Before I'll write about my trip to Sri Lanka in detail in my travelogue, primarily in English, I wanted to share something on my blog in German [1], which I translate here. Namely, what kind of trip it was and what the background was. I visited Sri Lanka three times between 1976 and 1978, and I absolutely loved it back then, but I never had the time to go back. The deciding factor this time was that I found a suitable tour operator, because there's a big risk with Sri Lanka that I either do all the culture or nothing at all, and then just lie on the beach on the tropical island, which is of course also lovely. I had already traveled with the operator „Wolkenbote [Cloud Messenger]“ on an adventure trip through Mongolia. Now Wolkenbote had been offering a trip to Sri Lanka. I accepted, and I haven't regretted it. It was a wonderful trip.
The tour operator has the prosaic name "Travel with Dr. Elvira Friedrich", but the website is much more interesting, and there the operator is called „Wolkenbote [Cloud Messenger]“. Regarding Wolkenbote, I'd like to quote here from the website of Dr. Elvira Friedrich [2], an Indologist. It's a one-woman operation.
The name Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකා, Tamil: இலங்க) has now become established, although people still refer to it as in Ceylon tea [3]. I fondly remember my father, who liked to quote from an English textbook from the 1930s: "Tea from Ceylon is the best." In 1972, the name was changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in the 16th century and named the island Ceilao; the Dutch who followed renamed it Ceylon, a name that remained in use from 1796 to 1972. So, in the 1970s, I was still close to the name Ceylon in the 1970s. I remember frequently having to explain what kind of country Sri Lanka actually was. The name Sri Lanka can be translated as "the sublime, radiant [island]". In 2027, there will also be a voyage with the Cloud Messenger [4].
Here's the rough route:
Diefenbach - Cologne - Frankfurt - CMB - Negombo - Colombo - Yapuhawu - Wilpattu - Mihintale - Anuradhapura - Polonnaruwa - Sigiriya - Dambulla - Kandy - Ella - Buduruwagala - Tissamahara - Kataragama - Bundala - Rekawa - Galle - CMB - Frankfurt - Cologne - Diefenbach
My brother Frank thinks that the trip from the Eifel region to Frankfurt and back would be the real adventure. I would change "adventure" to "uncertainty". Google AI writes: "Deutsche Bahn (DB) is known for its unreliability, especially in long-distance travel. Many trains are delayed or canceled, leading to frustration among passengers. The main cause of this unreliability lies in the dilapidated and overloaded rail network, as well as the numerous construction sites required for its renovation." And I once wrote about the feeling of being stranded after a trip [5].
I didn't meet my brother Lutz and my sister-in-law in Sri Lanka; we just missed each other in Galle (by an hour or two). However, I had run into them once by chance at Frankfurt Airport (in the security area) when they were returning from a trip and I was just starting my own. I'll tell you more about them later.
After a very short night (!), we arrived at the airport in Sri Lanka. I remembered the old airport, where you were greeted by a mixture of cinnamon and kerosene smells. This time it was different, because you went straight from the plane into the terminal building. Then we immediately continued on to Negombo, where we explored the town, the fish market, and of course, the boats typical to the Negombo area. After that, we went to Colombo and strolled through the old town. It was lovely and exactly what we needed to completely forget about jet lag. We stayed at the Galle Face Hotel, which still retains a touch of colonial atmosphere. A museum section commemorates the British royal family.
In Yapahuwa, we visited the rock fortress – it involves climbing quite a few stairs, but the view is worth it. From there, we continued past salt pans to a hotel near Wilpattu National Park, interestingly situated on a lagoon. We set off early the next day, as early morning wildlife viewing is recommended. After seeing elephants, birds, buffalos, and deer, we drove to Anuradhapura.
We stayed two nights in Anuradhapura and visited Mihintale, considered the "cradle of Buddhism". There, we also visited the foundations of an Ayurvedic hospital.
After seeing the 14-meter-high monumental Buddha statue from the 5th century AD, we arrived at Minneriya National Park. The ancient Lake Minneriya, built in the 3rd century AD, is also located there. with the Ekho Lake House situated right on its shores.
Onward to Polonnaruwa, for centuries the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom, only to be reclaimed by jungle until its rediscovery in 1890.
In Sigiriya, we encountered mass tourism, as tourists moved their way up the rock and steel stairs like a snake. Photographing the Cloud Maidens is no longer permitted; I'll have to check if I still have an old slide. From the rock, there's a beautiful view of the plain. There's still jungle there, and I'll tell you about the tourist who ignored the warnings and…
We also visited the cave temples of Dambulla (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The walls are covered from top to bottom with colorful depictions of the historical Buddha. From Aluvihara – where the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka/Tipitaka) was written down for the first time in the first century BCE [6] – we traveled to Kandy, where we stayed at the Queens Hotel. The hotel dates back to 1844 and is located opposite the Temple of the Tooth.
On our journey, we visited a rubber plantation and then, of course, a tea plantation. This was particularly important for me, as I want to write about tea again and I can use some of the photos as illustrations. I had previously had to resort to some 40-year-old pictures for my old tea articles. Then we arrived in Ella, where we climbed Little Adam's Peak and enjoyed the magnificent view of the valley from the hotel. Due to the damage caused by cyclone Diwah in early December 2025, the railway line from Nanu Oya to Ella was still closed, but the line between Badulla and Ella was open; I recommend traveling in that direction as well. It was a delightful journey.
On our way to Tissamahara, we visited rice paddies and sampled fresh mango and curd, a fermented milk product made from buffalo milk (a type of yogurt). In Budurawagala, we saw the reliefs carved into the rock in the 8th and 9th centuries. In Kataragama, the dagoba and a ceremony were on the agenda. I intend to dig out my old notes and scan some old photos for comparison.
We visited Yala National Park and the following day Bundula National Park, where we observed a variety of birds, as well as elephants, monitor lizards, crocodiles, and buffalo. Afterward, we experienced some beach life in Rekawa. We even spotted a few tortoises.
Finally, the end of the trip was approaching. We drove through Galle, where I missed my brother and sister-in-law. One of my fellow travelers was also at the Herder Gymnasium (high school) at the same time, but several grades below me. It was quite a coincidence that two people from Cologne met on a trip organized by a Hamburg tour operator. And, as I discovered when I got home, she and my brother had also graduated from the Herder Gymnasium (high school). We then traveled via Colombo, where we had dinner, to Bandaranaike Airport, and Sri Lankan Airlines flew us back to Germany via Pakistan and Afghanistan. Almost all other airlines were grounded because the war in Iran had started shortly before our trip to Colombo. If the map is to be believed, we practically plunged into the Caspian Sea and resurfaced from the Black Sea. But my brother Lutz and my sister-in-law are still in Sri Lanka, as they flew with Emirates. They extended their vacation and will return via Beijing.
Many thanks to Wolkenbote for a wonderful trip!
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