Day 01
AIRPORT - ANURADHAPURA
AM
Arrive at the Bandaranaike International Airport.
Assistance on arrival by a representative of “Heritage Expediciones”
Transfer to Anuradhapura. This drive takes you through the picturesque country side laid out with beautiful rice fields and vegetable plantations. Arrive in Anuradhapura and check-in at your pre-booked Hotel.
PM
At leisure. Free for the rest of the day.
Dinner and overnight stay in Anuradhapura.
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Day 02
ANURADHAPURA - MIHINTALE - GIRITALE
AM
Visit the ruins of the ancient city of Anuradhapura.
The best known of Sri Lanka’s ancient cities. It was the capital of the island for more than a thousand years from the 5th century BC. A number of Buddhist monuments here dates back over two thousand years.
PM
Visit the Archaeological Museum and proceed to Mihintale.
Mihintale is regarded as the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The rock is dotted with shrines and rock dwellings. A grand stairway of 1840 steps, 5 metres wide, leads to the summit with a splendid view of the surrounding countryside.
Proceed to Giritale and check-in at the hotel.
Dinner and overnight stay in Giritale
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Day
03
GIRITALE - SIGIRIYA - POLONNARUWA - GIRITALE
AM
The interesting activity of the day will be climbing the Sigiriya Rock Fortress.
Sigiriya, a massive rock in the green scrub jungle, is perhaps the most memorable place for visitors to Sri Lanka. The site was known from ancient times as a hermitage for Buddhist monks. A well planned monastic complex includes caved temples, bathing pools, lovely ponds and Asia's oldest surviving landscaped gardens. Today Sigiriya is famous for its frescos painted in the pocket of the rock. The "Lion stairway", the "Mirror Wall" and the "Water Gardens" are it's other highlights.
PM
Proceed to Polonnaruwa and visit the sites of this ancient capital.
Polonnaruwa was the mediaeval capital of Sri Lanka and today it is one of the most beautiful centers of our cultural heritage. With its comparatively brief history and a dozen rulers, it is a far more completely preserved ruin city than Anuradhapura. Visit the ancient ruins and the Gal Vihara complex where three large Buddha statues are carved out of a single rock.
Return to the hotel.
Dinner and overnight stay in Giritale
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Day 04
GIRITALE - DAMBULLA - MATALE - KANDY
AM
After breakfast, leave for Kandy with visits to the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple, a Spice Garden and Batik Factory in Matale.
Dambulla rock cave temple. A 1st century BC Rock Caved Temple which contains the most outstanding collection of Buddha images in Sri Lanka. The walls are covered with paintings of images of the Buddha during his different reincarnations as well as depicting some historic episodes.
Batik is an ancient art of mixing colours by using wax as the main component and today Sri Lanka is among the world leaders in the design of batik. Batik galleries and factories offer batik from simple single coloured designs to intricate multi coloured masterpieces.
Visit a spice garden in Matale. For centuries, spices have been one of Sri Lanka's celebrated exports. Spices are grown mostly in home gardens (as a home industry) and used to flavor food as well as for medicine and cosmetics. Visit a spice garden and sample scents and flavors such as cinnamon, ginger, pepper, vanilla, cardamom etc.
Arrive in Kandy and check-in at the hotel.
PM
Visit the City of Kandy.
Sri Lanka's second most popular city is Kandy, a beautiful historical city in the citadel of the country. It is not only known for it's great kings who ruled the city for almost 225 years independently until the British took over in 1815, but it is also the place where the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha is laid in a magnificent temple.
Visit an auditorium in the evening to view the cultural performance of Kandyan dancing. Also visit part of the old palace and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha and view the traditional rituals of the temple performed daily.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
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Day 05
KANDY - PINNAWELA - KANDY
AM
Visit the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in the morning and proceed to Pinnawela.
The Botanical Gardens was established in 1821 and now covers 140 acres, snuggled in a loop of the Mahaweli River which is the longest river in Sri Lanka. Its primary purpose was the testing and acclimatizing of plants for commercial use in Sri Lanka. Today the Gardens have one of the largest collections of flora from sub tropical climates around the world.
PM
Visit the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage.
The Orphanage was established to feed, nurse and house young elephants abandoned by their mothers and displaced from their natural environment due to development projects. The orphaned elephants cannot be introduced to the wild as other elephant family groups will not accept them. They enjoy a good life with their human parents and many find good foster homes in zoos around the world. It is most interesting to visit the Orphanage at feeding or bathing time.
Feeding time: 09.15 hrs. 13:15hrs and 16.15 hrs.
Bathing time: 10.00 hrs. 14:00hrs and 17.00 hrs.
Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay
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Day 06
KANDY - NUWARA ELIYA
AM
Leave for Nuwara Eliya. Enjoy the mornings visit to a high grown Tea Estate and Factory.
It is generally accepted that the discovery of tea occurred in ancient China. The Chinese believe that it was their Emperor Shen-Nung in 2737 BC who first tasted tea. The story goes that while he was boiling his drinking water a few leaves from a wild tea bush accidentally fell into the water. The Emperor liked the delicate flavor they imparted to the water and so the art of tea making was born. Ceylon tea is acclaimed as the best tea in the world. The influence of climatic conditions imparts to the product a variety of flavors and aromas, synonymous with quality. The cultivation and manufacture of tea is a highly skilled, scientific and technical process, with Sri Lanka producing some of the most fragrant teas in the world.
PM
Arrive in Nuwara Eliya and check-in at the Hotel.
At leisure for the rest of the day.
Dinner and overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya.
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Day 07
NUWARA ELIYA - YALA or KATARAGAMA
AM
Proceed to Yala or Kataragama. Arrive in Yala and check-in at the hotel.
PM
Enjoy a Jeep Safari to the Yala National Park.
The Yala National Park is 378 sq. miles in extent and is the most famous and well developed national park set in the south eastern corner of the island. The vegetation of the park is mainly thorny scrub forest. You could observe elephants in herds of varying sizes, leopard, wild boar, wild buffalo, crocodile, jackal, sloth bear and other animals. Bird life comprises of about 130 species of resident and migrant birds. Peacock, Painted Stork, Serpent Eagle, Sea Eagle and Pelikan add colour to the bird life in the park
Dinner and overnight stay in Yala or Kataragama.
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Day 08
YALA or KATARAGAMA - GALLE - COLOMBO
AM
Leave for Colombo visiting the city of Galle and the Ambalangoda mask factory.
Galle is a living “ World Heritage Site” and the capital of Sri Lanka during the Dutch period. The walled city has stood since the early sixteenth century, through the colonial periods of the Portuguese (1587 AD), Dutch (1640 AD) and British (1796 AD) and in the present time is proclaimed as an archaeolgical reserve. Galle is famous for lace making, ebony carving, gem cutting and polishing.
PM
Arrive in Colombo and visit the City.
Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, which stretches for fourteen kilometres along the western shore of the country. It is not just a simple city of two million people, but a metropolis where different ethnic groups, religions and cultures intermingle. The contrast between highrise hotels, colonial mansions, supermarkets, street bazaars, dazzling cars and motor-rickshaws is found everywhere you look.
Dinner and overnight stay in Colombo.
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Day
09
COLOMBO - AIRPORT
AM
Early breakfast
Transfer to the Bandaranaike International Airport for departure.
Please note that it is an airline requirement to check-in three hours prior to your departure flight.
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