But, unfortunately, as so often happens in suddenly touristy areas, the drive to sell a safari tour and show a leopard and in turn make a quick buck, has taken precedent over the safety and wellbeing of the animal. We have heard from people who did the safaris of the drivers calling each other and of 20+ jeeps surrounding the one leopard.. poor thing. As much as we would have LOVED to have seen one, that just isn’t a practice we can condone..
Luckily the road got better and we were able to go on.
And what a road it was. It was just beautiful. The amount of wildlife we saw was just incredible.
It’s breathtaking.
And so is the climb up.. It took all of our powers of encouragement to stop each other from turning back. It was also 38C so it’s not all to do with our lack of fitness!! But it was worth it.
But, really, what an amazing view from the top.
After the temples, we headed out of the park towards Kataragama - a town of huge religious importance to all Sri Lankans, regardless of their religion. We were too tired to stay for prayer time, but it's definitely on the to-do list for next time.
I can't even begin to explain just how awesome this day was. It was honestly one of the most exciting, fun, adventurous, interesting and awesome days of my life.
It was just one of those days where you can’t remember if you’ve said anything except “wow” for the last hour.
Whilst I’m sure the safari tour through the park is also impressive, if you ever get the chance to visit this part of the world, PLEASE either get yourself a vehicle and driver, or rent a motorbike/tuktuk and drive yourself, but definitely do visit the temples above, and drive oh so slowly and quietly along the jungle roads.. You never know, you might be lucky enough to see a leopard aswell!!