THE

CEYLON GOVERNMENT RAILWAY

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

THE attractions of Ceylon are manifold and appeal to a variety Attractions of tastes and needs. First of all the economic conditions of Ceylon of the country are encouraging to the capitalist who devotes his energies to tropical agriculture; tea, rubber, cocoa, cardamoms, and coconuts flourish remarkably and seldom fail to yield an abundant return to the careful investor. Many people visit Ceylon in search of health, or to escape the rigours of the European winter, and it is noticeable that the visit once made is often repeated. As a health resort Ceylon not only possesses a warm and equable climate, but the recommendation of complete change of scene. To the enervated European residents of the plains of India it is a veritable paradise; they are discovering that a visit to Kandy and Nuwara Eliya is not only a source of health but of enjoyment, and that it restores their vanished energies without the great expenditure of time and money involved in a voyage to Europe. To the leisured classes who travel the attractions of Ceylon are perhaps the greatest, and it is satisfactory to be able to assure them that consideration for their comfort and convenience is always increasing. The northern section of the railway has added immensely to the opportunities of the visitor, who can now explore the most remarkable antiquities in the world with a reasonable expenditure of time and in perfect comfort. Every leisured taste can be gratified whether it be antiquarian, æsthetic, ethnological, entomological, botanical or sporting; and when it is considered that the gratification of such tastes can be accomplished in such an agreeable climate and during a period when the very opposite conditions prevail in Europe it is almost a wonder that any who can avail themselves of these opportunities fail to do so.

B

Climate

Temperature

Rainfall

Monsoons

Wettest months

Not the least of its attractions are the great variety and choice of climate that Ceylon affords. Fortunately the best months for visiting the country are those which in Europe are the most disagreeable. The recent extensions of the railway system in rendering the ruined cities easily and comfortably accessible have made Ceylon more than ever a desirable retreat during winter months; and if it has not yet rivalled Egypt in popularity the circumstance is due less to its climate and attractions than its distance. For general salubrity it is unrivalled in the East. Notwithstanding the variety of temperature to be met with at various stations and elevations, the equability of each is remarkable, and stands in great contrast to the fickleness of European weather. Classification of the climate of Ceylon is easy: (i.) moist and hot but tempered by cool sea breezes, with a temperature of 75° to 85° F. as in most of the maritime provinces, including the towns of Negombo, Colombo, Kalutara, Galle and Matara; (ii.) hot and dry, as the north-west coast and the peninsula of Jaffna; (iii.) humid and warm, as in the hilly regions bordering the great mountain belt, with a shade temperature of 75° F. by day and 70° F. by night; and (iv.) temperate, as in the tea districts of the mountain zone, where the shade temperature averages by day from 70° to 65° F. according to elevation, aspect and other causes. The annual rainfall is less than 50 inches in Jaffna, the north-west, and the south-east; from 50 to 75 inches in the north-east; 75 to 100 inches in a belt of twenty miles width surrounding the mountain zone; and from 100 to 200 inches in the tea-country. The occurrence of rain can be anticipated with fair accuracy, and the seasons for heavy downpours regularly coincide with the change of the monsoons. From October to May north-east winds prevail; for the rest of the year the south-west monsoon blows continually. To the influence of these monsoons and the uniform temperature of the surrounding oceans the equable and temperate character of the Ceylon climate is mainly due. April, May, October and November are the wettest months. As much as 53 inches has been registered in Colombo during October and November; but the tourist will find the latter month not unfavourable for a sojourn in Ceylon. August and September are often delightful months in Ceylon, and although they do not suit the traveller from Europe, they are in favour with the European resident of India, Burmah and the Straits Settlements, who is beginning to find that a visit to Ceylon for health and pleasure is the most profitable within his reach.

It is perhaps scarcely necessary to remark that there are no seasons in Ceylon as we know them in Europe; the difference in the hot districts lies between hot and a little hotter, and in more temperate districts between cool and a little cooler. Tennent,

66

in a passage that cannot be improved upon, says: 'No period Climate of the year is divested of its seed-time and its harvest in some part of the island; the fruit hangs ripe on the same branches that are garlanded with opening buds. But as every plant has its own period for the production of its flowers and fruit, each Flora month is characterised by its own peculiar flora. As regards the foliage of the trees, it might be expected that the variety of tints would be wanting which form the charm of a European landscape, and that all nature would wear one mantle of unchanging green. But, although in Ceylon there is no revolution of seasons, the change of leaf on the same plant exhibits colours as bright as those which tinge the autumnal woods of America. It is not the decaying leaves, but the fresh shoots, which exhibit these bright colours, the older are still vividly green, whilst the young are bursting forth; and the extremities of the branches present tufts of pale yellow, pink, crimson, and purple, which give them at a distance the appearance of a cluster of flowers."

