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Blogs from Tikalanka are designed to enhance your knowledge of Sri Lanka and Maldives and keep you up to date with recent developments. We intend to post regular features on travel, news, lifestyle and accommodation as well as guest articles from current and past customers, which will give you first-hand experience of Tikalanka, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Posted by John on 23rd March 2023
Rewilding is a relatively new endeavour in Sri Lanka, although some schemes have been active for years. Jetwing Vil Uyana began an ambitious project back in 2005, converting abandoned paddy fields into a wetland mosaic fed by irrigation channels from the surrounding farmland, and planting thousands of indigenous trees. Today it is enjoying the fruits of an enlightened and welcome rewilding initiative.
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Posted by John on 18th March 2023
Earlier this year The Independent’s travel desk published their dream destinations for 2023 and Sri Lanka topped the wish list. After years of pandemic-related restrictions, this is the first year that travel has the opportunity to return to “normal”, with most countries having opened back up to tourists, without the need for extra testing and paperwork. Previously on the up as a seemingly universally loved travel destination and with so much pent-up demand, Sri Lanka is the place to visit in 2023.
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Posted by John on 10th March 2023
I am sure you will have heard of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Peru's Inca Trail or the well-trammelled route to Everest Base Camp, but do you know about the world's newest walking trail? No, well it's Sri Lanka's very own Pekoe Trail, a 300-km, 22-stage network of hiking trails, which winds its way through the island's dramatic Hill Country, an area synonymous with growing tea. Intended to be walked in stages or in full, it was conceived to encourage more visitors into the island's most remote regions.
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Posted by John on 9th March 2022
Like the rest of the world, Sri Lanka is currently suffering the effects of sky-high oil prices, supply chain issues and a prolonged break in tourism due to the pandemic but this doesn’t stop new travel initiatives from appearing on the island. These include a new luxury train service from Kandy to Ella (the most picturesque railway journey on the island), a projected cable car route through the breath-taking scenery of the Hill Country, and the opening of the Central Expressway between Colombo and Kandy in 2024.
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Posted by John on 7th January 2022
Happy New Year and now back to the last. Our ‘Northern Tour’ of Sri Lanka started with visiting a few special places to stay around Kandy before heading northeast into the Cultural Triangle – Dambulla, Sigiriya and Habarana – and on to Nilaveli just north of Trincomalee on the east coast. We then drove straight up to Jaffna at the northernmost tip of the island before returning south to the Anuradhapura and Wilpattu region. Our last stop was in the Negombo area before I flew home.
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Posted by John on 16th December 2021
Just returned from an 18-day research trip to Sri Lanka, which was a precursor to restarting our holidays by the New Year. Pathi and I travelled around the island meeting tourism colleagues, visiting current and new accommodation, and discussing the restart with our guides. Overall, the trip was a success and we are confident that a holiday in Sri Lanka will be a great experience despite the few extra precautions required due to COVID-19.
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Posted by John on 21st November 2021
Tourism is beginning to pick up in Sri Lanka once again. More than 7000 foreign visitors arrived to Sri Lanka in the first two weeks of October, out of a total of 45,413 tourists for the year as a whole. Visitors are required to always carry their COVID-19 vaccination card when visiting tourist sites around the country – 12 to 18 year olds who have had at least one dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are considered ‘fully vaccinated’. There is now an online Health Declaration System at the airport to reduce cross-infection.
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Posted by John on 6th April 2021
Today is the 20th anniversary of the launch of Responsible Travel, which pioneered the concept of responsible travel – better holidays, better for communities, better for nature. We joined in 2005 and it was the best decision we ever made in terms of our marketing strategy. Throughout this time RT.com has been incredibly supportive and we count many of the company as friends. We would like to thank all at RT.com for their passion and commitment to spearheading responsible travel throughout the globe.
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Posted by John on 19th February 2021
Earlier this week, the Government of Sri Lanka announced that the temporary restriction on travel originating from the UK to Sri Lanka has been lifted with immediate effect.This is certainly some good news amid the many downbeat remarks from our own government ministers about the possibility of reopening foreign travel in the immediate future. However, entry to Sri Lanka is still subject to an initial 14 days stay in ‘Safe & Secure’ Certified Level 1 hotels and regular PCR tests.
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Posted by John on 21st January 2021
To date, the list of ‘Safe & Secure’ Certified Level 1 hotels in Sri Lanka runs to 55, of which 25 are offered by Tikalanka, and there are currently 17 approved tourist sites and attractions, mostly national parks and cultural sites. Let’s hope that the ongoing health audit continues apace in order to approve many more of our favourite accommodation and places to visit as ‘safe and secure’ in the near future. Visit Sri Lanka Tourism for up to date information on the things you need to know for safely travelling to Sri Lanka.
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