22 August 2019
We left a rainy Colombo today for Dambulla. It is about 160km and took us about 3 hrs 30 mins. We passed through mostly rural countryside. Most small towns along the way were made farming communities. Farming is quite prolific in this fertile country.
We have booked to stay at the Heritance Kandalama in Dambulla. The last few kilometres to the hotel is dirt road. The hotel is set in lush tropical forest and is bounded by the Kandalama Reservoir to the front.
Heritance Kandalama was designed by the reknowned Sri Lankan architect, the late Geoffrey Bawa. This hotel was built in the 90s.
Geoffrey Bawa was a prolific architect and there are many examples of his buildings in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. His design concepts tries to incorporate nature with living spaces. The Heritance Kandalama is a prime example of this. The facade of the hotel is covered in plants and vines and blends in well with the surroundings.
Our room had spectacular views across the lake and beyond. Sigiriya Rock was clearly visible as shown in the main picture on this page.
Views from hotel
We were lucky enough to watch a procession of monkeys, Grey Langur. There were whole families and babies. It was a delightful sight.
