The main focus of the tour is to explore the island’s rich history, tea growing hills and palm-fringed south coast. The explorer would marvel at the ruins, architecture and the irrigation system that symbolizes the ancient civilization of Sri Lanka which dates back to 5th century B.C. Giving way to the tropical climate, the tour takes you to salubrious hill capital Kandy and picturesque Nuwaraeliya nestled at the foot of hills. The ‘elephant pilgrimage’ includes visits in between to the Elephant Orphanage and watching elephants in wilderness at Minneriya National Park. In the end, tour offers you a complete sense relaxation and enjoyment by the side of the secluded Indian Ocean in the southern coastal belt.
Day 01 | Airport / Colombo
Traditional welcome on arrival at the Colombo Airport. Transfer to your Hotel in Colombo. Afternoon, do a city tour of Colombo.
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s commercial capital and sea-port and until recently its administrative capital, is a blend of old and new, east and west. A city which has many reminders of its European colonial past. Bustling bazaars, Buddhist and Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques contrast with high rises, smart modern Shopping Malls and multi- national chain hotels. Sightseeing highlights include the old parliament houses, Buddhist Temple, Town Hall, and the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall. Apart from excellent shopping, Colombo offers visits to one of the worlds leading tea auctions, an 18 hole Golf Course, seasonal Buddhist and Hindu pageants., international cricket tournaments, plush casinos, enjoyable evening entertainment and excellent restaurants. State-of-the-Art communications and Cyber services are available in the hotels and other outlets.
Overnight: Hotel in Colombo
Day 02 | Colombo / Pinnawela / Sigiriya / Dambulla
After breakfast, leave for Sigiriya en route visiting an Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela.
PINNAWELA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE – At This Orphanage you will find elephants of all ages, which were abandoned or orphaned. They are been looked after with loving care until such time they are ready to work or be freed back to the jungles. The unique feature of this place is that one could feed the baby elephants with bottles of milk during the feeding times. Pinnawela is a paradise for the elephant photographers.
Proceed to Sigiriya and climb the rock fortress.
SIGIRIYA – a massive monolith of red stone rises 600 feet from the green scrub jungle to accentuate the lucid blue of the sky. How overpowering, then, this rock fortress of Sigiriya must have been when a palace crowned it 15 centuries ago. At the brief height of its glory, a flowering of only 18 years in the late 5th Century, it was one of the loveliest royal cities that ever graced the earth. And today, it is perhaps the single most remarkable memory for visitors to Sri Lanka. beautiful bare-breasted maidens still smile from incredible fresco paintings. Surrounding the foot of the rock, extending for several hundred meters, are Asia’s oldest surviving landscape gardens, incorporating lovely ponds around Sigiriya’s plinth of fallen boulders.
Check in at your hotel & relax.
Overnight: Hotel in Dambulla / Sigiriya
Day 03 | Anuradhapura / Aukana
After breakfast, leave for Anuradhapura. En route visit the Aukana Buddha the magnificent 12 m high standing Buddha was sculpted in 5th century which carved out of the living rock. Couple of km away, the gigantic Kalawewa Tank, built in 400 AD which has a circumference of 64 km is located.
Anuradhapura -The largest and oldest of all Sri Lanka’s ancient cities, Anuradhapura is a fitting climax The largest and oldest of all Sri Lanka’s ancient cities, Anuradhapura is a fitting climax to any tour of the Cultural Triangle. Arguably, it takes a bit more effort to imagine it as it was more than 2000 years ago, with palaces and huge dagobas standing up to nine storeys high, a main processional avenue 24km (16 miles) long, and the richly decorated, ostentatious mansions of Sinhalese nobles and wealthy foreign merchants. Founded by King Pandukhabaya in 437BC, by the mid-3rd century BC Anuradhapura’s fame had spread as far as the Roman-Hellenistic world of the Mediterranean and by the 1st century AD it had established trade and diplomatic links with China. The Jetavana treasures, unearthed over the past 20 years
(some are now displayed in the partially completed Jetavanarama Museum, on site) show evidence of these links to east and west. Anuradhapura was the royal seat of more than 250 Buddhist and Hindu kings recorded in the royal genealogies, and the preeminent city on the island for some 1400 years.
