Dutch Period Museum in Pettah

The Dutch Period Museum nestles in the chaotic area of Pettah, housed in a building that is one of the country’s best examples of Dutch period architecture. It covers a span of almost 400 years. With its tall white columns and flag-stone verandah, the building is an anachronistic but pleasant reminder of what was once a very chic and beautiful residential area for Dutch colonial officials. This building was the home of the Dutch Governor, Thomas van Rhee (1692-1697). Thw fine house became the property of the Dutch East India Company before passing in 1776 to the British, who turned it into a military hospital. While all surrounding area was changing, the building survived, becoming variously an armoury, a Police-training Centre, and finally the Pettah Post and Telegraph Office. It seemed doomed to decay until it was rescued in 1977 and restored to become a museum with the opening of Colombo’s Dutch Period Museum. 

Read more: A testimony to Dutch legacy

Annual Procession of Most Sacred Buddhist Temple in Western Sri Lanka held on 09th, 10th & 11th January

The Annual Duruthu Perahera of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya will be held on 09th, 10th and 11th January 2017. The historical Kelaniya Duruthu Maha Perahera had its modern revival from 1927, due largely to the efforts of that great Philanthropist Don Walter Wijewardene, son of Helena Wijewardene Lamathani.

This Religious Cultural pageant has evolved over the years to become the country’s most elaborate and grandest low country pageant in its category. Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya is the most sacred temple in the Western Province of Sri Lanka since Lord Buddha’s sojourn here during his 3rd historic visit to Sri Lanka. It celebrates this event annually in the "Duruthu Poya" during January by conducting a historic, traditional and cultural pageant, the "Kelani Perahera". Whilst the Kelani Perahera commemorates the religious significance of Lord Buddha’s visit, it also supports and revives Sri Lanka’s cultural traditions of drummers, dancers, singers, caparisoned elephants and colourful parades, which have always made this event a night of all nights.

Meticulous attention has been paid to all details with the objective of perpetuating the traditional rites, ritual and customs long associated with this magnificent pageant.

The Perahera will commence with the handing over of the relic casket to Chief Basnayake Nilame, Dhammika Attygalle by the Viharadhipathi, Ven. Professor Kollupitiya Mahinda Sangharakkita Nayake Thera. This time the Perahera is organised under the guidance of the President Dayaka Sabha Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

There are three Devala Perahera’s followed after the main Sacred Relics Perehera. They are — Lord Vibishana, Lord Vishnu and Lord Kataragama. The Basnayake Nilames of the respective devala peraheras are M/s. Lalith Hapangama, Jayaraja Chandrasekera and Samantha Perera.

The Perahera will commence at 8.00 pm. This year too a special effort is being made to focus on Tourists eager to acquaint themselves with the majesty and splendour of Sri Lanka’s cultural facets such as this Historic Perahera. There will be a special enclosure for tourists to view the perahera in association with the Sri Lanka Tourist Board.

During the Duruthu Festival, Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara premises illumination will be sponsored by Thilakawardene Textiles, Kiribathgoda.

The tough ascent to a welcome peace

There is perhaps no other peak so often and regularly ascended by humans, as the Sri Pada. This year as the Sri Pada season begins on December 13, with the Unduvap poya, for some it is an annual pilgrimage that must be undertaken, while to many it is a trip that one must complete at least once in a lifetime. Every year, starting from Unduvap poya till Vesak, pilgrims of all faiths undertake the gruelling trek to its summit, located 7,353 feet above sea level while others make attempts to scale the mountain during its off season when the weather and the climb can be most treacherous.

However, due to various beliefs and customs, the journey, whether during the season or not, is one steeped in tradition, history and legends, with its importance going far beyond. The journey to Sri Pada brings together those of all religions and beliefs in their arduous trek to the top which perhaps silently teaches us that in life too one must undertake life’s journey while living in peace, harmony and brotherhood, with all we chance upon.

A traveller attempting to scale Sri Pada can choose between six routes. Hatton - Nallathanni, the steepest but shortest is considered to be the most popular route among pilgrims, while the Ratnapura - Palabaddala and the Kuruwita - Erathna routes are also those regularly used by travellers. Murrayawatta, Mukkuwatta and Malimbada routes today are however used mainly by adventure travellers and less by pilgrims, due to the difficulties and dangers involved. 

Read more: The tough ascent to a welcome peace

Adam's Peak season begins

The annual pilgrim season to Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) commences on 13 December, a full moon Poya Day in the Sinhalese month of Uduwap. The commencement is marked by the taking the statue of God Saman, the guardian deity of the sacred mountain, from the Buddhist temple, Galpottawala Sri Pada Raja Maha Viharaya at Pelmadulla where the statue remains during the rest of the year, in a procession to its shrine atop Adam's Peak in the early hours of December 13. The pilgrim season continues for 06 months and ends on the full moon day of May 2017.

