Indian Ocean and Sub Continent/Sri LankaLuxury Tour, Best of Sri Lanka Tour

Holiday Details

Airline	Airport	Class	Room Type	Board Basis	Transfers
		Economy			Coach

For other dates or durations, please call for your tailor made quote.

Tour Information

This 8 night tour provides the perfect opportunity to discover all the delights of this fascinating country. Highlights include Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage & Nuwara Eliya.
Transportation is by air-conditioned vehicle with an English speaking chauffeur guide. Entrance fees to Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Kandy Temple, Elephant Orphanage and the Botanical Gardens are all included.

Tour Summary:
2nts Kandalama, 2nts Kandy, 1nt Nuwara Eliya, 3nts Ahungalle

DAY 1

Departure flight from the UK to Colombo, Sri Lanka

DAY 2

Arrival at Colombo airport where you will be met and transferred to Kandalama (approx 4 hours)
Overnight stay at Heritance Kandalama.

DAY 3

Breakfast at Heritance Kandalama.
After Breakfast, proceed to Sigiriya. (Approx: 45 minutes)

Sigiriya - 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.

Transfer from Sigiriya to Polonnaruwa. (Approx:1 ½ hours)

Polonnaruwa - 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.

On completion of site seeing, transfer to Kandalama. (Approx: 1 ½ hours)

Overnight stay at Heritance Kandalama.

DAY 4

Breakfast at Heritance Kandalama.
After breakfast, visit Dambulla. (Approx: 30 minutes)

Dambulla rock temple -Dambulla rock temple was built by king Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. and it is a World Heritage Site. 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.

Transfer from Dambulla to Matale. (Approx: 01 hour)

Matale - 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. Witness a Cookery demonstration.

Transfer from Matale to Kandy. (Approx: 01 hour)

Kandy -Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and 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. Also visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. Thereafter witness a cultural show.

Overnight stay at Earl’s Regency Kandy.

DAY 5

Breakfast at Earl’s Regency.

Proceed to Pinnawala & visit Elephant Orphanage. (Approx: 1 ½ hours)

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage -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.
The success story of Pinnawela has drawn the attention of scientists from all over the world. A considerable number of books and research articles on Pinnawela have been published in several languages. The members of the Pinnawela herd have been filmed, videoed and photographed thousands of times by professionals.

Transfer from Pinnawala to Peradeniya. (Approx:1 hour)

Peradeniya 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.

Transfer from Peradeniya to Kandy. (Approx: 30 minutes)

Overnight stay at Earl’s Regency, Kandy.

DAY 6

Breakfast at Earls Regency.
After breakfast, leave Kandy & proceed to Nuwara Eliya (Approx: 2 & ½ hours)

Tea Plantation - En route visit a tea plantation and a tea factory, where the best tea in the world is produced. Here you could observe all about the process of manufacturing tea. You can also see how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea in the factory.

Nuwara Eliya - Visit Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya, because of its invigorating mountain climate and scenery, is Sri Lankas most popular hill resort. Nuwara Eliya is also the heart of Sri Lankas tea country producing a significant share of the world s best tea. Sri Lanka s highest mountain Pidurutalagala (8282 feet) is located here. Nuwara Eliya also has one of the finest 18-hole golf courses in South Asia.

Overnight stay at Tea Factory Hotel, Nuwara Eliya.

DAY 7

Breakfast at Tea Factory Hotel.

Transfer from Nuwara Eliya to Ahungalle via Kitulgala. (Approx: 4 ½ hours)

The Kelani River (the broadest river in Sri Lanka) flowing through Kitulgala was the main location where the Oscar winning movie Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed. On the hill above this town, a prehistoric cave was recently discovered containing large middens of shells from some unknown civilization.

Overnight stay at Heritance Ahungalle.