Active Cultural & Adventure Tour in Sri Lanka

1

Day 01

AIRPORT TO NEGOMBO

• Meet and Greet at the Airport
• Negombo City Tour
• Negombo is a vibrant coastal town located on the western coast of Sri Lanka, just a short drive from Bandaranaike International Airport. Famous for its golden sandy beaches, relaxing seaside atmosphere, and picturesque lagoon, Negombo is one of the island’s most popular beach destinations. The town offers a unique blend of coastal charm, fishing culture, colonial history, and modern tourism, making it an ideal place to begin or end a Sri Lankan journey.
• Visit Negombo Beach area
• Overnight at the Hotel

2

Day 02

Negombo to Anuradhapura

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Proceed to Anuradhapura Cultural City
• Anuradhapura is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization. The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic Malvathu Oya. From the 4th century BC, it was the capital of Sri Lanka until the beginning of the 11th century AD. During this period it remained one of the most stable and durable centers of political power and urban life in South Asia. The ancient city,considered sacred to the Buddhist world, is today surrounded by monasteries covering an area of over sixteen square miles (40 km²). Protohistoric Iron Age Although according to historical records the city was founded in the 5th century BC, the archaeological data put the date as far back as the 10th century BC.
• Overnight at the Hotel

3

Day 03

Anuradhapura-Wilpattu Safari

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Journey to Wilpattu Forest & Jeep Safari
• Wilpattu National Park (Willu-pattu; Land of Lakes) is a park located on the island of Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (Natural lakes) - Natural,sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Located in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park is located 30 km west Anuradhapura and located 26 km north of Puttalam(approximately 180 km north of Colombo). The park is 1,317 square kilometers (131, 693 hectares) and ranges from 0 to 152 meters above sea level. Nearly sixty lakes (Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Wilpattu is the largest and one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu is among the top national parks world-renowned for its leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) population. A remote camera survey was conducted in Wilpattu from July to October 2015 by the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
• Overnight at the Hotel

4

Day 04

Anuradhapura to Sigiriya

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Proceed Sigiriya via Habarana
• Minneriya Safari & elephant watching of the most spectacular natural scenes you will ever see! The Elephant watching is a sight to behold. During the dry season (July to September) water supplies reduce drastically in this region. To cope with this, the elephants congregate around the Minneriya reservoir where grasses are rich and fertile. The elephants come from areas beyond the reservoir and at times herds with numbers as large as 300 – 400 can be seen.
• Ancient city of Polonnaruwa
• Poḷonnaruwa is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Kaduruwela area is the Polonnaruwa New Town and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. The second most ancient of Sri Lankans kingdoms,Polonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated Chola invaders in 1070 toreunite the country once more under a local leader
• Proceed to Sigiriya
• Overnight at the Hotel

5

Day 05

SIGIRIYA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Trekking Lions Rock
• Sigiriya (Lion's rock) is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin situated in the central Matale District of Sri Lanka, surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos) which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. Sigiriya was built during the reign of King Kassapa I (AD 477 – 495), and it is one of the seven World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha. The garden and palace were built by King Kasyapa. Following King Kasyapa's death, it was again a monastery complex up to about the 14th century,after which it was abandoned. The Sigiri inscriptions were deciphered by the archaeologist Senarath Paranavithana in his renowned two-volume work, published by Oxford, Sigiri Graffiti.
• Overnight at the Hotel

6

Day 06

SIGIRIYA TO MAHIYANGANAYA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Proceed Mahiyanganaya via Kandy
• The cultural epicentre and the hill capital of the island, Kandy is Sri Lanka’s second city and home to the Temple of the Tooth - the country’s most important religious shrine, and the traditional pageant the Esala Perahera.Although modernity and urban sprawl has changed the face of this once quaint hill station, it still carries a regal atmosphere with graceful Kandyan style architecture mingling with colonial buildings set around a tranquil lake surrounded by green hills. The kingdom of Kandy was the last stronghold of the Sinhalese
• Proceed Mahiyanganaya
• Overnight at the Hotel

7

Day 07

Mahiyanganaya

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Mahiyanganaya is a town situated close to the Mahaweli River in Badulla District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is said that Gautama Buddha visited Mahiyanganaya on the full moon Poya day of January in order to settle a dispute arose between Yakkas and Nagas (two tribes then inhabited this area) and this was his first ever visit to Sri Lanka. Then the Buddha preached Dhamma to Sumana Saman, a leader in this area, to whom the Buddha gave a handful of his hair relic so that people could worship. After that Sumana Saman (now the god Sumana Saman) built a golden chethiya in which the sacred hair relic was deposited. Later or about seven chethiyas were built over the original golden chethiya fromtime to time,
• Wadda's Watching in Mahiyangana
• Overnight at the Hotel

8

Day 08

MAHIYANGANAYA TO ELLA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Proceed to Ella
• One of the hill country’s most appealing destinations best known for some of the finest views in Sri Lanka, Ella is a small town of a pleasantly temperate climate surrounded by idyllic green hills.The main attraction of Ella is the breath-taking view from the ‘Ella Gap’ – looking out between the towering bulk of Ella Rock on the right and through a gap in the hills to the plains far, far below. While the village itself may not offer much in the way of attractions the locality certainly makes up for it.
• Overnight at the Hotel

9

Day 09

RELAX AT ELLA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Bycikal Ridding in Ella
• Visit Little Adam's Peak
• From the main strip in Ella, you can walk about 1.5kms to the start of the trail.The trailhead is right next to Ella Flower Garden Resort. We parked our car outthe front of the resort/restaurant and hit the trail. The map below shows you the location of Little Adam’s Peak (also known as Mini Adam’s Peak) but you can also see where the trail hits the main road (the Flower Garden). An alternative entrance is also located at 98 acres resort and marked by a white Buddha. We went for sunset and only needed about an hour to reach the summit and we were super slow with all of our photos. Coming back down after sunset, we were the last to exit and it was quite dark. Worth it though!
• Overnight at the Hotel

10

Day 10

ELLA TO BENTOTA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Proceed to Bentota
• Checken in Hotel
• Relax & Enjoy the evening on the beach
• Overnight at the Hotel

11

Day 11

BENTOTA

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Madu river Boat safari
• boat excursion is the best way to navigate and enjoy what's on offer at Madu ganaga, a stretch of lake with almost placid water dotted with many islets. You can visit an island with a Buddhist monastery, where the friendly young monks will show you a 150-year-old book made of palm leaves and how they cook on cinnamon wood on an open fire.
• Relax and enjoy the evening on the beach
• Overnight at the Hotel

12

Day 12

BENTOTA - COLOMBO - AIRPORT

• Breakfast at the Hotel
• Proceed to Colombo
• City tour of Colombo commencing with a visit to the Fort and the Pettah commercial hub with offices and shopping areas located amidst oldest colonial hotel GOH. It has a fantastic view of the Colombo harbor, lighthouse with clock tower (older than Big Ben in London) close to the president’s house and old parliament. Afterwards, proceed through the main street passing the old Dutch Museum, belfry and old City Hall which houses puppets of earlier governors of Sri Lanka
• Stop will be made at the Old Dutch hospital with shops and restaurants facing Sri Lanka’s twin tower buildings. Continue to the old race course with a maze of buildings with colonial architecture, restaurants and shopping arcade passing through Colombo City Hall (mini replica of the White House in Washington, DC)
• Shopping in Colombo
• Thereafter Proceed to airport with lingering memories of your trip to Sri Lank