Sri Pada, the fourth tallest mountain towering 2,234 m above sea level, lies in central Sri Lanka, 40 km northeast of the city of Ratnapura and 32 km southwest of the city of Hatton. Buddhists believe that its summit contains the sacred foot print of the Buddha while Hindus claim that it belongs to God Shiva.

First Lady jockey in Sri Lankan history: Race ready!

Lady Jockey N Rupa will join the races for the first time in Sri Lankan History at the Royal Turf Club’s races on December 11.

“This goes to prove that the RTC shows no discrimination and even the fairer sex can race alongside her more stalwart colleagues”, said Acting CEO and Stipendiary Steward / Jockey Coach, RTC, Sinclair Marshall.

That’s not all up and coming racing commentator and voice of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Anit Casyab would be making his first appearance at RTC as well on 11th December and will keep the crowds abreast of all information as regards the races.

In addition the RTC has confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Edwards will be donating all the earnings of the 11th December Race day to the Cancer Care Trust and Dr Samadhi, Trustee will be present at the races to accept their donation. Deepthika Jayaykody will also donate 50 percent of her winnings to the Nuwara Eliya Pony’s Association, which is a boon to the poor people of Nuwara Eliya who live by hiring out their ponies. The RTC will also be granting a scholarship for a Jockey Training Program under the supervision of RTC Coach Sinclair Marshall who has trained many successful apprentice jockeys in India.

 

Read more: First Lady jockey in Sri Lankan history: Race ready!

Celebrate ‘Cinnamon-style’

Cinnamon’s city hotels – Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and Cinnamon Red – are all set to celebrate this joyous festive season with an extensive line up of fetes that will make your dining, entertainment and celebratory experiences, all the more merrier!

States Cinnamon Grand in a release: This year too, Cinnamon Grand will offer 50% off on select beverages in all their restaurants along with special discounts on bubbly and other festive drinks.

Filling the air with the welcoming and warm aromas of mulled wine, minced pies and Christmas bakes, the hotels will also open their treat stalls on 01 December. Running throughout the month, a collection of mouth-watering savouries and confectionaries will be available along with festive coffees and ice cream. Featuring the likes of Christmas cakes, honey Florentines, minced pies, gingerbread, specialty chocolates, over 300 treats will adorn the shelves of Cinnamon Grand’s Goodie Hut at the Coffee Stop and Cinnamon Lakeside’s Goodies.

 

Read more:  Celebrate ‘Cinnamon-style’

FANTASTIC ANIMALS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM: YALA WILDLIFE PARK

The park at Yala was created as a Game Sanctuary by the British in 1894 for shooting and hunting parties and was only established as a wildlife reserve in 1938, when it became Yala National Park. Henry Engelbrecht, thrust into managing Yala, over 100,000 hectares of wildlife with Kataragama to the North, Panama to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south and Kirinda to the west, loved the challenges that this brought into his life.

‘The last irreconcilable’ as Engelbrecht was known, one of the 5500 Boer prisoners of war, brought from South Africa by the British, when the Boer War ended in 1902. Prisoners who took the oath of alliance to the British sovereign were sent home but Henry Engelbrecht refused so was sent to be a warden as a penance.

The park today is divided into blocks numbered one to five and, besides being a wildlife hotspot, covers a number of archeological sites, including the famous ‘Magul Maha Viharaya’, dating back to 1st Century BC; an important memorial on the Indian Ocean side of the park to those that died in the 2004 tsunami, with a wave-like silver monument to remind us of the worlds worst ever natural disaster; and a pilgrims’ bridge from block 1 to block 2 to see Situlpawwa.

 

Read more:  FANTASTIC ANIMALS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM: YALA WILDLIFE PARK

Facelift for Pegasus

The Pegasus Reef Hotel, Wattala has completed the renovations of its deluxe rooms. The hotel’s restaurants, banquet halls and pool side also received an upgrade. The Daily News visited this beautiful hotel and saw firsthand how comfortable and ‘customer sensitive’ this hotel and its facilities are.

“We have enhanced our property standard. First, we redid all our banquet halls, then the car park, the public area, and our new deluxe rooms. We renovated 81 rooms. It is a Rs. 250 million project. Now it is brand new, up to the five-star level and all the facilities are available in our rooms. There are three types of rooms – Standard, Deluxe and Suite Rooms. There are 53 Standard rooms. We have 81 Deluxe rooms and one Suite. The price ranges are Rs. 17,500 to Rs. 27,500. Pegasus is almost five decades old. This is the first five-star resort in Sri Lanka. Fifty five percent are tourists and 45 percent locals,” said Head of Sales and Marketing Dushmantha Fernando. 

