The longest long weekend on the 2017 calendar was an eagerly awaited holiday as it coincided with the August school holidays and the chosen destination was Mannar and Thalaimanar.

Trinco is a destination we haven’t visited for nearly a decade and I always thought of Trinco as “dry and arid”. My recent visit to Trinco really opened my eyes – how green and vibrant Trinco is with its blue lagoons eating into the land at every corner making one wonder whether it’s the lagoon or the ocean!

The long weekend at the end of July was long awaited as it’s the only long weekend for 2015 until Christmas. We planned a train trip to up-country with cousins, an annual event during August school holidays. However for the 31st the train was fully booked so we had to reserve the train for the 30th – which gave us a bonus day to enjoy the cool climes.

Lankagama Waterfalls was in my to-do list for a long time and last year we went all the way up to Kosmulla Duwili Ella at Neluwa but couldn’t proceed beyond due to lack of time. (My Trip Report : Scenic Rakwana Mountains and Kanneliya Forest)

Ever since the legendary Yal Devi was re-launched we wanted to visit the Peninsular by train but decided to wait a few months till the rush settled – especially during school holidays. Finally the dates were fixed for Friday 27th Feb – Sunday 1st March and train reservation was made. As it was not a long weekend booking both ways was not a problem.

Year and Month 20th-21st September, 2014 Number of Days 2 Crew 9 ( 5 kids & 4 adults ) Accommodation Kalpitiya Coastal Environmental Centre, Kandankuliya, Kudawa, Kalpitiya  (0714436293 –Mr.Wanniarachchi) Transport 2 SUVs Activities Family trip Weather Excellent weather – sunny and bright Route Colombo -> Katunayaka Expressway -> along A3 -> Palavi -> Norochcholai -> […]

We haven’t been to this heavenly area for a long time and one visit long ago was on our way to Wasgamuwa and the other was a day trip when the kids were very young. Since we had only one night to spare, this was the best destination to end the school vacation in style and to recharge our batteries before going in for the third school term.

The five-day holiday following Vesak Poya was a long awaited event in the calendar and we planned to venture into an area that we have never explored – Namunukula and Ella. Ella of course we have passed many times en route from Wellawaya, but Namunukula was a totally new destination.

We have been planning for a long weekend by taking Monday 3rd Feb, off – day before National day – but were not sure of our destination. Going through the options we decided on a scenic drive to Deniyaya via Buluthota Pass since we have never taken that route. We also added Lankagama waterfalls and Kanneliya forest to our list, as all these attractions were new to us.

I have been closely following the topic “Nelu” since it first started appearing in the forum late October and with every report and every photograph the desire to see Nelu was becoming too irresistible. Moreover, the fact that the next sighting of Nelu will be in 2025 made this trip a “must do now”. Do not know where we would be in 2025 – grave yard/ hospital bed etc…etc??

The long weekend in October was eagerly awaited as a trip to Mannar was planned with family friends. Unfortunately, at the last moment they couldn’t make it, but we decided to keep to our plans though the kids were a little disheartened. We left home (Nawala) at 5 in the morning and took our first break at the dried out Thabbowa Tank around 8am. We expected some bird activity but guess we were too late for that.

Year and Month August, 2013 (17th to 20th) Number of Days Three Day Trip Crew 16 – three families (7 kids and 9 adults )(age group 4 – 75) Accommodation MILCO Circuit Bungalow, Ambewela Transport Train, bus, car, tuk-tuk Activities Family trip, Site-seeing & Railway hike Weather Excellent weather – sunny and bright – not […]