Target Travels blog

Cinnamon of Sri Lanka

One of Sri Lanka’s most attractive commodities, in the eyes of the Portuguese and Dutch, was the plentiful Cinnamon which grew along the west coast of Sri Lanka. Today Sri Lanka is still produces over 90% of the world’s cinnamon.

Cinnamon — “the bride around whom they danced” — grew wild in the jungles and was in huge demand in Europe, where it was much sought after for its distinctive flavour and for its efficacy in relieving air trapped in the bowels. That found in the negombo area was traditionally regarded as the sweetest and most highly prized.

Cinnmon grew wild in damp, elephant-infested jungle. Collecting it was hard, dangerous work, and the exclusive job of the Choliah caste. Tubes of cinnamon were bundled up and taken to “surgeons” who bit off pieces to assess quality, the premium being on milder varieties without an aftertaste. A ritual slice of bread was eaten between batches, not to cleanse the palate in the wine-tasting sense but to ease pain;  repeated mouthful of cinnamon were torture on the tongue.

Cinnamon was so valuable that it was made a capital offence to damage plants, which grew up to 3 meters (10 ft) in height, or to sell it on the black market. However, Arab traders were more familiar with the coastline than Dutch naval patrols, so contraband cinnamon and even elephants went out; Indian rice and textiles came the other way.

Beruwala Beach Sri Lanka

About 60 km (36 miles) from Colombo, Beruwala is the heart of Sri Lanka’s package tourist industry. The beach here is wide and beautiful, an alluring swathe of sand backed by a string of densely packed resort hotels which cater mainly to the European package-holiday crowd; particularly popular with Ger­man tourists during the northern winter. This is the Sri Lankan coast at its most developed and commercialized, with little of the laid-back charm of beaches fur­ther south, although many of the hotels here offer luxurious accommodation and excellent facilities which continue to make it the most popular beah destination in Sri Lanka.

The region is also the island’s main Ayurveda centre with most of’ the hotels here

Beaches of Beruwala Sri Lanka

offering Ayurvedic and spa treatments in dedicated Ayurveda cen­tres, and there are also a few specialist Ayurveda resorts, such as the long-estab­lished Barberyn Resort. There are many old Ayurvedic family that have lived in the region for generations and specialize in their own respective disciplines. If you are looking for a specific cure, its best to scout around and ask for the families that specialize on your particular aliment.

A couple of kilometers north of the resorts, the disheveled town of Beruwalais the oldest recorded

Sri Lankan Sunset

Muslim settlement in Sri Lanka and still has a large Mus­lim population. The town’s most significant landmark, out on a rocky head­land on the northern edge of town, are the white minarets of the Kachimalni Mosque, believed to be the oldest on the island and also an exquisite location from which to watch the sunset, with views over the bay and lighthouse.

Beaches in Sri Lanka

The stretch of coastline south from Colombo is the tourist epicenter of the island, with a strip of superb beaches equipped with a sprawl of resort hotels luxury villas and down-at-heel guest houses. Although not the best stretchers of beach front but the region grew in popularity due to the close proximity to Colombo. Today the region is still popular due to the availability of major tourist attractions, comfortable star class hotels and other holiday excursions to keep all travelers happy. Every conceivable taste is catered for here, from the chic boutique hotels of Bentota to the five-dollar-a- night surfers’ flophouses of Hikkaduwa, making it possible to experience everything from the ultimate in contemporary Sri Lankan style and luxury to one of the cheapest beach holidays Asia has to offer.

The large town of Kalutarais the first stop south of the capital which still

Magical Sri Lanka

retains its own separate identity. The beach here and at the neighbouring suburb of Wadduwa to the north remains surprisingly unspoilt, however, given its proximity to the capital, and is home to a cluster of large resort hotels strung out along the narrow but still relatively peaceful sands. The beach front is generous to a great extent but the seas do get a little rough during certain times of the year and guests may be advised not to bathe there.

The town itself takes its name from the Kalu Ganga, or “Black River”, whose expansive mouth is crossed by a long bridge from where there are tempting views of tranquil waters and thickets of palm trees inland. Ahead, the view is dominated by the huge white stupa of the Gangatilaka (open daily 6am-7pm; entrance charge), rising high above town. One of the largest stupas on the island, this also has the added interest of being the only one in the world which is hollow. Inside, the cool interior is decorated with 74 murals, telling some of the Jataka stories (ancient Buddhist folk tales), which deal with the Buddha’s previous lives and teachings. The view from above sweeps across the mouth of the Kalu Ganga and along the seem­ingly endless line of palm trees beside the coast.

Sunset over Sri Lanka

A five-minute walk from the temple, just behind the town hall, the Kalutara Basket Weeving Society (Mon–Sat) offers visitors the chance to see how the locals can take the stubborn and unyielding leaves of the watakeiya palm and transform them into patterned mats, purses, lampshades and linen baskets. A few kilome­tres inland lies the intriguing old Richmond Castle. This magnificent hybrid of Indian and British architecture was originally a spice plantation mansion built for a wealthy regional governor who copied the plans from an Indian Maharaja’s palace designed by a London architect.

The town is also known for its mangosteens – the shiny, dark purple fruits obtaining luscious, translucent segments. Queen Victoria famously longed to, Isle one of the delectable fruits, but they were unable to survive the long jour­ney back to England, so she had to make do with the description.