Read more: Facelift for Pegasus

Aviraté unveils Christmas collection

Aviraté, an international lifestyle fashion brand owned by Timex Garments recently unveiled its drop-dead gorgeous Christmas collection to its diva customers who were invited to have a sneak peek while indulging in refreshments, conversations and complimentary vouchers.

Held at its flagship store recently, the collection preview included a range of evening wear maxis, shimmering dresses, colorful printed blouses, festive jewelry amongst many others, Avirate said in a press release. The invitees also received complimentary vouchers courtesy of Cinnamon Grand for hotel stays in over five of their hotels and resorts, Laundromat, Aviraté Café, Aviraté,Belissima, and OSMO fitness centre.

 

Read more: Aviraté unveils Christmas collection

Over 100 local & international surfers will vie for honours off Sri Lanka’s southern coast

After last year’s intense battles on the waves of the Eastern coast, the much-coveted event Red Bull Ride My Wave returns for its third edition on December 10 and 11 at Kabalana Beach, Ahangama.

This year will see 100 surfers both local and international searching for fast lefts and hollow rights aiming to score high on the judges boards which will give our top three winners a grand prize of US$ 3000 (1st place - US$1500, 2nd place – US$1000 and 3rd place – US$500) securing the winner with the title and crowning as the ‘King of the Wave’.

Red Bull Ride My Wave began in 2014, where surfers from the East Coast were pitted against their fellow surfers from the South Coast in a quest to determine which region was home to the island’s best surfers. Hosted by Costa Rican Pro Surfer, Diego Naranjo, the East Coast team emerged victorious and went on to represent Sri Lanka at the Red Bull Both Ways in the Maldives, where they placed second, third and fourth respectively.

 

Read more: Red Bull Ride My Wave lights up Southern waves

Construction of World’s Tallest Christmas Tree abandoned

The process of constructing the world’s tallest and largest Christmas tree, which was intended to set a Guinness world record, has been halted by Ports Minister Arjuna Ranatunga on the instructions of Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Coordinating Secretary of the Ports Minister and Christmas Tree construction committee chairman Mangala P Gunasekara said.

He said that Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith was informed duly through his coordinating secretary prior to commencement of the construction of this giant work. Besides, the constructing committee has taken measures to make the Pope aware through a letter in this regard.

The estimated cost of the project was Rs 12 million and the total amount had been planned to be raised through donations of well-wishers. Of the amount Rs 6 million had already been received as raw materials and all the major construction including the structure has already been completed, he said.

 

Read more: Tallest Christmas Tree ‘cut down’

Play golf in Southern Sri Lanka

Shangri-La’s Golf & Country Club in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, unveiled the island’s first resort golf course. Designed by Rodney Wright on a former sapphire mine, the 18-hole course is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka, set within the hotel grounds of Shangri-La’s Hambantota Resort & Spa, which opened to guests on 1st June 2016.

Spread across a vast coconut palm plantation, it offers spectacular views and distinctive challenges for both beginners and seasoned players. The par-70 course is designed by Rodney Wright,the globally celebrated designer and a firm believer in integrating the culture and environment of the surrounding area into a golf course. The beautifully-landscaped course takes players on a memorable golfing journey through three zones, each with its own unique character; The Coconut Plantation offers lush fairways and challenging bunkers, The Dune Area - with its subtle elevation changes - gives way to breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean, and The Sapphire Mine showcases generous greens with an abundance of water features.

The course development was approached from an eco-perspective, due to the resort’s dedication to biodiversity and habitat protection. The structure has revitalised an abandoned sapphire mine, restored vegetation, re-introduced birdlife and usesPaspalum grass for its salt-tolerant turf, which is resilient in the tropical climate and allows for the highest standards of course conditioning.

Each hole has three decks for tee-off; Championship Tees, which allow for a course length of 6,107 yards (5,584 metres), Ladies’ Tees, which allow for a course length of 4,424 yards (4,945 metres) and Gents’ Tees, which allow for a course length of 5,570 yards (5,276m.)

Read more: Shangri-la’s Hambantota Resort and Spa unveils Sri Lanka’s first resort golf course

Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Dambadeniya

The Third Kingdom Dambadeniya temple is only an hour’s drive from Negombo and worth the journey for the fascinating 800-year-old wooden structures with original picture house and columns carved with the timeless lotus flowers holding up the beams of the ceiling.
 

The temple has a unique form of architecture, including the elephant that guards the entrances to the sacred spots that you should visit in sequence. These elephants have over the top trunks; almost cartoon like that are unique to the Third Kingdom. The king, on arrival, would go through the royal gate at the front of the temple, which was designed to be in perfect alignment with Buddha’s position in the picture house. Walk slightly to the left or right and the perspective is altogether changed, which is extraordinary as it is clearly an architectural illusion.

Read more: Wood-looking Temple of the Sacred Tooth: Dambadeniya The Third Kingdom