If time permits, visit Mihintale,the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Return to your hotel & relax.
Overnight: Hotel in Dambulla / Sigiriya
Day 04 | Polonnaruwa / Minneriya
After breakfast in hotel leave for Polonnaruwa to visit the ruins of the old Kingdom.
POLONNARUWA – Polonnaruwa, which is located in the North Central province, was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to 13th century A.D. Along with Anuradhapura and Kandy, this ancient city forms one of the points of the “cultural triangle” of Sri Lanka, and contains a wealth of remarkable sites and monuments. Once the favorite country retreat of the royalty of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa was a key settlement even before the medieval period, largely due to its strategic location near the river crossings of the Mahaweli river.It was King Vijayabahu I who first established Polonnaruwa as the capital of his kingdom in 1055. The Visitor who travels the city from the south to the North will find the following monuments of perticular interest: Library Monastery, The Citadel and the palace complex and Vatadage.
Proceed to Minneriya.
Enjoy a jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park
MINNERIYA – Located between Habarana and POLONNARUWA, the 8890 hectares of MINNERIYA NATIONAL PARK is an ideal eco tourism location in Sri Lanka The park consists of mixed evergreen forest and scrub areas and is home to Sri Lanka ‘s favorites such as sambar deer, leopards and elephants. However the central feature of the park is the ancient Minneriya Tank (built in 3rd century AD by King Mahasena).During the dry season (June to September), this tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants who come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds (cormorants and painted storks to name a few) that come to fish in the shallow waters.
Proceed back to Dambulla .
Overnight: Hotel in Dambulla
Day 05 | Dambulla / Kandy
After breakfast, proceed to Dambulla and visit the cave temples
DABULLA – This World Heritage Site is one of the foremost centers of Buddhist pilgrimage as well as one of the largest cave temple complexes in South Asia. It is a major attraction for tourists and locals, who flock to see the dazzling and numerous rock and wall paintings of the Lord Buddha. The monastery itself was found in the .3rd century B.C. Of the numerous chambers found in the shelter, only five are in use today, the best known of which is the Maharaja Vihara.
Proceed to Kandy visiting a Spice Garden en-route.
Arrive in Kandy and do a city tour of Kandy which was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings which is a World Heritage Site. The name “Kandy” conjures visions of splendour and magnificence. Many of the legends, traditions and folklore are still lovingly kept alive. Drive around the Kandy Lake built by the last Sinhala king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1798. Visit the Kandy town and Bazaar, the arts and crafts centre, a gem museum and a lapidary. Evening visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic and witness a beautiful Cultural show.
Check in at your hotel & relax.
Overnight: Hotel in Kandy
Day 06 | Kandy / Nuwara Eliya
After breakfast, Proceed to Peradeniya and visit the Royal Botanical Gardens.
This Botanical Garden was first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and was expanded by the British. It is 147 acres in extent and provides an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers.
Leave for Nuwara Eliya. Visit to a Tea Plantation & a Tea Factory.
Nuwara-Eliya – Cool green mountain valley and the heart of Sri Lankan hill country boasts rolling hills interspersed with gushing streams and tumbling waterfalls. Popular summer resort famous for it’s tea plantations and golf links.
Check in at your hotel & relax.
Overnight: Hotel in Nuwara Eliya
Day 07 | Nuwara Eliya / Bentota
After breakfast, leave for Bentota.En-route visit the film location ‘Bridge on the River Kuwai’ at Kitulgala.
Check in at your hotel and relax.
Overnight: Hotel in Bentota
Day 08 | Bentota
After breakfast,spend a relaxing day on the beach.
Overnight: Hotel in Bentota
Day 09 | Bentota / Airport
After breakfast,transfer to Colombo airport for the depature flight.
