Sri Lanka- Bentota

Kandy-Bentota

Entrance to the Spice Grove

You'll come across The Island Spice Grove at Uthuwankanda--your driver should know of it. The spice garden deals primarily in making medicines out of spices--they'll give you a pamphlet, and explain everything about the garden and give you a complimentary cup of tea with vanilla instead of sugar. They have a shop where you can buy all that. Pricey, though.

At Kalutara, where you turn for Bentota (Galle Rd), you'll see a huge white-domed temple.

 Domed temple at Kalutara

Bentota

Bentota is a beach town--with lovely beaches everywhere. Apart, there is less to see, though. But, in the river , many companies set out boats with guides to show several sights around.

We took a boat--paid around Rs 4000 for 4 people for 1.5 hrs. There were many islands around with a few hundred families living. But, we went to an island, where only 1 family lives. They grow cinnamon there, and they show you how to powder cinnamon, and there's an aura of cinnamon in the air! They also sell the cinnamon to you--a packet of a few sticks will cost Rs 300 or so.

Buddha idol at the temple

The beautiful temple surrounds

Our next stop was a Buddhist temple, with a Ganesh statue too! The island was wholly used for the temple, a pretty complex. There was also a monk's quarter, where the guide showed you the monk's kitchen and bedroom, and his books.

Vivanta by Taj- link

Building of Vivanta

Gardens and beach at Vivanta

A lot of our time was spent at the resort where we were staying--Vivanta by Taj Bentota. The resort was a typical luxurious one, with a great beach and good food. The complex was big, and full of amenities. But, as it was a festive time, things were busy.

Sea at Vivanta

One flaw was the resort's layout was very confusing, it was hell easy to get lost there. For example, the two staircases never led you to the same place--two different wings, were divided, so you'll have to take a long-cut and a lack of signboards make it more than a little confusing.

Back to the good side...The rooms were impressive, and great if you had sea views. One tip is that try to avoid the first two floors. I don't know how the views from those rooms are, but when you step out, in the corridor, there is rock all around, and it feels dingy and claustrophobic.

The beach was great, and clean. There were many small rocks around and there were good views from them.

Food in the resort was of a high quality. There would be good variety usually.

Other hotels where we had lunch
Club Villa
The ambiance was good here. The resort was small, but quite intimate. No private beach though. A train track separated the resort from the beach. This part was also unfenced, so anyone could enter the resort. Food was OK, service was poor. It took over an hour for the food to arrive--which wasn't too worth waiting for.

Last visit- Dec 2010

No of visits- 1