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Island Explore Tour – 10 Days / 9 NightsA full and detailed sightseeing tour of Sri Lanka in a relaxed fashion will require an itinerary lasting about 9/10 days. This Sri Lanka holiday tour package includes visits to all of major sights of archaeological, historic and scenic interest. Experience Yala National Park Sri Lanka’s most popular wild life safari park followed by a relax on the beach.Tour is our best selling holiday package and offers a complete round tour of Sri Lanka. This is an independent Sri Lanka tour and can tailor to your specific needs.
Cost includes:- Cost does not include:- Day 1: Airport – Colombo
Upon arrival at the Colombo airport your driver/guide will welcome you and escort you to your Colombo hotel (35km – transfer time 45 minutes). Your itinerary begins in the afternoon with a city tour, taking in the delights of this vibrant and fascinating city, which contrasts its blend of east and west and its colonial past and thriving present. Meander through the commercial and city centre area known as the “Fort”, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Tour the bustling markets of Pettah. You would also be taken to spots like town hall, Independence square, the B.M.I.C.H (International Convention Centre) and Cinnamon gardens residential region. The former capital Colombo, the only gateway to the splendid island and the commercial and business centre is the city of happening in Sri Lanka. Colombo is dotted with many interesting and important tourist attractions including colonial era buildings. The main shopping center for the locals is Pettah where the markets are busy and bustling. The main branch of Laksala, Sri Lanka’s largest handicrafts shop is at Fort. More up market shopping destinations are towards the south of the city center along the Galle Road. Majestic City, Liberty Plaza and Crescat are popular among the locals where you could find handicrafts, tea and garments. Odel at Lipton Circus offers good quality items such as clothes, shoes, tea, books and leather goods in a fashionable setting. Sri Lanka is one of the largest producers of garments. There are many locations dotted around the city selling good export quality garments. Shoppers should be aware of cheap imports that has flooded some of these outlets recently. Be careful with gem buying. The State Gem Corporation will examine, free of charge, gems purchased elsewhere, but if they prove to be fakes the Corporation can do nothing to help you get your money back. Sri Lanka mines sapphires, rubies, garnets, aquamarines, zircons and alexandrites, but has no diamonds or emeralds. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo OR Galle Face Hotel, Colombo Day 2: Colombo – Sigiriya
After having your breakfast move on to Dambulla (148km – transfer time 4 hours) en route visiting the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela. See baby jumbos wondering around their cramped foster home or bottle fed and bathed by their human foster fathers at Pinnawala, about 90km from Colombo towards Kandy is the home to some 60 or more elephant orphans. A place you will really enjoy and never forget. Most orphans are accustomed to their curious human visitors are harmless. Ride to Dambulla will be continued and you will also visit Dambulla Rock Temple. The temple holds a magnificent gallery of Buddha images. Wall and ceiling paintings are not seen anywhere else in the Island. It is a complex of five cave temples with its origin harking back to the Anuradhapura period (1st century BC). However due to refurbishments undertaken by various rulers over the past two thousand years what now remains is mostly work done in the Kandyan period (18th century). The rest of your day is at leisure. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Amaya Lake Hotel, Dambulla OR Hotel Sigiriya, Sigiriya Day 3: Sigiriya Rock – Polonnaruwa
Have a leisurely breakfast and then journey to Sigiriya; (24km – transfer time 30minutes) which owes its glory to the vision of King Kashyapa. The monarch erected this ‘Palace in the Sky’ in the 5th century AD. On the top of the Sigiriya rock (meaning the ‘Lion Rock’) are the remnants of a large palace, which is the earliest surviving royal building in Sri Lanka. The palace has several chambers and a bathing pond. In a pocket of the giant rock are the celebrated paintings of 5th century. The Mirror Wall, which had been exposed to elements for more than fifteen centuries still, has some of the original sheen. This archaeological site has been declared a World Heritage Site. Proceed to Habarana (25km – transfer time 30minutes) for an elephant ride. Do not miss the chance of lifetime ride through the jungle on an elephant’s back – a whole different experience from the traditional transportation methods – jeep or other vehicle. We continue journey to Polonnaruwa (45km – transfer time 45minutes) Watch the charm of mediaeval Sri Lanka at Polonnaruwa. Polonnaruwa served the Sri Lankan kings as a ‘country residence’ from the 7th century. Within the contours of the Royal Citadel are the remnants of the King’s palace, the Council Chamber and the Royal Bath. The Buddha images at the Gal Vihara or the Rock Temple are wonderful examples of stone sculpture. Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama is a colossal man made irrigation reservoir. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Amaya Lake Hotel, Dambulla OR Hotel Sigiriya, Sigiriya Day 4: Sigiriya – Kandy
