Garden – Sri Lanka For 91 Days

Creeped Out at Isurumuniya Temple

We had just arrived at the Isurumuniya Temple at the southern end of Anuradhapura's Sacred City, and were scoping out the grounds. The temple is set in a large rock near the Tissa Wewa lake, and just to the left of the main shrine was a small cave. "Hey, check this out!" I shouted to Jürgen, immediately regretting the volume of my voice. The cave was filled with thousands of bats who came swooping out above me. Jürgen might have been impressed, if he hadn't been busy with his own terror: a six-foot long serpent had slithered across his path. Welcome to Isurumuniya.

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya

I was a little agitated by the $10 entry fee for the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, but it didn't take me long after entering to realize that it was money well-spent. Peradeniya's are the most fantastic botanic gardens I've ever seen. Trees the size of sky-scrapers, flower bushes exploding in incredible color, giant palm trees that bloom just once in 45 years, and cannon ball trees with heavy round fruits were just some of the highlights. I've never been so bowled over by botany.