SRI LANKA THE DELIGHTFUL ISLAND

A fantastically varied holiday in the teardrop-shaped island of Sri-Lanka, the holiday offers fine combination of cultural highlight, Buddhist sights, wildlife and few days at leisure on the beautiful beach.

Duration : 12 Days/ 11 Nights
Best period : November to April

OUTLINE PROGRAMME

DAY 01 : Europe - Colombo
Arrival and transfer to Colombo. Check in at your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight stay in Colombo.

Travel distance and Time duration
Airport to Colombo - 40 K.M (45 minutes)

DAY 02 : Colombo - Anuradhapura
After breakfast enjoy a city tour of Colombo, like many capital cities in developing countries is fast changing its face. Almost overnight, skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood. Yet in some parts, the old world charm is retained. For example, there is a 100-year-old clock tower and several British built colonial buildings. Other places of interest are the Pettah bazaar - where one can shop for bargain, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple. Transfer to Anuradhapura. Check in at your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight stay at Anuradhapura

Travel distance and Time duration
o Colombo city tour - 30 K.M ( 02 hours with the sight seeing )
o Colombo to Anuradhapura - 210 K.M ( 04 hours )

DAY 03 : Anuradhapura - Sigiriya
After breakfast, visit Anuradhapura. It was the first capital and undoubtedly the grandest city of the ancient Sri Lanka. It is the home of two World Heritage sites. Many places of historical and archaeological interest could be visited. Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bo-Tree) was brought as a sapling of the tree under which Prince Siddhartha attained to enlightenment and it is over 2,200 years old and is the oldest historically documented tree in the world. At Brazen Palace (2nd century B.C), the 1600 stone columns you see are all that is left of a magnificent multistoried residence for monks. Ruwanweliseya (2nd century B.C) is the most famous of all the Dagobas. It originally depicted the perfect 'bubble shape" that modern restoration has not been able to accurately reproduce. 'Samadhi' Buddha statue (4th century AD) is one of the most famous statues, depicting the Buddha in a state of 'Samadhi' or deep meditation. Isurumuniya rock temple (3rd century B.C) is well known for its rock carvings. Transfer to Sigiriya via Habarana. En-route enjoys and optional elephant back ride at Habarana. Check in at your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure or enjoy an optional bird watching trail. Overnight stay at Sigiriya / Dambulla

Travel distance and Time duration
o Anuradhapura city tour - 40 K.M ( 03 hours with the sight seeing )
o Anuradhapura to Sigiriya - 90 K.M ( 02 hours )

DAY 04 : Sigiriya
After breakfast transfer to visit Polonnaruwa, which was the 2nd capital city of Sri Lanka built in the 11th and 12th centuries AD, and which is a world heritage site.Here you can see the ruins of the Royal Palace, the Gal Viharaya where 4 splendid statues of the Buddha in 'Upright', 'Sedentary' and 'Recumbent' postures carved out of rock could be seen, the Audience Hall, the Lotus Bath, the statue of king Parakramabahu, and the Parakrama Samudraya - a lake built by King Parakramabahu the great. There are also monuments of famous places of worship such as the Shiva Temple, the Lankathilake, the Watadage, the Galpotha, the Kiri Vehera and the remains of a former Temple of the Tooth Relic. Return to the hotel. Rest and in the late afternoon climb the 5th century Sigiriya rock fortress which is a world heritage site, built by King Kashyapa (477-495 AD). The 'Lion Rock' is a citadel of unusual beauty rising 200 metres from the scrub jungle. The rock was the innermost stronghold of the 70 hectare fortified town. A moat, rampart, and extensive gardens including the renowned water gardens ring the base of the rock. Visit the world-renowned frescoes of the 'Heavenly Maidens' of Sigiriya, which are in a sheltered pocket of the rock approached by a spiral stairway. These frescoes are painted in earth pigments on plaster. Overnight stay at Hotel Sigiriya / Dambulla

Travel distance and Time duration
o Polonnaruwa excursion with the city tour - 150 K.M ( 05 hours with the sight seeing )
o Sigiriya visit - ( 02 hours )

