Upon arrival at airport in Sri Lanka, you will be warmly met by a representative, who will provide assistance and transfer to your accommodation to check-in.

Activities:

• Rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight: Sigiriya

Activities:

• After breakfast climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress which was built by king Kassapa in the 05thcentury A.D. and was a royal citadel for more than 18 years. The lion rock is a citadel of unusual beauty, rising 200 meters from the scrub jungle. The base of the rock is ringed by a moat and rampart and extensive gardens including the renowned water gardens see the world famous frescoes of the “heavenly maidens” of Sigiriya in a sheltered pocket of the rock.
• Afternoon continue to Minneriya, for a jeep a safari at the Minneriya National Park. Park which is about 8900 hectares in extent and is an ideal ecotourism location in Sri Lanka. The park consists of mixed evergreen forest and scrub area and is home to Sri Lanka’s favorites such as spotted deer, Sambar, leopards and elephants. However the central feature of the park is the ancient Minneriya Tank (built in the 3rd century). This tank is an incredible place to obse.rve the elephants which come to bathe in the water and graze on the grasses and the huge flocks of birds, cormorants and painted storks to name a few that come to fish in the shallow waters.
• Return to Sigiriya.

Overnight: Sigiriya – (B)

Activities:

• After breakfast leave for Dambulla and visit Dambulla Rock Cave temple. Dambulla cave temple is a vast isolated rock mass, which houses a rock temple (formally caves). Some of its frescoes are over 2000 years old and there is a colossal figure of recumbent Buddha carved out of the rock, some 14 meters long. Afternoon proceed to Kandy.
• Evening visit the temple of the tooth relic of Lord Buddha and then witness a cultural show.

Overnight: Kandy – (B)

Activities:

• After breakfast proceed to Pinnawala near Kegalle. At Pinnawela visit the elephant orphanage. This orphanage was set up by the government to rescue and rehabilitate .elephants from the jungles that have fallen in to pits dug up by poachers etc., to obtain tusks etc., at the elephant orphanage witness the feeding of elephants. The highlight of this event is to observe feeding of baby elephants using bottles of milk after feeding of the elephants they will be taken by foot to nearby river for their daily bath.
• Thereafter visit the ruined temples at Gadaladeniya, Embekke & Lankathilaka
• Gadaladeniya Temple: This site with an ancient monastery is found on the flat rock at Diggala in the district of Kandy. According to a inscription there this temple was built by King Buwanekabahu IV in the year 1344. The chief architect of this temple has been a south indian called Ganesvarachari. Therefore this temple is essentially a South Indian design. The main shrine room has seated (in Vajrasana) Buddha Statue under a Makara Thorana and four standing Buddha images. The makara thorana is decorated on both faces with gods such as Brahma, Suyama, Santhusuta, Natha and Maithree, and two attendants.
• Embekke Devala: The historic Embekke Devala was built in the 14th or 15th century, which tradition asserts, was the audience hall of the Gampola kings. This was later converted and dedicated to the Sinhalese war-god Kartikeya, better known as Kataragama Deviyo. In the ‘Dig-ge'(drumming hall) are to be found, sculptured in the panels of the wooden pillars and on the beams, conventional Sinhalese designs of the swan, the double headed eagle, the woman growing out of the vine, bacchanalian figures in characteristic pose, a wrestling pair, dancers and soldiers, men and women in fluent and graceful movement. These unique carvings display the skills of the ancient masters and bear testimony to the craftmenship of the school of the wood-sculptors of the period.
• Lankathilaka Viharaya, Kandy: was constructed in the 14th century AD by King Parakrambahu. It was revived later by Vijayabahu IV. Lankathilaka Viharaya, Kandy was made in the conventional Sinhalese way, it is one of the popular tourist destinations in Kandy which is worth visiting. This place is a dramatic building made out of clay brick. At one time it was a five-storied building, decorated with flowers, creepers, birds, animals and statues of gods. At the entrance of the building there are two huge pillars. Initially, the height of these pillars was almost twice the existing one.
• Return to Kandy. Enroute visit Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, & thereafter drive past the picturesque university campus premises and with a visit to the market place, a arts & crafts show room.
• Then drive along the upper lake road to get a panoramic view of the Kandy lake and its environs and Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic.

Overnight: Kandy – (B)

Activities:

• After breakfast leave for Nuwara Eliya enroute visit a Tea Estate and a Tea Factory. Arrive in Nuwara Eliya check-in at hotel.
• Afternoon commence a tour of Nuwara Eliya.
• Visit the Golf club & Golf course, the Hill Club to view its trophies,the market place & Hakgala botanical gardens.
• Prior to return to your hotel drive alongside Lake Gregory. Set in the heart of Tea country this beautiful town is where the British succeeded in creating an English countryside, with homes in style from Georgian to Queen Anne. Well kept lawns with hedges, an Anglican Church, and the famous golf course and beautiful parks give the place an air of nostalgia. Situated 1,890 meters above sea level, the air is cool and fresh – a serene retreat from the hustle and bustle of Colombo.

Overnight: Nuwara Eliya – (B)

Activities:

• Very early breakfast at hotel. Early morning leave for Horton plains.
• Arrive at the entrance to buy tickets & then hike along jungle trail to visit Bakers fall, Small & Big world’s ends.
• High up in the central hills of the island, nestling on a wild and windswept saddle at an elevation of 7200 feet where the bright and clear, the soft and misty change from moment to moment is one of Sri Lanka’s most forbidding yet fascinating and stupendously beautiful regions. As the name implies, here are a series of vast open plains rolling along as far as the eye could see, dipping now and then into misty vales and mossy, muddy marshes, often rising up again into pointed peaks and running into deeply wooded areas of moss covered forest. Vast jungle covered cliffs of awesome height & ice cold, crystal clear streams, pools and waterfalls mark her verdant face. The Horton plains grips you with her unique atmosphere and ever-changing character while you are there and then beckon you again with her cold, stark beauty when you have left her. Two of the main attractions are “worlds end” & “bakers falls” spectacular views are available in the world’s end where the plateau plunges into 2900 feet in a vertical drop. Due to the high elevation and wind swept areas Horton plains has unique vegetation and is famous for many rare and endemic highland birds.

Overnight: Nuwara Eliya – (B)

Activities:

• Morning leave for Negombo & upon arrival check-in at hotel.
• Afternoon visit Negombo fishing village. This little fishing port is a pleasure for the eyes with its fort and canals of the Dutch era. But still more interesting are the beautiful beaches where the fishermen live in houses made of coconut palm leaves and dry the fish they caught earlier that day. The colored boats and the outrigger-canoes or Oruvas sweeping in to the lagoon with their catch, the fish market, the Old Dutch churches that dot the landscape & canals that stretch for hundreds of kilometers are fascinating. It is worthwhile to go on a boat trip to the lagoon or one of the old canals dating back to the Dutch colonization.

Overnight: Negombo – (B)

Activities:

• Morning transfer to Colombo.
• Later, sightseeing in CMB.
• Drive through the commercial and city center known as the Fort, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century where grand colonial era buildings stand alongside modern office structures.
• See the vibrant markets and bazaars of Pettah, and the National Museum with its fine collection of lovely antiques and art of Sri Lanka.
• You could visit a Buddhist temple and a Hindu Kovil to experience the diversity of religion, ethnicity and customs of the people.
• Alternatively you may indulge in some shopping.

Overnight: Colombo – (B)

Departure: Transfer to the airport to board your onward flight. – (B)

Meals as per itinerary: (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)

We can personalize this tour just for you! Call: 1 800 263 2995 / 416 391 0334 or complete form