Have your breakfast and then move on to Kandy (75km – transfer time 1 hours) . Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka is a major tourist destination. ( 115kM from Colombo at 465 meters above sea level). Famous for the Temple of the Tooth and many other temples the city could be called the cultural capital of the island. Kandy Perahera, the pageant of the temple of tooth where Buddha’s tooth is kept is held either in July or August each year to parade the golden caskets is a must see itenary if one is visiting Sri Lanka during these months. The final night procession is the most spectacular event of the country. More than 50 elephants parade the city accompanied by the drummers, dancers and chieftains. The city established in the 15th century was the last royal capital where 2500 years of royal rule ended. This bustling market town is rich in cultural diversity has plenty of iteneries to offer to the tourists from songs dances and handy crafts to ancient temples and adventure activities. Kandy is a good transit point to the cultural triangle to the north or hill country to the south. The city is also a good source of souvenirs or to experience many cultural performances at it’s various hotels in the city. The name Kandy conjures visions of a storied past, splendour, legend, folklore, mystery and traditions lovingly kept alive for countless years. In the evening visit the celebrated Temple of the Tooth, famed for housing Buddha’s tooth relic, followed by a traditional Kandyan dance performance. Kandy is known for its antiques, but anything made earlier than this century cannot be legally exported. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Amaya Hills Hotel, Kandy OR Hotel Suisse, Kandy Day 5: Kandy – Nuwara Eliya
Following breakfast, we travel the short journey south to Peredeniya on the banks of the Mahaweli Ganga to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens were first planted and laid out for King Kirthi Sri Rajasingha (1747-1780) and cover some 150 acres with lawns, flowering shrubs and in excess of 10,000 trees and 4,000 plant species. During British rule in 1821, the Royal Gardens became a botanical garden. Here, exotic crops such as coffee, tea, rubber and cinchona (quinine) were all tested and now form a large part of Sri Lanka’s economy. Then you have a thrilling opportunity to take an optional train ride, from the rail station at Gampola approx. 45 minutes drive outside Kandy, to Nanu Oya station and thereafter continue to Nuwara Eliya by road, 6,000 feet above sea level (80km – transfer time 3 hours), we experience a perennial spring-like climate. This area is famed for its tea plantations, cascading waterfalls and its colonial buildings many resembling old English cottages. We visit a typical Sri Lankan tea plantation and a working tea factory. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya Day 6: Horton Plains
After breakfast excursion to Horton plains which is located on a high windswept saddle at about 2134 meters above the sea level. The plains are an expanse of misty grassland with scraggy trees and ice-cold rivulets. Visit the World’s End, considered to be the finest view in all of Sri Lanka. The awesome escarpment drops vertically for about 4,000 feet, hence its name. You can also see the beautiful Backer’s falls. (walk is about 14 km). The park shelters mammals such as Sambhur, Leopard and endemic Bear Monkies. This area is a home for over 20 endemic bird species including Sri Lanka’s Whistling Thrush, Orange-billed Babbler and Yellow-eared Bulbul. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya Day 7: Nuwara Eliya – Yala
After breakfast move on to the deep- south and take a jeep safari for touring Yala National Park (195km – transfer time 4 ½ hours). The park has many rocky outcrops, fresh water tanks, brackish lagoons and breathtaking dry zone landscape. The southeastern boundary of Yala is the coastline with an untouched beach. The northeastern boundary is the manik ganga river. The Yala reserve has large open areas and water holes which serve as feeding grounds for many animals such as elephants, leopards, deer, wild buffaloes, wild boar, many varieties of birds, crocodiles etc. The most prominent geophysical feature of Yala is its many areas of outcropping bedrock, some largeenough to be mini rocky ranges. These provide resting places and breeding grounds to the leopard and the Sri Lankan sloth bear. The sloth bear is very fond of fruits. However never try to feed it yourself. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Yala Village Hotel, Yala OR Peacock Beach Hotel, Hambantota Day 8 and 9: Bentota
After breakfast leave for Bentota (245km – transfer time 5 hours) for two nights beach stay en route visiting the Old Dutch city of Galle. Galle The port of Galle, throughout by some to be the Biblical city of Tarshish, splendidly illustrates the solidity of the Dutch presence in Sri Lanka. The 36-hectare (89 acre) Dutch Fort, built in 1663, has withstood the ravages of time. Its massive ramparts surround the promontory that forms the older part of Galle, and shelters within its walls sturdy Dutch houses, museums and churches. This area has a quiet, relaxed atmosphere that seems almost detached from the flow of history. The New Oriental Hotel, built for Dutch governors in 1684, is a colonial gem with a wonderfully atmospheric bar. Nearby is a tiny sliver of a beach suitable for a dip, though most travelers prefer to head along the coast to the fine beaches at Unuwatuna, Weligama and Tangalla. Dinner and overnight hotel accommodation: Bentota Beach Hotel, Bentota OR Hotel Serendib, Bentoa Day 10: Bentota – AirportAfter breakfast you will be escorted to the airport in good time for your flight home (96km – transfer time 2 1/2 hours). |
