awesome Sri Lanka 13 Nights/14 days

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After breakfast we will begin our tour of the Ancient city of Anuradhapura. Planned by King Pandukabhaya in the 4th century BC, it was the political and religious capital of Sri Lanka until 993BC when an invading king from India chased ransacked it, forcing the king of that time to flee to Polonnaruwa. It became swallowed by the jungle until excavation during the British occupation of the country.

While it once boasted many civic buildings, it is the magnificient dagabas that now command attention. Ruwanwelisaya dagaba attracts Buddhist devotees at all times while the Jetavanaramaya is the tallest brick constructed building in the world.

The living sacred Sri Maha Bodhiya tree grew from a sapling of the Buddha's fig tree brought to Sri Lanka was planted in 288BC.

After experiencing some of the sacred sites in Anuradhapura we will drive a short distance to Mihintale, believed by many devotees to be the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. 

The story goes that the King Devampiyatissa was out hunting when he came upon Mahinda, a Buddhist monk who had come from India to introduce Buddhism to Sri Lanka. After engaging in a long conversation with the monk, the king was invited to learn more and became a convert and so Buddhism became the dominant religion in Sri Lanka. The rock on which they sat is known as Invitation Rock.

From Mihintale we will drive to Sigiriya.

Stay at Sigiriya   2 Nights

Today we will visit a local village, Hiriwaduna, a small, quite remote village where life today continues to be relaxed as ever. Your experience there starts with a bullock cart ride followed by a boat cruise on the peaceful lake to the nearby village. You may walk through paddy fields, spot many birds and monkeys and soak up the village atmosphere before enjoying a traditional Sri Lankan lunch that the villagers have prepared for you.

After this taste of village life and traditional food we will drive to Sigiriya to climb up to King Kashyapa's palace and fortress in the sky. 

King Kashyapa, who was the son of King Dhatusena and a commoner murdered his father. As he was afraid that the rightful heir and the army he was amassing in India would come after him, he moved the capital from Anuradhapura to Sigiriya where he built his pleasure palace and fortress on the top of the rock. Come after him they did and, when he was defeated in AD495, he committed suicide by falling on his sword.

Enjoy a beautiful sunset amid the ruins of King Kashyapa's palace!

Alternatively you may wish to climb Pidurangala Rock.

Stay again at Sigiriya

A walk around this inspirational city reveals a city well planned with a hospital, school, temples, audience hall, bathing pool and pleasure gardens as well as the remains of his palace. Four stories of this structure are all that remain of a seven storey edifice - Sri Lanka's first skyscraper!  As you walk around this park like environment you will come across a huge stone book, the Gal Potha! This book, carved during King Nissanka Malla's reign, has 4500 molten iron formed characters recording the culture, health, religions, politics and economy of that time.

For such a small island, Sri Lanka is blessed to have so many National Parks all over the country. Elephants roam in all of them in varying numbers together with an astonishing variety of bird life, crocodiles, deer and other animals, including leopards in some parks, according to the local habitat. In this part of the country the three connecting parts of Minneriya, Kadulla and Giritale are many tourist's choices however there are lesser known parks such as Wasgamuwa for your enjoyment.

After breakfast we will  leave your hotel and proceed towards Kandy stopping to visit Sri Lanka's most iconic site, Sigiriya. This rock fortress, built by King Kashyapa in the 5th century AD is  a palace at the top of the rock together with a village for his followers at the bottom of the rock. It is decorated with water gardens containing baths and fountains that still work to this day. The site is also famous for its frescos which depict "Damsels of Sigiriya", which date back to 5th century AD. 

After climbing Sigirya we will proceed to Kandy, Sri Lanka's royal city.

Along the way we may stop at the Sri Muthumari Amman Kovil, a famous Hindu Temple at Matale. This exuberantly decorated temple was built in 1847 and is dedicated to the goddess of rain and fertility. 

Another place of interest for you is the Aluvihare Temple. This rock temple is where the Buddhist teachings were first written on papyrus. The cave depicting the tortures of hell are visually graphic and sure to keep worshippers in line!

There are also opportunities to stop at spice gardens where you can learn about Sri Lanka's oldest commodity, aromatic spices.
 

On arrival in Kandy we will enjoy a city walking tour of this royal city. This will which include Upper Lake Drive and the beautiful Kandy Lake and Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Tooth Relic. This Buddhist temple houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha is considered to possibly be the most sacred Buddhist shrine in the world. We will also visit the main Kandy Market and other interesting places. In the evening, enjoy a Cultural Show in Kandy. 

Overnight stay in Kandy      1 NIGHT 

Today we make an early morning start for your visit to Horton Plains National Park. At 2100 - 2300 metres ,this park features grassy plains and misty mountains, waterfalls and is home to wild animals such as the giant squirrel, sambar deer, torque macaque, mongoose and the slender loris as well as many species of birds.

In the afternoon you can board the train at Haputule or Ohiya to Ella. This part of the route is regarded as being the most scenic in Sri Lanka. You can relax on the train as the car takes your bags and meets you on your arrival in Ella.

Stay in Ella  2 Nights

Udawalawe National Park is one of Sri Lanka’s smaller national parks at only 308.2 km² and is home to over 250 elephants including those rescued and cared for by the nearby Elephant Transit home.  Here human contact is kept to a bare minimum allowing the elephants to be released to live in their natural habitat. In such a smaller area with a higher density of elephants chances of seeing them are increased. Here you will see an amazing variety of birds, including several birds of prey, deer, water buffalo, torque macarque and grey langur primates, lizards, water monitors and mugger crocodiles.

Yala is the second largest National Park divided into 5 blocks, three of which are open to the public. It has dry semi arid flatlands, grasslands and thorny bush forests. Here you can find the same animals as in Udawalawe however chances of spotting a leopard are greater here.

Both parks are best visited either early morning 6am to 9am when the animals are coming to drink water or mid afternoon 3pm to 6pm when they come from their shady hiding places to feed before nightfall. 

Devoted birdwatchers may choose an alternative park, Bundala National park where there are also some elephants, primates, amphibians and reptiles. The choice is yours.

Stay at Udawalawe, Embilipitiya, Tissamaharama or Yala ,according to your choice of Nationl Park

1 Night [Udawalawe] or 2 Nights [Yala, Bundala] according to your choice

 After your final encounter with Sri Lanka's spectacular wildlife proceed to your beach destination for rest and relaxation to end your awesome holiday. 

Tangalle, Dikwella, Mirissa and Ahangama, Unawatuna are some of the beaches you might choose for your relaxing beach stay. While they are all beautiful, each one has its own speciality. some are protected. with reefs, snorkelling can be enjoyed at others. 

Stay 2 - 3 Nights 

This is your last day in Sri Lanka so after breakfast we will proceed to the commercial capital, Colombo. here we will take a tour of the city perhaps visiting the bustling Pettah Market, doing some shopping or dining in one of the country's finest restaurants. 

A sunset walk on Galle Face Green would be a fitting end to your holiday.

Stay Colombo 1 Night

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