Pilgrimage trip to Sri Lanka

గురు బ్రహ్మ గురుర్ విష్ణుః గురుర్ దేవో మహేశ్వరః

గురు స్సాక్షాత్ పరబ్రహ్మ తస్మై శ్రీ గురవే నమః

శుక్లాం బరధరం విష్ణుం శశివర్ణం చతుర్భుజం

ప్రసన్న వదనం ధ్యాయేత్ సర్వ విఘ్నోప శాంతయే

శ్రుతి స్మృతి పురాణానాం ఆలయం కరుణాలయం

నమామి భగవత్ పాదం శంకరం లోక శంకరం

ఓం నమః శివాయ

Went on a short pilgrimage to Sri Lanka last week. There are quite a number of Hindu pilgrimage places in Sri Lanka and lot of tourist operators have created multiple packages for visiting Sri Lanka. We went on a 5 days, 4 night tour. One of the most important places in Sri Lanka is the Saankari Devi temple, which is one of the Ashtadasa (18) peethams. In fact it is the first Ashta Dasa peetham. There are 16 in India and one in POK. Apart from that there are few other important pilgrim places in SL and I shall list those here in this post.

Manalweri

There is a Siva temple here. This is apparently the first Siva lingam installed by Sri Rama after killing Raavana to get rid off the Brahma Hatya Paatakam (Sin accorded for killing a Brahmin (Raavana)). This is a very small but very nice temple. Importantly, Rama installed a sand lingam. Manal in Tamil apparently means Sand.

Munneswaram

There is a Siva temple here as well. Mun means long time back. So this is a very very old temple. Raavana used to visit this temple and Sri Rama on his return from SL visited this temple as well. This is a pretty big temple.

Trincomalee

This must have been Trikona Malai. Malai in Tamil means mountain/hill. This place has one of the Ashta dasa peethams with the important deities being Trikoneswara (Siva) and Saankari Devi. This temple is on a hillock with the ocean washing the feet of the mountain. In 1624 the Portugese wanting to destroy the Hindu culture shot canons from the Ocean towards this temple. In anticipation of the destruction, the priests with the help of the locals took all the important deities from the temples and buried them in the  mountain. So for a long time this temple ceased to exist. In early 1950s SL military started constructing military regions on and around that hillock. As part of the excavation process they found multiple deities and then the locals reconstructed the temples and installed the deities once more. The Trikoneswara lingam had been installed by Agasthya maharshi. There is a huge Siva statue outside the temple.

Matale

There is a Muthu Mariamma temple in Matale which has the tallest gopuram in SL. This temple is really very good and pretty big as well. The entire temple has tons of small statues all over it and is extremely colorful. There are lots of spice gardens on the way to Matale from Kandy and these are nothing but the plants, creepers and trees that are used in Ayurveda and the guides there provide information about each of these plants and trees and their significance in medical treatment.

There is one 100 ft Buddha statue on the way to Matale which is worth a visit.

Ramboda

When Hanuma crossed the ocean in search of Sita maata, he landed right in this place, which is a mountain region. There is a 30 odd ft Hanuma status installed in a temple on this mountain. This is really awesome.

When you visit this place, you would be wonder stuck as to how Hanuma would have thought of finding Sita from there. Foreign place, no clue of whats where, could be killed if caught, ruled by raakshasa king Raavana. That is some audacity and faith. When you look at that tall Hanuma, it's difficult to take your eyes off. Awesome stature.

This temple definitely is a must see place. This is being maintained well by Chinmaya Mission. "Boda" means Army and this is the place where Rama kept his army. There is apparently a ravanaboda as well in SL. On the way to this place, there are lots and lots of tea gardens and one can visit the tea factories to know the tea processing along with a free serving of tea. There are Ramboda waterfalls close to this and are pretty scenic.

Ashoka Vaatika

This is the place where Raavana kept sita maata after abducting her. There is a temple there with Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuma as the presiding deities. This is also a very old temple, though small. There is a small stream flowing behind the temple. On the rocks surrounding that stream there are two large footprints and the temple priests say that these are of that of Hanuma. This Ashoka Vanam is close to a place called Nuwareliya. There is a small park near the temple and thats actually being called as Ashoka Vanam.

