Island off the southeastern coast of India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The epic attributes the building of the bridge to the ape army of Hanuman aiding Rama in his war against Ravana, the…
Mannar Fort is a square fortified structure with four bastions on Mannar Island in north-western Sri Lanka built by the Portuguese in 1560 In the early 16th century, trade in the Indian Ocean was dominated by Arab, Indian, Malay, and Chinese merchants, who used various seafaring craft for their trade in spices to elephants.…
433 bird species have been recorded in Sri Lanka of which 26 are endemic. Mannar in the north-west is one of the top birding destination of the island and with a large numbers of migrants seldom seen elsewhere in the country, Vankalai wetland is the prime site of the region Millions of migrant…
The ruins of Doric House stand neglected on a hillock in Arippu, its thick walls of red brick glistening in the sun. The sea in front is like a millpond and blue and the curving beach is magnificent. There is nobody in sight. In the Gulf of Mannar in north western Sri…
The little village of Thanthirimale, 40 kms north-west of Anuradhapura city, is the site of a remarkable third century rock temple. The settlement of Thanthirimale was probably first established in the 6th century BC by Upatissa, one of king Vijaya’s (the presumed founder of the Sinhalese nation) ministers and was called Upatissa Gama.…
For the second time in five years, I am on the road to Mannar. And I love it! The Kangaroo cab takes me to the pickup point at four thirty in the morning. The driver, an ex-soldier, talks incessantly about the war with the Tamil Tigers. Flamingo Tours mini-coach arrives just before five and over…
Udawalawe National Park in the Uva Province was established as the fifth national park of Sri Lanka in 1972. Its 31,000 hectares of dry grassland and scrubland and the lack of dense vegetation makes game-watching easy. Most people take a tour organised by their guesthouse or hotel and it will cost about Rs 4000, but a trip with one…
Early on in the week we made Harira for supper – the Moroccan thick soup with chickpeas, lentils, rice, tomatoes, garlic and ginger. It didn’t come out quite the way neither the recipe nor we intended, so we added loads of leftover roast guinea fowl from the previous evening to it and opened a bottle of…
It is already mid-summer but days with good summer weather have been few. Week 28 was no exception. Buying exciting new wines and walking in the Yorkshire Dales were the highlights of the week WINE The man from Enotria Wine Cellars popped in at the beginning of the week. He had driven all the way…
“The Regent’s Canal is one of London’s best-kept secrets – a peaceful haven often hidden by the surrounding buildings. Today it is well-loved by boaters, walkers and cyclists all looking to escape the capital’s busy streets” The 13.8 kilometre canal, completed in 1820, links the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west,…
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