DAY 05 : Sigiriya - Dambulla - Kandy
After breakfast transfer to Dambulla. King Walagambahu has built Dambulla rock temple in the 1st century B.C. and it is a world heritage site. Also, it is the most impressive of Sri Lanka's cave temples. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. metres of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of paintings found in the world. It contains over 150 images of the Buddha of which the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha carved out of rock and spanning 14 metres. After the visit transfer to Kandy. En-route visit a spice garden in Matale to see different spices for which Sri Lanka is famous for. Here, clients could see different spices and how some of these spices are grown and processed. Check in at your hotel. Overnight stay at Kandy.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Dambulla Visit - ( 01 ½ hours with the sight seeing )
o Spice Garden visit - ( 01 hour ) o Sigiriya to Kandy - 80 ( 02 hours )

DAY 06 : Excursion to Pinnawala
After breakfast transfer to Pinnawala. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, established in 1975, commenced with seven orphans. Today some of these orphans enjoy the fortune of seeing their grandchildren born in the same location. The original objective of establishing the orphanage inclined more towards tourism, but is soon became a conservation and educational centre. With the help of local and foreign elephant experts, Pinnawela started a scientific captive-breeding programme for elephants. The free movement of the herd enhanced the chances for respective individuals of both sexes to get together and mate. The nearby river played a dominant role in this regard, and in 1984, the first baby of Pinnawela was born. Return to the hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. In the evening visit cultural show and most Relic Temple of Tooth. Overnight stay at Kandy.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Pinnawala excursion - ( 03 ½ hours with the sight seeing )
o Cultural show - ( 01 hour )
o Temple of Tooth - ( 30 minutes )

DAY 07 : Kandy - Nuwara Eliya
After breakfast enjoy a city tour in Kandy. Kandy 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 & crafts centre, a gem museum and a lapidary. Visit Royal Botanical Garden as well. Transfer to Nuwara Eliya. En-route visit a tea factory. Overnight stay at Nuwara-Eliya.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Kandy city tour - 30 ( 03 ½ hours with the sight seeing )
o Kandy to Nuwara-Eliya - 80 K.M ( 03 hour )
o Tea factory visity - ( 30 minutes )

DAY 08 : Excursion to Horton Plains
Early morning with breakfast packets transfer to Horton Plains. Horton Plains is located on a high windswept saddle at about 7000-ft elevation. The Plains are an expanse of misty grassland with scraggy trees and ice-cold rivulets. Visit World's End considered to be the finest view in all of Sri Lanka. The awesome escarpment drops vertically for about 4000 ft, hence its named as Horton Plains. Here you could find endemic Slender Loris and endemic Purple Monkeys amongst the animal species that can be seen. Return to the hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight stay at Nuwara-Eliya.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Nuwara-Eliya to Horton Plains and back - 70 K.M ( 02 hours )
o Horton Plains visit - 8-12 K.M by foot ( 03 hours )

DAY 09 : Nuwara Eliya - Tissamaharama
After breakfast transfer to Tissamaharama. En-route stop at Ella to enjoy the panoramic view of down plains. Check in at the hotel. In the late afternoon enjoy a jeep safari at Yala National Park. Yala is the largest National Park in Sri Lanka which is the home for wild elephants, wild boars, wild buffaloes, leopards, bears, deers and crocodiles. Large flocks of migratory and indigenous birds are also found here. Overnight stay at Tissa / Kataragama.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Nuwara-Eliya to Tissa - 160 K.M ( 05 hours )
o Yala safari - (04 hours)

DAY 10 : Tissamaharama - Mount Lavinia
After breakfast, transfer to Mount Lavinia. En-route visit Royal Dutch Fort in Galle. Check in at your hotel. Overnight stay at Mount Lavinia.

Travel distance and Time duration
o Tissa to Mount Lavinia- 273 K.M ( 06 hours ) o Galle fort visit - ( 30 minutes )

DAY 11 : Mount Lavinia
After breakfast, full day at leisure on beach. Overnight stay at Mount Lavinia.

DAY 12 : Mount Lavinia - Colombo Airport - Europe
After breakfast, transfer to Airport for the departure.