It may be useful to the intending visitor to indicate the sort of weather he is likely to meet with at the various centres of interest in each of the months usually chosen for visiting Ceylon.

December

During December Colombo is in many respects pleasanter Climate in than at any other time of the year. It is cloudy and comparatively cool, and has an average rainfall of six inches for the month, which serves well to keep the vegetation at its best, and the golf links and other recreation grounds in good condition. The rain seldom keeps the visitor prisoner for more than a very few hours, while the longer intervals of fine weather are delightful. The same conditions apply to the south coast and to Kandy. In Nuwara Eliya the fine weather and the wet are about equal. Anurádhápurá expects wet days, but during the fine intervals is more attractive by reason of the lakes and pokunas being well filled with water. Jaffna is agreeable, and its well-tilled fields look smiling and pleasant.

January is on the whole a better month for the visitor. January The winds are dry and cool, and it is necessary in Colombo to avoid sitting in them when heated from exercise, or sleeping with windows open to the north. The nights are refreshing, and early morning exercise pleasant. It is a good month for visiting the many towns of interest on the south and southwest coasts. Kandy is cool and delightful and admits of sleep beneath the blanket, while in the mornings and evenings vigorous walking can be indulged in with pleasure. Nuwara Eliya has now a mean temperature of 56° F. Fires in the evening are comfortable, while the early mornings are often frosty. The rainfall here averages six inches during this month; but the fine days are glorious. Anurádhápurá has not definitely

Climate

February

March

arrived at its fine weather period, but is generally pleasant. It is perhaps sufficient to say that all the photographs in this book illustrating the ruins of the city were taken during the month of January. Jaffna is quite at its best and much cooler than in the later months.

In February Colombo is dry; the nights are cloudless and cool. In Kandy it is the finest month of the year; the days are bright and sunny, the early mornings cold, the evenings most agreeable and the nights dewy. Nuwara Eliya is also in its best mood, and is probably at this time as regards climate the pleasantest spot on the earth. February is also a good month for visiting Anurádhápurá, and quite the best for trips to Dambulla, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa. Jaffna is also fine, and although it is much warmer than in January it is not yet too hot to be pleasant.

In March the heat in Colombo increases rapidly, the earth receiving more heat than is lost by radiation and evaporation. The temperature rises to 87° F. during the day and seldom descends below 80° F. at night. There is consequently amongst Europeans a general exodus to the hills. Kandy is rather warmer than in February; the range of the thermometer has decreased and the morning air has lost its crispness; but the climate is pleasant and the month is a good one for the tourist. Nuwara Eliya is still delightful as in February, but with diminishing range of temperature, the nights being less cold. At the ruined cities the conditions are favourable to the visitor, the month being quite fine. Jaffna becomes hot, but not unbearably so, and the tourist should not leave it out of his itinerary.

First Glimpse of Ceylon

CHAPTER II

COLOMBO

To the end that this account of the facilities afforded by the Ceylon Government Railway may serve as a comprehensive handbook for the traveller, it will be useful here to give some account of the amenities of the port of arrival, and such information as will enable the steamship passenger to enjoy its many attractions to the best advantage.

The character of the first glimpse of Ceylon necessarily varies with the time of day and the atmospheric conditions that may be prevailing. During the north-east monsoon, from October to April, which is the best season for visiting Ceylon, the conditions are generally favourable, and the scene which unfolds itself to us if we are early risers, and have the good fortune to approach the coast at break of day, is one of unique beauty.

We behold first the mountain zone, sacred to tea production, First Glimpse of Ceylon rising in one mighty upheaval from the plains of Ceylon, and capped in the centre by the venerated peak named after our first parent. The mists are as yet lying in the valleys, and the cool blue tones above them give us the true contour of those fertile mountains upon which millions of tea bushes are flourishing. At different elevations there are four extensive ledges which appear to rise abruptly from the base, and from these a number of lofty mountains raise their rugged brows to the height of 5,000 to 8,000 feet.

As we approach nearer and nearer we see the mists arise, attracted upwards by the rays of the rising sun, and a scene of verdant loveliness is disclosed which stands in welcome contrast to the parched and barren shores we have left behind at Suez and Aden. The mountains are now lost to view and the details of the beautiful palm-fringed shores gradually increase as we steam towards the harbour.

The harbour is formed of three artificial breakwaters, enclosing an area of 660 acres. Some idea of the masses of water that are hurled against these concrete walls during the fury of the monsoons may be gathered from our illustration..

OF THE COLOMBO HARBOUR.