Sri Lanka's Top Secret Travel Destination | MUST SEE

We always go down to take a dip in the natural pool, and then it's time to get naked. You're watching Vagabrothers and this is Sri Lanka. I m alex. I'm Marko and we're the Vagabrothers: brothers, vagabonds, and your go-to guides for

travel

tips, inspiration, and YouTube vlogs. In this series, we discover the best of Sri Lanka: ancient cities, stunning nature, rich culture and delicious food. What's happening? I'm Marko. I'm Alex and you're watching Vagabrothers. Right now we are in Sri Lanka. We've been

travel

ing all over the country, and right now we're in the south of the Ella mountain region, which is kind of the backpacker hub of Sri Lanka, and we're starting at a boutique hotel called 98 Acres. .

They only have twenty-eight rooms, which is a little confusing, but we're going to lunch at Cafe 98, and behind us we have Little Adam's Peak, which is supposedly one of the best hikes in the area. So let's put on some boots and get to the top of the peak, get the lay of the land and see where we're going. Are you ready? I'm ready. Let's do it. Come on. Well, well for lunch we have a good variety. We are doing fish and curry or chicken and curry dishes. We have many different types of curries. We have vegetables; we have dahl; we have fish;

We have chicken. I'm going to put a large amount of rice on a banana leaf and mix it all together. You have the coconut sambal, which is amazing and is a simple and delicious meal. It will give us fuel for our hike to the top of the mountain. The food was very good. I finished everything on my plate. This place is super cool. We won't be staying here because there are only twenty-eight rooms, they book up well in advance and they are also some of the most expensive rooms in Sri Lanka, but as you can see, it is definitely worth it.

But if you don't stay here, I think coming for lunch is a very good deal, but at its core Ella is a backpacker town. We will do this hike up the mountain and then go down to the town to see why it is so popular with backpackers. Where is your school? Is that so? You come home? Did I finish school? Finish. Are you learning English at school? England. Look at the photo? Yes, you are in a photo right now. Say hello." Say hello." This place is very good. It's called 98 Acres because there are 98 acres on the property.

Most of it is a tea plantation, there are 28 houses and they are not expanding it. They don't plan to expand beyond the 28 cabins, but all the food we just ate comes from local areas. It's super sustainable, really good, and there are yoga studios and gyms. It's already making me want to come back here. We haven't even left yet. We have been walking for maybe 5 or 10 minutes and it has already started to rain quite heavily. We've entered a small cabin that's under construction at the base of the climb, and we're just hunkering down to find some shelter.

The view of the valley in front of us is... it's pretty incredible. What are they building here? Special construction using cable car. Oh, they're making a cable car. Ah... it's actually interesting because this city, Ella, wasn't really on the map until it was written up in a couple of guidebooks. I have all the ingredients of a good backpacking

destination

: it's very quiet. Prices are lower than on the coast. But this building is one of the new constructions that are flourishing around this new economy. And it's kind of cool, on the one hand, I'm sure there are people who say... no, this used to be really cool when there were only a couple of backpackers here back in the day.

But it's also interesting to see locals take advantage of the interest in this part of the world. The hope is that it can be developed in the right way without losing its flavor, its charm and also without becoming saturated, which unfortunately happens with travel. Someone finds a cool spot, and then you tell the next person, the next person, and the next thing you know it's totally flooded and it's not the same as before. In a way, that is the traveler's dilemma. But you can't deny the locals the opportunity to improve their financial outlook, but you just hope it's done the right way because this is an absolutely stunning place, and it would be a shame if in five or ten years it were like this . t.

Alright, we're walking back towards the city and pass by a local town. Many ladies harvesting tea. We still have our doggy friends from Little Adam's Peak, but we'll head back into town and see what kind of mischief we can get up to on a rainy afternoon. When you come to Sri Lanka you should always take into account the time of year because the monsoon arrives in the south in May and June, and then in the north it will arrive at a different time of the year. Check out episode 1 of this series for more information you should know before going to Sri Lanka.

Alright, well, we're at the Chill Café, which lives up to its name. It is very cold; It is also quite popular. Definitely like a little backpacker retreat. Quite nostalgic, honestly. It's been a while since we've hung out at a good old-fashioned backpacker bar. But we have cocktails with Arak, which is a local alcoholic ginger beer that Sri Lanka produces. They use a lot of ginger and lime. Health. It's a rainy afternoon. I'm just going to have a cocktail, read and relax. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome back. It's a beautiful day here in rural Sri Lanka.

We are on the Jetwing Kaduruketha surrounded by rice fields, mountains and jungles. I woke up to the sound of peacocks at 5:30 in the morning. And we've also spotted some wildlife. I've seen a mongoose, I've seen a lot of different birds, but today we have something super fun and super special. Yesterday we were in Ella and we were very firmly planted on the backpacker path. There are tons of backpackers there and the city really has that kind of vibe. We were even on the Nine Arch Bridge, which is now Instagram famous and very crowded. So today we were trying to find something that was a little different.

