Sri Lanka - overland and underwater

The fusiliers rushed past in a blaze of flashing scales, desperately trying to escape from the deadly intentions of hungry jacks and trevally, but it was no use. The swift predatory fish soon rounded up the hapless fusiliers into a tight bait ball and then spent several minutes smashing into it, feeding on the stunned fish. Such was the ferocity of their strikes that we could hear the thuds of the impacts even from several metres away. The entire attack lasted no more than a few minutes, but it was an unbelievable sight – something I’d only ever seen before on big-budget TV documentaries. Yet here it was, happening right in front of me, and we’d only reached 10m on our first dive! If this was a sign of things to come, Sri Lanka was shaping up to be something seriously special.

My ten-day tour of Sri Lanka began at the luxurious Bentota Beach Hotel on the southwest side of the island. The hotel is conveniently situated on a narrow stretch of land where on one side you have the Bentota River and just metres away on the other, the warm water of the Indian Ocean. It was arranged that for the first half of my tour I would spend my time diving and exploring the nearby reefs and the second half visiting some of the many places of interest that Sri Lanka has to offer.

The hotel dive centre prefers to do two-tank morning dives, which is ideal for those of us who prefer to spend the afternoons exploring the surrounding countryside in more detail.

All of the sites that I visited during my five mornings of diving were boat dives and less than ten minutes away from the hotel. Crossing the mouth of the river where fresh meets salt water can prove challenging, but our skipper was well experienced and knew when and where to make a dash for the open sea.

The dives here are suitable for all levels of experience, from novice divers looking for scenic, shallow, unchallenging dives to those more experienced divers looking for a fast drift or a little more depth, but as you saw from the description of my very first dive, you never know what is going to happen.

Although Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the topography of the ocean floor is somewhat different than that of other nearby islands. The dive sites here, although colourful, are mainly rock formations with small areas of hard coral and sponges. To compensate for the lack of soft corals there is a whole host of marine life of the macro kind just waiting to be discovered. Separating the rocks are a series of gullies between a metre and two metres wide that descend into a sandy seabed to depths of 30m and deeper. It was these gullies that were going to be the main focus of the dives. The rock surfaces are covered in a thin layer of algae on all sides and have the odd hard coral growth here and there; if you look closely you may find small crustaceans such as porcelain crabs and reef crabs hiding among them.

Although we had fish of all shapes and sizes swimming around us, it was the smaller critters that our dive guide Sujith had wanted us to see. He has dived these sites hundreds of times and knew exactly where to look. On one of our dives we came across seven species of nudibranchs, each one more brightly coloured and flamboyant than the last, a rare sea moth lying motionless on the reef that was so well camouflaged by its surroundings that it was difficult to spot, and a whole host of hingebeak shrimps hiding in one of the crevices with a moray eel for company.

A titan triggerfish with its sharp teeth and strong jaws could be seen biting into the rock, reducing each mouthful to grains of sand, while a lone porcupine fish kept a safe distance but swam along with us.

On all of the dives there was little or no current, so we could take our time and explore the nooks and crannies. Painted lobster, moray eels, red fire gobies and small cleaner wrasse could be seen in our torch light as we explored the many overhangs. Oriental sweetlips and red tooth snapper are here in abundance along with humpheaded parrotfish. We found octopus peering at us from the safety of their lairs, watching as we swam past. Around us there were schools of powder-blue surgeonfish and close to the seabed there were Sri Lankan rabbitfish weaving among the rocks and feeding on the algae. I came across what I thought was a saddled pufferfish but on closer examination of the photo when we were all back onboard the boat, Sujith informed me that it was a mimic filefish. These harmless little creatures take on the looks of other more poisonous fish to protect themselves from predators.

Exploring the maze of gullies, I was surprised to see so many varieties of shellfish. I watched spellbound as a cowrie laid its eggs on to a sponge and I can tell you that this rare spectacle is worth watching. The gastropod literally comes out and completely covers its shell with what looks like a black velvet blanket decorated with gold sequins. Getting as close as we dared without disturbing the delicate creature, we could just about see the eggs as they were being attached to the sponge and then within an instant and without warning the creature disappeared back into the safety of its shell.

At the other end of the spectrum, large pelagic animals such as mantas, eagle rays, stingrays and whalesharks make regular unannounced appearances. These gentle giants of the ocean, unperturbed by our presence, appeared to enjoy interacting with divers as they glided past just millimetres from our heads time and time again. So every now and then, while you are exploring the reef, look out in to the blue - you never know what you might find swimming alongside you.

Between dives we spent our surface intervals onboard the boat. While we relaxed, had a cup of tea and checked our photos, the crew was busy changing our tanks and making ready for the next exciting dive.