Raavana Caves

We could not visit this place, but apparently there are some caves called Raavana caves near Raavana waterfalls. There is some 2 km climb to the caves which apparently is a bit difficult. Some say that there is a 17 ft mummy inside those caves and it is claimed that this is of that of Raavana.

One thing that I have noticed in the temples of SL is that people get different things for naivedya (offerings to god). After the offerings are made to the God, the priest returns the naivedya to them and this naivedya is distributed completely within the temple itself. Nothing or probably very little is carried back to their homes.

Tour Plan

Day 1

Left Hyderabad in the morning around 10 am and landed at Colombo airport in the afternoon. Went to Manalweri via Negombo.

Went to Munneswaram from Manalweri.

Reached Sigriya and stayed there in the night.

Day 2

Went to Trincomalee from Sigriya and returned to Sigriya. There is a forest on both sides of the road (Somavathi forest) on this way and you can see some elephants as well. Stayed in Sigriya in the night.

Day 3

Went to Matale from Sigriya. Visited the Muthi Mariamma temple and visited a spice garden and budha temple on the way. Reached Kandy by evening and watched a show for one hour depicting SriLankan dances. Stayed in Kandy in the night.

Day 4

Went to Ramboda from Kandy. Went to Sita temple from Ramboda. There is a 50 km Ghat road on the way to Nuwareliya from gampola (which is a place after Kandy). This takes more than 1.5 hrs. Stayed in Nuwareliya.

Day 5

Reached Colombo airport from Nuwareliya and boarded the flight in the afternoon and reached Hyderabad by night.

Distances

Colombo to Manalweri is about 70 odd kms via a place called Negombo, which is some 20-30 kms from Colombo.

Manalweri to Munneswaram is about 15-20 kms

Munneswaram to Sigriya (a place close to Trincomalee) is about 150 kms

Sigriya to Trincomalee is 115 kms.

Sigriya to Kandy is about 100 kms.

Kandy to Ramboda is about 60 kms.

Ramboda to Sita temple is about 20 kms.

Sita Temple is few kms from Nuwareliya.

Nuwareliya to Colombo airport is about 180 odd kms, but takes almost 5 hours with few stops.

Pure Veg Restaurants

There are very few pure veg restaurants in SL. We could find some though.

Negombo - Renuka Restaurant and Murug Villas

Trincomalee - Kannas Veg Restaurant and Annopoorina restaurant.

Kandy - Balaji Dosa restaurant.

Ramboda - Annapoorna Veg restaurant by chinmaya mission

Please note that all the restaurants mentioned above are very small and are pure veg restaurants.

Trip Planning Tips

1. SL Visa can be obtained online. Costs about 15 USD. On arrival visa option is also available and costs 20 USD. www.eta.gov.lk is the website.

2. There are umpteen local tour operators who can facilitate transport and hotel bookings. Van (8 seater) costs around 20 INR per km and hotels will be in the range of 1500-2500 INR per night (bed and breakfast basis).

3. Flight costs are around 11.5k INR round trip (Hyd to Colombo). Generaly spicejet and SL airlines are the cheapest carriers.

4. Lunch and dinner would cost around 200-300 INR per person per meal.

It's definitely 20-25% cheaper if you plan separately as against going with a package from a tour operator in India.

SL is very scenic and extremely green. People are extremely nice as well. They talk nicely and are very warm and friendly. But one drawback of SL is it is quite expensive, especially for foreigners. Check out some costs below. Btw, 1 INR is 2 SLR.

·         An Orange or a apple costs 50 SLR minimum.

·         Meal in a normal and small restaurant costs a minimum of 200 SLR. In some hotels (not posh restaurants), it is 600-700 SLR as well.

·         An elephant ride for 10-15 mins costs 2000 SLR.

·         Entry to a buddha temple is 1500 SLR, whereas its free for locals.

·         Entry to Ashoka Vanam park is 1100 SLR, whereas its about 50 SLR for locals.

·         Fresh farm Milk costs 160 SLR per litre

·         Tata Nano costs 14 lakhs SLR. Maruti 800 20 lakhs SLR.

So, expenses have to be planned properly.

Feel free to contact me in case any specific information is required. Must have been boring to many but thought could be useful for some who intend to do a pilgrimage trip to SL.

సర్వే జనాః సుఖినో భవంతు

PS: There could be typos and other mistakes in telugu and english, kindly pardon me with big hearts.