Tissamaharama (aka Tissa) and Kirinda are both excellent bases for a safari in Yala National Park. Tissa was the second location of our trip in Sri Lanka and this is where we booked the safari. We went to Kirinda the day after just because there is a gorgeous wilderness hotel there.

Tissa
Arrival
As I said in my blog post about Galle, we took the 32 bus to Katargama from a bus stop near the train station. The bus was incredibly funky. I know funky is an old fashioned word, but it describes the bus perfectly. The interior of the bus was bright blue, with a lot of other bright colours. We could find seats easily in the front and our bags were thrown next to the driver. The whole 3.5 hour trip we were forced to listened to traditional Sri Lankan music which came blasting through the speakers like we were at a concert.

The bus without air-conditioning was perfectly acceptable, because the windows can open and that allows for a fresh breeze. The view all the way to Tissa was gorgeous. We passed by so many beautiful seaside towns.

As I said in my post about Galle, and I will probably say over and over again until I reach the final post about Colombo, people in Sri Lanka are incredibly nice. When we told the ticket guy in the bus that we wanted to get out near the hotel, not near the bus stop, he didn’t know the exact location of the hotel. However, other people had overheard us and jumped to our aid, which resulted in us being dropped off 15 minutes away from the hotel.

Be careful when you enter Tissa. Touts will be trying to sell you safari tours, by jumping inside the bus. They do this because you’ll find out when you reach the hotel that the offer they give you isn’t actually that good. I would advise everyone to explore their options and not to go for the first offer thrown at you.

Hotel
We hadn’t booked, but there were plenty of rooms available in My Village. I can highly recommend this hotel! The guys work like crazy to make you feel as spoiled as possible. Upon arrival we received a fresh juice as a welcome drink. The rooms are nice, but what’s even nicer is the outside sitting area.

As I said before, we booked the Yala National Park safari through the hotel. We had the option to go on a private tour or with two other people who were also staying at the hotel. We chose the latter because four people on a tour isn’t a crowd, and at 30 euro it was also quite reasonably priced. My next post will be dedicated to Yala National Park.

Cycling to Tissa Lake
The best way to navigate around Tissa is by bicycle. Luckily, our hotel had free bicycles to rent to its guests so that they can explore the town. There is a lovely sidewalk next to Tissa Lake (Tissa Wewa) where you can cycle, whilst being followed by curious local children and a few dogs. You never travel alone in Tissa. There are a few nice sights that are nice from a distance such as the rice paddies and the Dagoba. If you cycle (or walk) along the lake you’ll be able to see all these sights. I didn’t take a dip into the lake like a lot of the locals, but it seems to be a favourite pastime here. If anyone has been to Tissa and taken the plunge, leave a comment because I’m curious to know how it was.

  

Restaurant
In the early evening we had dinner at New Cabana. Actually it wasn’t the early evening, it was 5pm so let’s refer to it as the super early evening. It was so early in fact that the restaurant was still closed, but when we asked a guy at a grocery stand for directions, the guy rushed to a car shop to tell the owner (and probably chef) of New Cabana that he has customers and he was happy to open up shop for us. This was my first experience with Sri Lankan Curry, which is basically an accumulation of different dishes and curries. I have to say, even though it’s completely different from all the varieties of Indian curry, it was super tasty. And the restaurant gets extra points for opening up especially for us.

In the evening we watched a sunset at the lake near the hotel. Guard dogs were viciously trying to prevent us from doing so, which brought a bit of my trauma from Thailand back when I was “bitten” by a dog. Of course, no such thing happened here and we managed to enjoy the sunset without any incidents.

After the sunset, we just had a few drinks at the patio of the hotel. The Australian couple who would join us on the Yala National Park safari were there as well, so we spend the evening talking to them.

Kirinda
That’s it for Tissa, because the next morning we would rise early for the Yala National Park safari (5am start). Let’s fast forward now to after the safari when we packed our bags to check out, because we had booked a night at the luxurious resort in Kirinda called Yala Cinnamon Wild. Note to my readers, if you think it’s a brilliant idea to go to both towns near Yala National Park, don’t do what we did. I would advise you to stay in Kirinda first and to book the safari from there, not because the safari from My Village in Tissa wasn’t good, but simply because our day was a bit painful. In the morning when we went to the safari, we passed Yala Cinnamon Wild, then when we returned from the safari we passed it again. Then we had to pack our bags and take a tuk tuk (which takes an hour) to the same hotel we had passed twice. Not to mention that after our stay, we had to take a tuk tuk to Tissa to catch the bus from there. Awkward planning, but luckily you guys won’t make the same mistake.

Regardless, of these small complaints I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the experience of staying in this hotel for a night. The rooms were bungalows in the jungle.

There is a wilderness pool, which is to be taken quite literal because you’re surrounded by monkeys at night and buffaloes during the day.

Right next to the pool you’ll find a lake where crocodiles live and where elephants tend to roam around. Kirinda is incredibly close to the National Park which explains the wilderness aspect.

There also a beach, but you can’t swim there due to the strong currents.

We spent all afternoon lounging by the pool and in the evening we had the buffet dinner. This hotel was the most costly part of the trip but in my opinion the experience was worth it. How often do you have to call for an escort to take you to your bungalow so that you avoid running into a cobra (which was reported to be close to our bungalow) or any other potentially dangerous animal?

Conclusion
I loved both towns equally for completely different reasons. Tissa was filled with kind people and it has a town and a gorgeous lake to explore. Kirinda has a gorgeous hotel in the middle of the jungle, there is not much to do there apart from relaxing at the pool and marveling at the buffaloes and other animals next to your lounge bed. However, the highlight of the area is not in either of these towns. The highlight can be found in Yala National Park, which I will describe in my next post.

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