As I was only diving in the mornings I had the afternoons free to do as I pleased. Although I could relax by the pool or sunbathe on the white sandy beach, I preferred to spend my time visiting some of the local attractions. For me a trip to the turtle sanctuary in nearby Kosgoda was on the cards. And being just a 15-minute tuktuk ride from my hotel, was ideally placed. The rescue centre was badly affected by the tsunami four years ago, but after a lot of hard work and dedication this worthwhile centre is back up and running, saving the lives of thousands of turtles every year. There is no admission fee, the centre relies entirely on donations from members of the public and the generosity of its visitors. You are guided around the sanctuary and given talks on the various species of turtles that visit the island and then shown some of the patients that have been lucky enough to benefit from the care and expertise of the staff. You may be invited, as I was, to help release some of the rescued baby turtles. But they are released under the cover of darkness, so be prepared for what is often a long night.

After five days of fantastic diving I was now ready for the second stage of my tour. I was to spend the morning visiting the world-famous elephant orphanage at Pinnawala before moving on to my hotel in Kandy. The drive would take us the best part of four hours, so we had to leave early. My guide Rohan Chandrasekara decided that it would be a good idea if we came away from the normal tourist route and take a slightly longer scenic drive through the countryside, passing through small towns and villages on the way. The scenery around me was breathtaking, Paddy fields on one side of the road and the lush greenery of the jungle on the other. I was travelling through the heart of Sri Lanka, where wild animals wander freely through the rustic villages interacting with the local communities.

When we reached Pinnawala we found the elephants bathing in the cool water of the river Maha Ova, which is just a short distance from the orphanage. Twice a day the elephants walk through the narrow streets passing onlookers and shopkeepers as they make their way to the river.

Tourists gather to watch as these magnificent creatures relax without any restraints in their natural habitat. It is amazing, there are no fences to prevent them leaving the river and returning to the jungle, these semi-wild elephants could at any time wander off, but they choose not to. The government-sponsored orphanage was established in 1975 with just seven baby elephants. Over time and with more and more baby elephants being found alone or injured in the jungle, the centre has now grown to an impressive herd of 86 animals. Be prepared to spend the day here helping the keepers look after and feed the babies.

It was soon time for me to make my way to Kandy so that I could check into my hotel and after a wash and brush up visit the sacred Temple of the Tooth. The Hotel Suisse was to be my base. Built by the British 170 years ago as a meeting and resting place for traders of gems and spices, the 93-roomed property was purchased by a Swiss woman who lived in Germany (hence the name Suisse Hotel). At the turn of the 20th century the property was transformed into a hotel and although modern facilities were added, many of its original features have been retained.

Sri Lanka has no less than seven UNSECO world heritage sites, each one proudly displaying its religious or colonial past. The Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British ruled here until 1973, when Ceylon – as it was known then – gained its independence.

The day before I arrived in Kandy 450,000 people had gathered from across the world, with queues stretching for miles as they waited patiently for hours in the scorching heat to catch just a fleeting glimpse of an iconic symbol of their religion. The Lord Buddha’s temple is the most sacred of all temples of worship in Sri Lanka. Legend has it that when the Lord Buddha died, small sections of his bones were sent to various locations around the world in a bid to promote Buddhism. A tooth and part of a shoulder blade remained in Sri Lanka encased in a ‘Stupa’ - a small golden bell-shaped casket that is decorated with three rings. Every six years, the tooth is taken from the casket and placed on display so that people can pay homage to their faith.

The following day we made our way to the Royal Botanical gardens of Peradeniya. These beautifully maintained gardens are home to a wide variety of tropical plants, trees and spices. For those of you who are tea drinkers it may interest you to know that it was here in 1824 that the British experimented with the idea of producing tea.

After checking out of the hotel we were to take the winding roads to the Dambulla Caves. Reputed as having the largest antique painted surface in the world and 150 sculptures of the Lord Buddha, the Dambulla Cave Temple will almost certainly capture your attention. There are five caves, and each one has a number of sculptures of the Lord Buddha adorning the walls and delicate fresco paintings covering the ceilings.

After spending the morning here admiring the works of art, we left to visit the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa before heading for my next hotel. On arrival at the Hotel Sigiriya I was shown straight to the bar, not because I looked as if I needed a beer, but because the views from the terrace lie in the shadow of the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a monolith widely regarded as the eighth wonder of the world. This luxurious hotel has won awards from virtually every department of tourism around the globe, and the 80 rooms are spacious, tastefully decorated and air conditioned.

The next morning we crossed the moat, which was once guarded by crocodiles, and walked along the path towards the Rock Fortress. My guide Rohan informed me that to reach the summit we would have to climb 1,100 steps. The steps gently ascend around much of the rock, coming to an end on the north face at a point known as the lion’s head. The huge paws are the only remnants of the lion that served as the entrance to the palace and fortress. It is between these paws that we climbed the last few hundred steps to the plateau. After spending a couple of hours exploring the ruins and looking out across the vast landscape, it was time to retrace our steps and make our way back down the rock. Be prepared to spend the day here as the climb up can take an hour or two, and the climb down at least an hour.

My tour of Sri Lanka was unfortunately coming to an end, and it was decided that I should spend my last night in the 18th century Wallawwa hotel in Katunayake, which is just a 15-minute drive away from the international airport of Colombo, marking the culmination of a fantastic ten-day trip combining superb diving with stunning natural and historical scenery.

Sport Diver verdict
Sri Lanka has something for all levels of diver, and plenty of activities topside for non-diving days.