Itinerary

1. Day 1: Airport - Negombo

   • On arrival, meet & greet at the airport and transfer to hotel in Negombo.

   • Check in to the hotel and relax to recover from the jet lag.

   Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel in Negombo.

2. Day 2: Negombo - Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - Dambulla/Sigiriya

   • Eat breakfast at the hotel and set off to explore the history of the dynamic city of Negombo with your Sri Lanka guide-chauffeur. Indulge in a diverse experience by visiting the famous fish market in Negombo known as the ‘Lellama’. Walk on the beach and watch fishermen untangle their fishing nets and witness the fish being auctioned and sold to retail and commercial customers alike.

   • Leave for Pinnaweala.

   • Visit the elephant orphanage in Pinnawela, initiated in 1975 to foster care for abandoned and orphaned baby elephants. These giant yet gentle creatures wander around in the sanctuary, being fed and bathed by their foster human parents. The herd is led to the river nearby for a two-hour bath twice a day. You are welcome to join and interact with them while feasting your eyes on the largest gathering of tame elephants. Baby elephants are bottle-fed unique formula milk by their mahout, the caretaker, and if you are curious, you can even join in feeding them at the daily feeding times of 9.15 am & 1.15 pm.

   • Leave for Dambulla.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Dambulla / Sigiriya.

3. Day 3: Sigiriya Rock Fortress - Polonnaruwa Ancient Sites

   • After breakfast at the hotel, visit the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Sigiriya Rock Fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most dramatic, inspiring and beautiful historical locations globally. A mythical past of feuding dynasties suits Sigiriya’s striking setting- it was built in the 5th century AD by a king, Kasyapa, as a fortress-palace. The palace complex at the foot of the rock still has four indoor swimming pools where the king’s 500 concubines bathed. The palace structure was built with complex water arteries in the walls that provided natural air conditioning in the hot climate. On the summit, reached with the help of metal staircases and ladders, you can see the remains of the palace walls, gardens and ponds. The mirror walls of the Sigiriya rock still retain the world-famous frescoes of the king’s concubines, who originated from all parts of the world.

   • Later, continue to one of the ruins of ancient Ceylon - the UNESCO World Heritage City of Polonnaruwa, which was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to 13th century. Polonnaruwa was a well-planned medieval city defended by enclosing walls (around 5 km. which remain), graced by palaces, shrines, monasteries, pavilions, parks, ponds and irrigation lakes. Polonnaruwa is strewn with ruins in a glorious state of preservation. The ‘Gal Vihara’ consists of statues of the recumbent, standing and seated Buddha, which has been cut from a single granite wall and rank among a few of the true masterpieces of Sri Lankan Art.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Dambulla/Sigiriya.

4. Day 4: Dambulla Rock Cave Temple - Matale - Kandy

   • After breakfast at the hotel, visit Dambulla Rock Cave Temple. Dambulla Cave Temple, also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla. The largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka, the rock from which the caves were carved towers 160meters (520ft) over the surrounding plains. A total of 153 Buddha statues, three Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses also stand on the site.

   • Continue your journey to the hill capital of Kandy. Eminent as the centre of Buddhism and the capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom.

   • En route, visit a spice garden in Matale to see many different spices Sri Lanka is famous for. You will be introduced to other herbs and shown how some of these spices are grown and processed. Gardens are open to visitors, a delightful place to stroll in fragrant greenery and learn about nutmeg, pepper vines, clove trees and curry, cinnamon and the precious cardamom, a relative of ginger. It grows in the shade of high jungle trees and can only be harvested by hand.

   • Enjoy a traditional cultural dance performance, a vibrant and unique fire and Harvest dance accompanied by Ceremonial Drums and the Drum Orchestra rising and falling to the lively tempo. The show's highlight is the fire walking show, where the artists walk through a specially prepared fire pit, roughly 8 feet by 3 feet covered with red-hot charcoal, completely barefoot.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Kandy.