We are going to take a hike to the second largest waterfall in Sri Lanka. It's supposed to be beautiful and it's supposed to be something that most tourists don't even know about. We are at the base of Diyaluma Falls. It's pretty cool. There is a large rubber plantation right here and behind us are the rubber workers' houses. They are super beautiful. They have all these different colors and it's a very nice environment. I don't think many tourists come here. Today should be a day of exploration. This is a former rubber factory and much of the surrounding countryside is filled with rubber trees.

This is how rubber was harvested and continues to be harvested. It is a natural substance, which is essentially the sap of the rubber tree. At the beginning of the century, there was a huge international rubber boom. Many European countries were trying to obtain rubber for their industrial booms that occurred in the early 20th century. Obtaining rubber was essential to the economies of many industrialized nations. They needed rubber to make tires, to make all the things, all the new products of the Industrial Revolution. Places like this, where the rubber tree grows naturally and could grow, became very important to these countries.

This is it... this is the rubber and Oh my God. Check it out. It looks like something you'd put on the bottom of your car, but it definitely has a meaty smell. Mark said beef jerky, I'd say that's pretty accurate. It smells like dried meat. One of the things to watch out for when walking through the jungle here are leeches. Our guide just had a leech placed on his leg and now we are watching it be removed. Salt water works, fire works too, and our guide also told us that peeing on the leech works too. We're not sure if it was just a prank to get us to pee on each other.

I had two in my shoe. Now I'm using some mosquito repellent to see if that repels them. Can you put that on my shoe too? Yes. We've been walking for probably about an hour and have just reached the ridge overlooking the upper section of the falls. It's really great to be here in the forests and mountains and get a taste of what wild Sri Lanka is like. This is an incredibly diverse island. It has more than 400 species of birds, more than 30 of them are endemic to Sri Lanka, meaning they only live here. But here in the highlands there are all kinds of animals.

And this is the only place in the world where the leopard is the top predator. Elsewhere in Africa and India, the leopard is overshadowed by the lion or tiger. But here in Sri Lanka he is the king of the jungle. It is an incredibly elusive cat, one of the hardest animals to spot in the wild here. This is simply amazing. I am very happy to be here. I am very happy to be in nature. And look at this view. Look at this waterfall. We're not even there yet. It's about to get much bigger and more beautiful.

Wow, we've reached a waterfall, and it's spectacular. I have never seen such an impressive and imposing fall. It's huge. It is over 500 feet tall and we are standing on the edge looking down into this beautiful forested valley. And it is worth noting that it is the 364th highest waterfall in the world. But it is the second highest in Sri Lanka. Depending on what your stats are, regardless of ranking, this is definitely at the top of my waterfall list. Wait a second, what's going on here? What is this conspiracy? Just having some roti. Where did you get that?

From that man who was there in that cabin. There's a guy there in a hut cooking. Oh yes brother, roti. Always down to take a dip in a natural pool. We found one that is a nice gentle sized waterfall for swimming. It's time to get naked. Actually, I was just joking. I'm putting on a swimsuit. Never be naked here. People don't do that at all. Well, that was excellent. One of my favorite things about traveling and backpacking is reaching out and finding a waterfall or swimming hole. I think after a couple of weeks of traveling feeling sweaty and dirty, it's really nice to just get clean and feel refreshed after a river, and this is a really beautiful place.

If you are in the Ella area, definitely come visit this place. There are plenty of things to do outside of that city, and we heard about some people who walked here for an hour and a half and took a tuk-tuk. Then everything is possible. Do it here, check it out. And if you bring trash, please pick it up because it is a beautiful and naturally preserved place. Alright, we're off the mountain. We return from the walk and we have stopped in a small town. Let's have lunch here. They have prepared a delicious variety, some local curries, fish curry and rice, very traditional meals.

But its great. It's like an adobe house, you know, made of clay and bricks. Palm leaves for thatch roofs, but they are cooking in there. There are cute little puppies and kittens running around, and they have a beautiful variety for us. Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's been an amazing couple of days exploring the nature around Ella, but we're back at our hotel. We are drugged; they were tired. The rain has started to fall and it looks like it will continue for the next few hours. Then I am going to receive an Ayurvedic treatment. I'm just going to relax at the spa.

But if you haven't already, be sure to like this video, share it with your fellow travelers, subscribe to Vagabrothers, and check out the rest of the Sri Lanka videos. We've done a lot of really cool things and tomorrow we're heading south to hit the surf beaches, which should be epic. So hang in there and as always, stay curious, keep exploring and we'll see you down the road. Peace.