Discover Sri Lanka

The group flight arrives at Colombo's Bandaranaike Airport and we transfer to

our hotel approximately 30 minutes away. Those not flying with the group will

meet us at the hotel.

We depart after breakfast for the drive (approx. 4 hours) through lush green

countryside (a mix of coconut palms, paddy fields and banana plantations)

through Kurunegala to Dambulla. Here we visit the magnificent Cave Temple,

for some, the most impressive sight in Sri Lanka. There are colourful, well

preserved paintings and statues of Buddha inside the caves, which date back

to the 1st century BC. After lunch we continue to Sigiriya where we stay for

the night. From our hotel we can see Lions Rock rising up from the plains

(occasionally we may stay nearer to Dambulla due to hotel availability).

This morning we drive to the foot of the Lions Rock at Sigiriya. The imposing

5th century rock fortress of Sigiriya rises 600 feet from the plains

overlooking the surrounding countryside and giving far-reaching views. Used

as a safe haven from invaders, the route to the top goes via a series of

steep steps and gangways. From the base, where a moat surrounds impressive

water gardens, we ascend 200m, passing an overhanging rock under which superb

portraits of native maidens holding flowers and temple offerings still adorn

the rock wall. Crowning the flat-topped summit of the rock are extensive

remains of the King's Summer Palace.

During the afternoon, there is a chance to enjoy an optional game drive in

either Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park or the Hurulu Eco Park to see

elephants in their natural habitat. For those who don’t want to take part,

there is time to relax at the hotel.

This morning we have a short drive to Giritale where our usual hotel

overlooks the scenic Giritale Tank. The island’s early inhabitants solved

the dual problem of heat and lack of water in this dry area by constructing

large tanks to act as reservoirs and cool the warm breeze. Nowadays they

provide an important habitat for bird life, particularly from August to

April. Today we take to bikes and cycle at a leisurely pace through a series

of small villages and lakes (if you do not wish to participate you can hire

a tuk tuk locally for approximately £10 per tuk tuk and follow the group but

not cycle). We should see plenty of bird life including Egrets, Brahmany

kites, Kingfishers and Bulbuls. Stopping for lunch in a traditional village

will break up the journey. In the late afternoon we return to our hotel in

Giritale.

After breakfast, we take a short drive to the 10th century capital of Sri

Lanka; Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of the Sinhalese. Here there are many

Buddhist relics and ruins dating from a thousand years ago when Sinhalese

culture reached its zenith. The city flourished in the 12th century after the

decision was made to move the capital from Anuradhapura, so it was further

away from incursions from Southern India. The ruins are therefore younger and

better preserved than those at Anuradhapura. We visit many of the temples,

palaces, huge dagobas (Buddhist stupas) and remarkable Buddhist sculptures.

After lunch, we head into the hills to the picturesque town of Kandy. On the

way we stop at a spice garden near Matale where we can see various spices and

herbs growing, and there is a chance to stock up on massage oils, spices and

Ayurvedic medicines. This is a long but fascinating day and we arrive at

Kandy in the early evening.

Kandy is located by a small lake and we spend two full days in and around the

town. On the first day, we will visit the Temple of the Tooth, which houses

Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic. The Tooth of Buddha was taken from

the funeral pyre in 543 BC and only found its way to Sri Lanka in the 4th

century AD. There are literally hundreds of worshippers who visit the temple

each day and in August the most spectacular ceremony takes place. Some of our

trips in August should coincide with the Kandy festival, but the exact dates,

decided by priests, are not known until 5 months prior to the event. After

our visit, we drive to a beautiful viewpoint over Kandy overlooked by a huge

Buddha, and visit a gem museum where you can see the products of the

traditional methods of gem extraction. Another highlight is the vast

Peradeniya Botanical Garden with species of orchid that are endemic to Sri

Lanka. In the evening, we may have the chance to attend a performance of

dancing and fire walking.



The second day is free to explore this wonderful town. The surrounding hills

are wonderful, offering fantastic views of the town below and there are many

handicraft stores and antique shops in which to browse.

