5/5 Claude D. 1 year ago on Google
“Walk
the
Paddies”,
a
superb
8-km
walk
through
paddy
fields:
our
group
started
to
follow
Anu
for
the
walk,
our
guide
from
Le
Jardin
du
Fort
at
8.30
AM
from
the
Yatagalla
ancient
Buddhist
temple
built
on
a
rock
near
Galle
town.
After
a
ten-minute
walk,
we
reached
our
Ambalama,
or
wayside
shelter,
where
we
had
an
excellent
Sri
Lankan
breakfast
overlooking
a
paddy
field.
Our
host
Hasitha
and
his
family
were
lovely
and
helpful
and
the
food
was
just
what
was
needed
at
the
start
of
a
great
two-hour
walk.
We
were
glad
we
had
listened
to
Anu’s
suggestions
to
bring
a
hat,
sunscreen
and
water
with
us.
We
were
able
to
observe
many
different
birds
on
the
walk
which
took
us
through
paddy
fields,
open
spaces,
hills
and
forests!
Moreover,
many
villagers
we
encountered
during
the
walk
waved
to
us
and
greeted
us,
most
of
them
children,
with
some
inviting
us
to
their
houses.
The
heat
was
not
a
problem
as
most
of
the
trekking
was
in
the
shade
of
tall
trees.
Anyhow,
we
were
back
at
the
temple
we
started
from
well
before
12noon,
so
we
never
felt
too
hot.
What
we
really
enjoyed
was
the
diversity
in
this
walk,
the
changes
of
sceneries,
the
many
colorful
birds,
the
local
people,
the
architecture
of
some
of
the
houses
we
saw,
etc.
We
then
proceeded
to
visit
the
Yatagalla
temple,
which
is
optional,
and
climbed
the
stairs
leading
us
to
the
top
where
we
enjoyed
the
surrounding
views.
Anu,
or
another
guide,
will
explain
the
statues
and
the
paintings
in
the
Image
House
if
you
so
desire.
By
the
time
we
drove
back
to
Le
Jardin
du
Fort
around
1
PM,
we
were
quite
hungry
and,
after
a
refreshing
shower,
we
really
enjoyed
lunching
on
the
terrace
of
Puppets,
the
hotel’s
restaurant
overlooking
Leyn
Baan
in
the
old
Dutch
fort.