| Day: |
Description: |
| 1 |
COLOMBO / NEGOMBO:
Arrive and transfer to our hotel in the beach resort of Negombo. |
| 2 |
NEGOMBO - ANURADHAPURA:
Visit the ancient city of Panduwasnuwara and the fascinating ancient rock fortress of Yapahuwa. Continue to Anuradhapura where we spend the night. |
| 3 |
ANURADHAPURA:
Cycle tour of the sacred city of Anuradhapura, the cradle of Sinhala civilisation. The route is flat and easy with many shaded areas to rest and exquisite temples to visit. In the afternoon we visit Mihintale with its superb views across the plains. |
| 4 |
ANURADHAPURA - POLONNARUWA - KAUDULLA:
Continue to Polonnaruwa. We spend the afternoon searching for wild elephants in Kaudulla or Minneriya National Parks. |
| 5 |
POLONNARUWA - SIGIRIYA:
Explore the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, with its immense Buddhas carved from the rock. Later continue to Sigiriya, an extraordinary citadel built on top of an immense rock. We climb to the top to visit the fortress and view the superb frescoes painted on the walls. The views are stunning. Continue to Dambulla where we spend the night. |
| 6 |
DAMBULLA - KANDY:
Morning visit to the magnificent Buddhist caves of Dambulla. We then drive to the old capital of Kandy in the Central Highlands, stopping en route at a spice garden. In the late afternoon we watch a performance of traditional Kandyan dancing which may include dancers in a trance walking on hot coals, and visit the Temple of the Tooth to experience a pooja (worship) ceremony. |
| 7 |
KANDY:
Morning city tour of Kandy. Free afternoon with the chance to visit the botanical gardens. |
| 8 |
KANDY - NUWARA ELIYA:
Travel through the Ramboda Pass surrounded by green hills covered with tea. We reach Nuwara Eliya, an old British hill-station where the afternoon is free for you to explore; perhaps hike to Lover’s Leap on the edge of town or take afternoon tea in the colonial Hill Club. |
| 9 |
NUWARA ELIYA - WORLD’S END - BELIHULOYA:
We hike along the hilly slopes through montane forests and tea plantations to World’s End. Here the ground drops beneath your feet and there are stunning views out across the plains below you. We end our day in Belihuloya. |
| 10 |
BELIHULOYA:
Continue hiking through lovely scenery of tea plantations, paddy fields and villages to the Bambarakanda Falls - the highest in Sri Lanka. There is the chance to take a dip in the pool at the bottom before continuing to a small village where we enjoy lunch with a local family. |
| 11 |
BELIHULOYA - TANAMALWILA:
We visit the Elephant Transit Home, a successful exercise to introduce orphaned baby elephants back into their natural habitats. We spend the night camping. |
| 12 |
KANTANAMALWILA - BENTOTA:
We visit the World Heritage site of the Galle Dutch Fortress before transferring to Bentota, a beach resort on Sri Lanka's beautiful south-west coast. We spend two nights in a small hotel situated in a peaceful position on a quiet lagoon which stretches into the sea. |
| 13 |
BENTOTA:
An exciting morning spent cycling through local villages and various vegetation including coconut, rubber and cinnamon. This afternoon there is the opportunity to enjoy river canoeing. |
| 14 |
BENTOTA - NEGOMBO:
Free morning to relax on the beach. In the afternoon we transfer back to Negombo. |
| 15 |
NEGOMBO / COLOMBO:
Tour ends after breakfast. |
Sri Lanka has just about everything the traveller could want - superb ancient sites, magnificent scenery, a delicious cuisine, incredibly friendly and welcoming locals and lovely white palm fringed beaches. We explore all of this and more on this comprehensive tour of Sri Lanka, the 'pearl of the Indian Ocean'.