Leaving Kandy early, we have a spectacular drive through the countryside on

the way to Kitulgala. Here we have the opportunity of going on a walk through

the jungle or local villages followed by an optional white water rafting

excursion. The rafting costs extra (see the Optional Excursions section),

lasts a maximum of 1.5 hours and there is a choice of gentle or wild water

(grade 3 rapids) depending on your preference. Those of us who do not wish to

go rafting will be able to freshen up and relax by the water until the

rafters return in time for lunch. Afterwards we will drive to our hotel in

Nuwara Eliya.

(Please note that from the full moon day of December to the full moon day of

May it is possible to climb Adams Peak. This is optional and you need to be

very fit to attempt this. You would leave Nuwara Eliya around midnight on day

8 and drive to the base of the peak. The drive takes approximately 2 hours.

From here it is a strenuous 4 hour climb to the top in time for sunrise. We

then return to Nuwara Eliya to join the group for lunch on day 9).

This morning we will have free time to explore the beautiful town of Nuwara

Eliya. Nuwara Eliya was a popular hill station during the British era and is

situated in the cool highland air at 1890m. Known locally as 'Little England'

it is dotted with British style houses and parks and features a golf club and

a racecourse! Following lunch, we will visit a nearby tea factory and learn

about the process of tea production.

We have an early start this morning and take a 30km drive south to Horton

Plains, a large plateau over 2,000m high, overlooked by the second and third

highest peaks in Sri Lanka. The scenery is beautiful and the best way to

explore is on foot. We take a guided walk through the rolling grasslands

where we hope to see such as the Sambur and Purple Faced monkey. We also

visit 'World's End', which is one of the most stunning sights in Sri Lanka

where the ground drops 1050m to the plains. Following this, we catch a train

from the highest railway station in the country - within an hour and a half

we drop from 1889m to 1097m. The train travels through the cloud forest into

the tea plantations, with breath-taking views of the lush valley below.

Please note that at times, particularly in peak season, the train may be

extremely busy with standing room only. As a result, you may get a choice

between taking the train or going by road, and in extreme cases the leader

may decide that the whole group should go by road and avoid the train. We

get off at Bandarawela, a town relatively untouched by tourism.

Today we continue on to Ella Gap where we have spectacular views of the

coastal plain nearly 1,000m below. Almost the entire southern part of the

island is in view and on a particularly clear day, the shimmering silver of

the Indian Ocean is visible. Heading south out of the hills we travel to

Kataragama on the plains; this is our base for visiting Sri Lanka's best

known national park, Yala. The park is popular for elephant, leopard, bear,

crocodile and Wild boar. At 97,800 hectares, this is the second largest of

Sri Lanka's national parks. Its open undulating terrain made it famous for

elephants for many years, but recently the park has also become better known

for leopard. The park, which is primarily shrub jungle with several salt and

fresh water lagoons, has one of the highest concentrations of leopard per

square kilometre in the world. (Please note that the sanctuary may be closed

for 4-6 weeks from September to October allowing the park authorities to

check the welfare of the animals. We therefore go to an alternative area

close by, usually Udawalawe National Park).

Today we leave for the coast, with its beautiful palm fringed bays. Stopping

on the way at Hambantota and walking to a nearby farm house where you'll be

offered tea in a coconut shell along with a local snack. We will mix with

real Sri Lankan life and take part in some traditional Sri Lankan games,

returning to our bus in tractors used by the farmers. Continuing on to

Ahangama, in the afternoon we arrive at our coastal hotel and you can relax

for the rest of the day.

Today is a free day to relax on the beach or by the hotel pool. There are

also optional activities during the day including a boat ride through

mangrove swamps to a cinnamon plantation or, from November to April you can

go whale watching off Dondra head, one of the best places in the world for

seeing Blue and Sperm whales. Huge pods of dolphins are also often seen

playing alongside the boats.

We set off today and drive along the coastal road to the historic port of

Galle, which dates back to the 17th century, and now a UNESCO world heritage

site. On the way, we stop at a small folk museum inspired by the local writer

Martin Wickramasinghe. The museum is a typical house from the Koggala region

and is set amongst beautiful gardens. We continue along the expressway to

Colombo reaching our hotel in the late afternoon.

The trip ends after breakfast. Those on the group flights will be taken to

the airport in time for their flight home