Today we travelled south to Habarana. On our arrival we embarked on a safari to Minneriya National Park. Located between Habarana and Polonnaruwa, the 8890 hectares of Minneriya National Park is an ideal eco-tourism location in Sri Lanka. The park consists of mixed evergreen forest and scrub areas and is home to Sri Lanka’s elephant population. It did not take too long before we spotted our first elephant family of females with several young ones. Returning to our 4 star Cinnamon Lodge accommodation to relax by the pool was a welcome treat after the heat of the day. Time for yet another meal and we all agreed that we have never seen such an extensive buffet there was even a seperate room of desserts.
The next day we departed our hotel at 5 am to climb Sigiriya which is an ancient massive column of rock nearly 200 meters high located near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. This UNESCO site has a plateau about halfway up the side of this rock where you have the choice of continuing to the summit or returning. As we are a strong group of women we continued to the summit and were rewarded by a spectacular vista and sunrise. Returning to our hotel for yet another feast, afterwards a welcome swim was on the agenda before enjoying
a relaxing massage. The evening we visited the Habarana Cultural centre to witness a spectacular colourful dance performance.
