ALMOST an hour into our dawn safari in Sri Lanka, we spot the leopard. Except, sadly, I don’t.
The driver points into the bush after screeching our Jeep to a halt along a dusty, pot-holed track deep in Wilpattu National Park.
One of our reporters recently visited the breathtaking country of Sri Lanka[/caption]
But, still half asleep in the rush to leave our hotel at 5am, I’ve forgotten my specs.
And the notoriously elusive big cat is so well camouflaged in the undergrowth 20 yards away that I can’t make out a thing.
Still, my disappointment vanishes a few minutes later. For there, grubbing around in the grass almost within touching distance, is a large sloth bear.
Our guide Dhanushka (or Danny, as we call him) warned us these rare creatures are almost impossible to spot in the wild.
Yet for several minutes this one happily feasts on a termite mound then, with a satisfied belch, ambles off into the woods.
A moment of pure magic. But then virtually everything we see and experience in Sri Lanka is rather magical.
Looking back, it’s hard to decide the best part about my visit to this teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean.
There are so many highlights.
The stunning scenery, ranging from majestic mountains to sun-kissed palm-tree-fringed sandy beaches, is hard to beat.
Then there are the amazing Buddhist and Hindu temples dotted throughout the landscape, with giant colourful statues of deities.
One outside Koneswaram Temple, by the sea in Trincomalee, looks a dead ringer for the late rocker Freddie Mercury.
The delicious spicy food must be a close contender.
Some vegetarian dishes, with exotic fruit and veg you don’t see back home, are so mouth-wateringly good I could happily give up meat for life.
And, of course, there are the eight Unesco World Heritage sites, like the cave complex in a forest at Dambulla where Buddhists have worshipped for 5,000 years.
This island nation will surpass all of your expectations[/caption]
We cram into one cave to hear a monk in orange robes explain how humans “have monkey minds which are always distracting”.
Then he tries to teach us meditation techniques so we can relax and concentrate.
Apparently, this will enhance our intellectual abilities while conquering negative emotions like stress and anger.
Equally stunning is the ancient city of Sigiriya, which can only be reached by climbing 1,202 steps zig-zagging up the 200ft high granite peak, Lion’s Rock.
It’s a wonderful view from the top, but sadly it starts to rain and we get drenched climbing down.
Naturally, there is the exotic wildlife.
Exotic wildlife
Deer scamper nervously away as you drive through the 27 National Parks, while red slender lorises hang upside down in trees.
Crocodiles bask in the mud by the rivers, and huge blue whales cavort in the sea beside dolphins.
Nearly 5,000 elephants roam the country, and not just in the National Parks.
One morning we run into a jumbo traffic jam after a bunch of them decide to hold a pow-wow on the highway.
No one can pass until the biggest elephant trumpets and, slowly, they all trudge back into the bush.
But in the end, the thing that really makes Sri Lanka special for me is the people. A friendlier, kinder, more welcoming nation would be difficult to find.
Everybody greets you with a smile and the respectful Namaste sign — hands pressed together as if in prayer followed by a slight bow.
Little wonder, then, some people believe Sri Lanka is the original Garden of Eden and that Adam and Eve were banished from here to India, just 30 miles away across the Gulf of Mannar.
Danny, a font of wisdom about Sri Lanka, explains: “Ours is a living culture. We still do the same things we did 2,000 years ago.”
Paddy fields
Which is why one day I find myself bouncing around on a rickety old cart being pulled by two bullocks down a dirt track.
We trundle past paddy fields and tea plantations to Hiriwadunna Lake before being rowed to a village where local women prepare a traditional curry lunch.
And as we leave our catamaran, the boatman grabs a lotus leaf and fashions it into a makeshift hat to keep the sun off my head.
There is nothing old-fashioned, though, about the hotels we stay in — apart from, perhaps, the hospitality.
They are ultra-modern and superb, especially the Jetwing chain, which prides itself on pioneering sustainable tourism.
Two years ago the Irish cricket team stayed at its Lighthouse Hotel near Galle and a bat signed by the players has pride of place in the cocktail bar.
Galle, a picturesque little town in the south of the island, is certainly worth a visit.
It’s surrounded by the remains of a 17th century fort built by the Dutch after they kicked out the original Portuguese colonisers.
Not that the fortifications did them much good. Some 100 years later the Brits arrived and, in turn, sent the Dutch packing.
A few miles up the road there is a moving memorial to the tsunami which devastated the country on St Stephen’s Day in 2004.
Lots of historical sites
A 60ft statue of the Buddha has been built to the same height as the huge wave that swept a crowded train off the tracks here, killing all 1,500 on board.
Altogether more than 40,000 Sri Lankans perished in the disaster, with another 15,000 injured.
As we leave a museum, Danny tosses his half-eaten sandwich to a hungry dog scavenging nearby.
He explains: “As Buddhists we believe in karma. If you don’t do good deeds, your next life may not be a good one.”
See what I mean about the wonderful Sri Lankan people?
One morning in a small bay near Galle I spot some fisherman unloading their catch.
Painted along the hull of their boat are the words: “Love the Life”. Says it all about Sri Lanka.
There are tours to ancient cities high up in the mountains[/caption]
Wild-life spotting is must-do when in Sri Lanka[/caption]
