Botanical Garden in Kandy

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Day 12: KANDY (Botanical Garden)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Today we have a day a little quieter than the rest of the days we have been in Sri Lanka and the idea is to take this "kit kat" as a gift and take the opportunity to visit the Botanical Garden in Kandy.
So we get up at 7 in the morning and shortly before 8 we are already in the spectacular breakfast room of the Skydale.


Awesome breakfast at our hotel in Kandy

Although we have been here for a couple of days, we have not yet gotten used to having these views that leave us impressed every time we look at the windows.


For this morning we have two visits in the head, the botanical garden in Kandy and the Pinnawela elephant orphanage, but we haven't decided yet, so we decided to let ourselves be advised by the Skydale staff and they recommend that we visit the botanical garden in Kandy for being much less touristy than the Pinnawela orphanage and for being one of the best botanical gardens in the world.
So we do not think much more and we call a tuk tuk again from the hotel, where they already give us the price of 700 rupees for the journey from the Skydale to the botanical garden in Kandy.
It took almost 45 minutes to arrive and we went through the box office, where we paid 1100 rupees per person, something expensive, but we hope it is worth it !!
Together with the entrance they give us a map of the whole enclosure, which is phenomenal for us to make a small outline of the things we want to see and plan a bit in the morning.
We start heading to the giant bamboo area and when we have been less than 15 minutes in the botanical garden in Kandy the sky begins to turn black and begins to drop that rain that until now had not been present during the day, despite being in full monsoon!
With the luck of being next to the giant bamboo, we take the opportunity to protect ourselves and wait there until it kills a little.


Giant Bamboo in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

Details of the Giant Bamboo in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

The smell that begins to invade us is difficult to explain, that smell of green, that smell of wet grass ... of vegetation ... that smell will accompany us whenever we remember our trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives.
After 10 minutes it stops raining and we continue our way to other corners of the botanical garden in Kandy.


Botanical Garden in Kandy

The botanical garden in Kandy It is not exactly in Kandy, but in Peradeniya, which is the town where the train station is located and where we arrived a couple of days ago.


Images of the Botanical Garden in Kandy

We spend the rest of the morning in vegetation, occasionally protecting ourselves from the drizzles that surprise us as we stroll through one of the best botanical gardens in the world.


"Green" in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

In the central area of botanical garden in Kandy we find a really spectacular concentration of bats, huge, that do not stop fluttering at our side.


Bats in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

The botanical garden in Kandy It is mostly surrounded by the Mahaweli River and its biggest attraction is a giant Java fig tree that covers an area of ​​2500 square meters. Awesome!!


The giant Java fig tree in the background of the image at the Botanical Garden in Kandy

One of the areas that most attract our attention is where we find huge trees, with the roots protruding from the earth. Here we can not avoid entering and for a moment "touch" with our hands.


Botanical Garden in Kandy

Another of the areas to take a pleasant walk and more when the drizzle gives us those truces is the walk of the palm trees, which seen from the initial part seems endless!


Palm Walk in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

Botanical Garden in Kandy

Inside the enclosure we also find several "exhibitions", including one of orchids that is impressive.


Orchid Collection in the Botanical Garden in Kandy

Between one thing and another, when we look at the clock it is after 12 noon and we realize that we have already spent the morning of the "free" day we had in the city of Kandy.
We return to the exit of botanical garden in Kandy and we ask for a price from one of the tuk tuk at the door.
He asks us for Rs 600 and without much desire to haggle, we offer 500 and he quickly says yes, so we don't think much more and we say we want to go to the center of Kandy.
And after crossing roads under a light drizzle, we arrive at the center of Kandy almost at 1 noon ... It seems incredible how quickly time passes when we are traveling!
Before eating and being forecasters in case the weather twists again, we take a good walk through Kandy, losing us again to those streets that welcomed us from the day we arrived.
We cannot miss the opportunity to approach some Hindu Temples that we have been seeing since we arrived at Kandy city And now is the perfect time to see them up close.


Hindu Temples of Kandy

Kandy streets

Before 3 in the afternoon we go to The Pub, a restaurant in Kandy, located above The House Bakery, where there is a lovely terrace, perfect for a drink and lunch after a day like today ...


The Pub terrace in Kandy

We ordered a meat mix a chicken kebab, more beer, coke and tea for 2593 rupees.
This Kandy restaurant is a great option to stop to refuel!


Eating on the terrace of The Pub in Kandy

One of the things we don't understand about these sites that we are finding in Kandy, is that most of them advertise Wi-Fi and then, once inside you ask for the password, they give it to you and it doesn't work!
It is usual that we are meeting since we arrived at the kandy city and we have no choice but to put a good face to bad weather!
And never better said on a day like today, which is the first day that time prevents us from doing something since we arrived in Sri Lanka! Luck that today was our personal day of "relax" and the effect has been to spend more time resting!

More practical information to prepare your trip to Sri Lanka

- 10 essential places to visit in Sri Lanka
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Sri Lanka

If you're in a hurry in Sri Lanka and you do not like the pole-pole of the country, this is not your place ... average wait time for food: 45 minutes, for dessert about 20 minutes ... and to bring tea after lunch about 60 minutes ! 🙂


Finally our coffee and tea on the terrace of The Pub in Kandy

Another thing we can not say, but we are enjoying in Sri Lanka from a trip-vacation with your well-deserved breaks.


"Watching Life go by ..." The Pub terrace in Kandy

Seeing this we cannot fail to remember the trip to Israel and Palestine where we do not stop for a minute!

In these moments of rest that our trips allow us, we usually end up preparing or dreaming of some of the trips we have on our “pending” list.
As always, apart from contemplating many other factors for a trip such as the time, the days available ... etc, one of the things we take into account are flights to the chosen destination.
This is really when our trip begins and the decision to book them is one of the most important.
And while we watch life happen in Kandy we are going around different destinations that we still have pending and that we are looking forward to meet.

When it rains a little, we don't want to say goodbye yet and we go back for the last lap kandy city and about 6 in the afternoon we said goodbye to her with a threatening sky in the background that tells us that the time has come to return to our hotel in Kandy.


Kandy streets

Details of a store in Kandy

Before saying goodbye, we cannot resist “looking out,” who knows if for the last time, to Lake Kandy and take some pictures.


Kandy Lake

Kandy Lake

We stopped a tuk tuk in the center of Kandy and without haggling much he tells us that he takes us for 300 rupees, so we don't think about it much and he just leaves us at the Skydale when the thunder starts to sound!
Upon entering our room, the sky seems to break and an impressive storm falls. Everything that was once an incredible landscape, is wrapped in a fog that does not reveal beyond the door of our balcony.


Living the storm from our hotel in Kandy

Lucky you have already picked us up at the Kandy hotel and we can see it from our amazing terrace.
We spend the rest of the afternoon dedicated to reading, writing emails and above all preparing the next section of our travel through Sri Lanka and Maldives, which will be the incredible Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka !!!
At 8 in the afternoon we went down to dinner, to the same room where breakfast is served, a couple of curries that we had ordered this morning.


Our great dinner at Kandy's Skydale

If the Skydale is magnificent, the food could not be less ... This is really life!
After filling our stomach and chatting with the magnificent hotel staff for a while we return to our room.
The night has brought calm and has stopped raining.
Today we go back to sleep with our firefly at the balcony door ... he also wanted to say goodbye to us tonight ...


Memories of our visit to the Kandy Botanical Garden

Enjoying Kandy
Day 13
KANDY - ALUVIHARA - DAMBULLA - PIDURANGALA - SIGIRIYA

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