Day 1
Arrival at Colombo Airport and transfer to Sigiriya / Dambulla.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Sigiriya / Dambulla
Once you check in at your hotel relax the rest of the day, and enjoy the hotel and surrounding.
Day 2
After breakfast, leave for Anuradhapura for sightseeing and proceed to Mihintale to visit Buddhist monuments
Lunch at a restaurant.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura – the capital of Sri Lanka from the 04th Century B.C. to the end of the 10th Century A.D. was the most celebrated of Sri Lanka’s ancient ruined cities. The city’s greatest treasures are its dagobas constructed of bricks and are hemispherical in shape. The most notable of these dagobas are the Ruvanveliseya dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. and is 300 feet in diameter, the Jetawanarama is 370 feet and the Thuparama Dagoba is enshrined with the collarbone of the Buddha. The city’s most renowned relic is the sacred Bo Tree, which is said to have grown from a branch of the tree under which the Buddha gained Enlightenment. It was planted 2250 years ago and is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world.
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982
Day 3
After breakfast, leave for Sigiriya Rock Fortress, and proceeding to Polonnaruwa.
Lunch at a restaurant.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Sigiriya / Dambulla
Sigiriya - Home to the 5th century ‘Fortress in the Sky’ which is perhaps the most fantastic single wonder of the Island. It is also known as Lion Rock because of the huge lion that used to stand at the entrance to the fortress. Within its triple-moated defence, the huge rock rises to a sheer height of almost 500 feet. On its summit are the foundations of what was once a great and sumptuous palace and gardens complete with swimming pool. On one of the stairways, the only known ancient work of Sinhala secular painting survives in the form of frescoes of life-sized damsels in all the freshness and delicacy of their original colours.
Polonnaruwa - Polonnaruwa was the medieval capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to the 13th century AD. Great revival was achieved in the country, politically, economically and socially during the periods of kings Vijayabahu 1, Parakramabahu 1 and Nissankamalla. The monuments here are better preserved than at Anuradhapura - the previous capital. Parakramabahu 1 statue, royal palaces, audience halls, Vata-da-ge, Thuparama, Rankoth Vehera, Kiri Vehera, Gal Vihara, Lankathilaka vihara and Tivanka Image House are some of the interesting monuments here.
Day 4
After breakfast, visit Dambulla Cave Temples.
Thereafter leave for Kandy, having lunch at a restaurant and visiting a spice garden at Matale en-route.
Afternoon sightseeing tour of Kandy including visit Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya & gem museum.
Witness a cultural dance performance and also visit Temple of the Tooth Relic in the evening.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Kandy
Dambulla - Dambulla is famous for the five cave temples on a rock. The first three caves are better, older and larger than the other two. Some caves date back to the 1st century BC. All the five cave walls and ceilings are covered with Buddhist murals and there are more than 130 Buddha statues. Statues of gods and kings are also found here.
Spice Gardens at Matale - See the plants of luscious cinnamon, cardamom, pepper etc. You can also purchase your requirements of spices. Afterwards visit a Batik factory where you can see the manufacture of beautiful Batik prints and also purchase a wide variety of Batik items.
Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya – Started in 1374 as a pleasure garden of the kings of Kandy, 147 acres in extent, it has more than 4,000 species of rare and endemic trees and plants as well as flora from the tropical world. This is a haven not only for scientists but to every nature lover too. The Spice Garden and Orchid House within the Gardens are popular with tourists.
Day 5
After breakfast, visit the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawela
Thereafter leave for Nuwara Eliya en route visit a Tea Plantation and a Tea Factory.
Afternoon sightseeing tour Nuwara Eiya
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Nuwara Eiya
Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage - Off Colombo-Kandy road is Pinnawela, where an orphanage was started in 1975 to house abandoned and wounded elephants. The number of elephants has increased to more than 65 now, including baby elephants brought from various parts of the Island as well as those born as a result of the captive breeding programme. The best times to visit is the feeding time and bathing time - when all the elephants are taken to the river close by.
