A nod to Bevis legal family background
Stone steps lead to secret spots
their slopes dotted with shrines. On palm leaves, we etched words the way scribes once did centuries ago—an art form that felt like a whisper from the past. In jungle mud huts, women coaxed flavour from turmeric and tamarind, their curries rich with generations of memory. At Hiriwadunna, we drifted across a lotus- speckled reservoir in slender banana boats, fashioning sunhats from lily pads as if playing a part in a timeless ritual. Trincomalee offered its own theatre of devotion. At Koneswaram Temple, the sea crashed below cliffs as worshippers lit lamps to Shiva. Nearby, Tamil families welcomed us at Kanniya’s hot springs, their laughter mingling with the steam. Jaffna was a
ea, sun, and sand were not on the itinerary. Instead, “A Road Less Travelled” became our mantra. While the island basked in 30-degree heat, we veered inland,
mountains, rainforests dripping with green, coastal lagoons shimmering under the sun, and fertile plains where elephants still command the road. At every turn, there was human warmth to match the island’s natural generosity. Smiles greeted us, hands extended in hospitality, and the sense of belonging was immediate. RITUALS AND REVERENCE Our journey was punctuated with moments of profound stillness and joy. At Ridi Viharaya, an ancient Buddhist site, we sat cross-legged in a rock cave, meditating with a monk who spoke of impermanence and peace. Outside, the hills swelled with light,
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trading the languor of the coast for the drama of peaks and plains, the intimacy of temples and gardens, and the pulse of a culture rooted deep in tradition. We began in Colombo and wound our way through the island’s cultural heart, heading northeast to Trincomalee before venturing north into Jaffna—still tender from its long civil war yet vibrantly alive. The return south along the western coast stitched together landscapes as varied as they were spellbinding: mist-veiled
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