Author: Nerone Fernando

Taking the Train from Kandy to Ella

Sri Lanka’s broad diversity makes it an island like no other. The beautiful beaches of the south, the mysterious mangroves that line the Mahaweli river, the cloud forests of Horton Plains National Park, the unique flora and fauna of Knuckles Mountain Range… the list goes on. Considering its size, this wide variety is astonishing.

Unarguably, some of Sri Lanka’s most spectacular scenery is found in the hill country: rolling hills covered with endless tea plantations, gushing waterfalls and plunging gorges and mist-shrouded mountains peppered with enormous fir trees.

The temperature is also roughly 10C lower than on the coast, making it ideal weather for the hiking and trekking that is so popular in this area (see more information in our next blog post).…

A thousand baby turtles made tiny imprints in the sand as they scuttled across the Bentota beach to the sea. Bentota Beach Hotel along with the Victor Hasselblad Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Center, Sri Lanka recently released 1,000 newly hatched baby turtles into the sea to mark ‘World Turtle day’.

The baby critters were released to highlight the hotel’s commitment to conservation.

With 7 recognized species of turtle around the world and with all but one species classified as endangered, sea turtles are often unfortunate victims to the negative human imprint.

Out of the seven species, the Sri Lankan shores are home to five, including the Green Turtle, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill, Loggerhead and the largest of its species, the Leatherback.…