Tea Plantations - Tea was first planted in Sri Lanka in 1824 at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, when a few plants were brought from China. More were introduced from Assam in 1839. In 1867, a Scottish planter named James Taylor planted tea seedlings in 8 hectares of forestland in the Loolkondura Estate. In 1873, the tea export industry of Sri Lanka began with a modest 23 lbs. being shipped to London. Today more than 200,000 hectares in highlands and other areas are under tea and around 300 million kilograms (25% of world tea exports) are exported by Sri Lanka as the world’s largest tea exporter. Tea grows only on rolling terrain and is classified by elevation into Low Grown, Medi um Grown & High Grown.
Nuwara Eliya - The ‘Little England’ of Sri Lanka, is set against beautiful backdrops of mountains, valleys, waterfalls and tea plantations and is 6,200 feet above sea level. In 1826 some British Officers out on hunting, discovered Nuwara Eliya plains, and Sir Edward Barnes developed it. In 1828 a road was constructed over the ridge at Ramboda Pass and a station for convalescent soldiers was established. It was Sir Samuel Baker who fell under the spell of Nuwara Eliya, brought hounds, horses, cattle, sheep etc. and started a typical English farm here. Flowers and vegetable were brought from England and planted. It is supposed to be one of the coldest places on the Island, but is really just like an England spring day although the temperature does drop at night. The Victoria Park, in the middle of the town, is a lovely place for a stroll or a picnic. Seasons may be absent elsewhere in Sri Lanka, but here you can read them by the flowers, which bloom during spring (March to May) and the fall (August and September).
Day 6
After breakfast, leave for Tissamaharama. En route visit Rawana Water Fall
Lunch at a restaurant.
After lunch, jeep safari at Yala National Park.
Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight stay in Tissamaharama / Yala
Tissamaharama - The ancient capital of the province of Ruhuna, to which Sinhalese patriots rallying support against Indian invaders fled. No systematic excavation of the known (and unknown) archaeological sites of Ruhuna has yet been undertaken. The exposed monuments consists of Menik, Yatala, Tissamaharama and Sandagiriya dagobas and the large-pillared hall close to Yatala Dagoba supposed to be the temple where the Sacred Forehead Relics of the Buddha was kept until it was enshrined at the Tissamaharama Dagoba.
Yala National Park - Yala National Park is famous for big herds of elephants, large number of leopards, spotted deer, sambar, crocodiles, mongoose, wild boars, wild buffaloes and many other animals. More than 130 bird species have been recorded which include the resident birds and winter visitors. The common birds found here are spot-billed pelicans, cormorants, egrets, spoonbills, herons, storks, ibises, bitterns, Indian moorhens, white-breasted water hens.
Day 7
After breakfast, proceed for Beach Stay or to Colombo Airport for departure flight en route visit stilt fisherman in Ahangama, city tour of Galle and visit a Turtle hatchery in Kosgoda.
Lunch at a restaurant
Evening check in to the selected beach hotel, or to Colombo Airport for departure flight.
Galle - The south coast’s major city is Galle, whose oldest landmark is the massive Dutch Fort which is a ‘World Heritage Site’ in which the central city is contained. But the city may be much older. Some scholars believe it to be the ‘Tarshish’ of the Old Testament, to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels and to which Jonah fled from the Lord. Today, the 90-acre Galle Dutch Fort shows no evidence of its Portuguese founders. The Dutch incorporated the Portuguese northern wall in a great rampart in 1663. A second, taller wall was built inside of it. Between the two walls, a covered passage connected the central bastion with the fort’s two half bastions overlooking the sea. The Dutch also installed a sophisticated drainage system, complete with brick-lined underground sewers that were flushed twice a day by the high and low tides. The original gate to the fort was by the harbour. It is still there, marked by the British Coat-of-Arms on the front and the Dutch V. O. C. (Vereenigde Oost indische Compagnie) with the Coat-of-Arms with a rooster crest on the inner side of the fort.
END OF TOUR