Sri Lanka's tranquil Kandalama Lake as seen from the Heritance Kandalama hotel.

Sri Lanka's tranquil Kandalama Lake as seen from the Heritance Kandalama hotel. Jill Worrall |5th February 2012 

EARLY morning on Kandalama Lake in central Sri Lanka and an elephant is sloshing through the shallows, while around him iridescent kingfishers plunge dart-like into the water.

This lake is an artificial creation, the origins of which date back perhaps 1000 years. Rising from the jungles in this relatively dry part of the country are the ruins of cities that were once wonders of the ancient world. Complex and extensive irrigation channels, reservoirs and water gardens were an integral part of these.

Galle to play for: Beaches, beauty and the best bananas on a tour of sleepy Sri Lanka

Probably the first thing that strikes you is the sheer richness of the vegetation. In rural areas, it is thrillingly green. There is hardly a bare patch of ground as fruit and flowers of every description, from mangoes to orchids, pineapples to tea roses, papayas to camellias, burst out of the rich soil.

British Airways has resumed flights to Sri Lanka after fifteen years, which is a golden opportunity to discover one of the most beautiful islands in the world, a lush landscape topped by densely wooded mountains and ringed by white sandy beaches.

 

Galle

The seaside town of Galle is 116 Km. from Colombo by road or rail, down the south-west coast. Both routes are picturesque, following the coastline closely for much of the way.

Today's town has grown greatly and spreads into the hinterland but the Fort is the slow-beating heart of Galle's history. The walled city has stood since the early sixteenth century, through the Colonial periods of the Portuguese, Dutch and British and in our present times is proclaimed as an Archaeological Reserve and been identified as a living World Heritage Site.