5. Day 5: Kandy

   • After breakfast at the hotel, visit the Temple of Tooth Relic for the morning ceremony; the stunning 17th century Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is believed to house the left upper canine tooth of the Lord Buddha himself. Every day, this precious relic attracts white-clad pilgrims, bearing lotus blossoms and frangipani.

   • Make a sightseeing tour of Kandy by visiting the upper lake, oriental marketplace, a bazaar.

   • Visit the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, the largest of Sri Lanka’s botanical gardens displaying over 4,000 different species of plants and is regarded amongst the most superior in Asia. The focal points include the superb Orchid collection and a powerful avenue of Royal Palm Trees. In addition to a plethora of flowering plants, there is also an extensive collection of medicinal plants and spices, which can be spotted on your meander across the gardens.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Kandy.

6. Day 6: Kandy - Train To Nuwara Eliya

   • After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Kandy Railway station.

   • Make a scenic train trip to Nuwara Eliya, also known as Sri Lanka’s “Little England”, which is the prime hill resort of the country. At approximately 2000 m above sea level, the city has an abundance of lush tea plantations and jaw-dropping scenery. Its nickname comes from the many English style bungalows and buildings still in existence today.

   • The train journey weaving through the scenic hill country is one of the most beautiful explorations in Sri Lanka. From the edge of soaring mountains, you will oversee the branching valleys from the mist capped mountains, sloping lush green tea plantations, villages dotted with houses, thick forests and whooshing waterfalls.

   • Pick up from Nanu Oya Train station.

   • Visit the tea plantation and a tea factory on the island where the best tea in the world is produced. Watch the tea pluckers pick two leaves and a bud with deft hands.

   • Then to the factory, where the all-important conversion to “made” black tea happens. The machinery used is a traditional British design, some as old as 100 years, and the process is very artisanal, unchanged for a century. Observe the method of manufacturing tea, tea grading and taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

7. Day 7: Nuwara Eliya - Ella - Yala Jeep Safari - Tissa/Yala

   • After breakfast at the hotel, leave for Tissa/Yala (approx. transfer Time: 4 hours).

   • Visit the spectacular Ella gap in the southern mountain wall, where the land falls away in a dizzy drop of 3000 ft (915m), to the south of plains and the sea, which is visible in the far distance on a clear day.

   • Witness the Rawana Ella Water Fall.

   • In the afternoon, do a jeep safari at Yala National Park. Yala national park is the second-largest and most visited national safari park in Sri Lanka with numerous types of wildlife and is also known for its variety of ecosystems and rich biodiversity. It is situated in a dry semi-arid climatic region that hosts various ecosystems, from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands. Yala is home to 44 mammals and 215 bird species, with seven being endemic bird species. Among its more famous residents are the world’s most significant concentration of leopards, majestic elephants, sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted dear, peacocks, crocodiles and wild buffalos.

   Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Tissa/Yala.

8. Day 8: Yala - Tangalle - Matara - Galle - Beach Or Airport

   • After breakfast at the hotel, leave for the Beach Hotel.

   • Travel through Tangalle and Matara.

   • See the stilt fishers on poles in Koggala, a traditional fishing method practised by most fishermen along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

   • Visit the Galle Fort. Galle Fort is the finest and most intact fortified city built by the former European colonial powers in Asia. The narrow streets of Galle Fort are lined with Dutch merchant villas, pillared verandas, carved doors and windows, and British and Dutch period offices are still in use. This is a living world heritage city with residents walking the 300-year-old ramparts at sunset.

   • Strolling along the high rampart walls, you will see the Old Dutch and English churches, the Governor's house, the massive VOC warehouses, the Square of Courts, the elegant pillared facade of the Old Dutch hospital, the Portuguese Black Fort, the lighthouse, the Clock Tower and much more.

   • Visit a turtle hatchery.

   • Transfer to the airport for onward flight or selected beach hotel for a continued beach holiday.