7-Day Sri Lanka Heritage and Safari Tour with Sigiriya and Yala

Arrive at Colombo International Airport and meet your Lakpura tour guide for pick-up and transfer to Dambulla.

En route, stop at Chilaw to visit Munneswaram Temple. Munneswaram Temple is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka. It has existed since at least 1000 CE, although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana and its legendary hero-king Rama.

Continue to Dambulla, check in to your hotel, and relax.

Later in the evening, visit the Dambulla Cave Temple.

Enjoy a hearty breakfast and visit the Rock Fortress of Sigiriya.

Climb the 5th century AD rock fortress in Sigiriya, where King Kasyapa ruled.

Walk through the entrance framed by the paws of a lion, which is quite appropriate for its name, "The Lion Rock".

Proceed to a local village in Sigiriya for an authentic experience of Sri Lankan village life.

Get a chance to go on an oxen cart ride and experience the world from the perspective of a village farmer.

Have a relaxing catamaran safari across a calm lake.

Delight your taste buds with a home-cooked lunch, made over a wood fire and served on fragrant lotus leaves placed over woven trays.

Go to Minneriya National Park for a thrilling safari.

Enjoy the sight of over 150 elephants congregating in one place during the famous Great Elephant Gathering, which takes place in the dry season from May to October.

Enjoy breakfast, check out, and proceed to Matale to visit the Spice Garden.

Go on a guided tour of the spice and herbal garden, where you will learn about spices such as coriander, chili, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg, along with their uses.

Take part in a traditional Sri Lankan cuisine cooking demonstration while making full use of these spices. Learn to make roti or create curry powder from scratch in one of the workshops.

Continue to Kandy and check in at the hotel.

Watch the Kandyan cultural show with its colourful traditional dances and delightful music.

Check out and visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built in the 16th century as the place of veneration and protection for Lord Buddha's sacred tooth. Walk through the beautifully embellished passageways and elaborately painted halls in red, cream, and black.

Proceed to Nuwara Eliya.

En route, stop at Ramboda Falls and visit the Sri Bhakta Hanuman Temple and a tea factory.

Visit the highland city that was the premier holiday resort town of the British in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Enjoy walking through the streets with their pretty little cottages, quaint villas, and beautiful mansions.

Relax at Queen Victoria Park or on the shores of Lake Gregory.

Have breakfast and check out of your hotel.

Proceed to Ella and witness the marvels of the city.

Pass through bright green tea fields and rugged stretches of rock, and enjoy magical views of Little Adam's Peak.

Walk across the history-steeped Nine Arches Bridge and listen to the story of its construction.

End your hike at Demodara Railway Station with its unique loop-over track design.

Then journey to Yala and check in to the hotel.

Proceed to Yala National Park by 14:30 for a lovely jeep safari in the national park.

Get a chance to see the famous Sri Lankan leopards, indigenous wild water buffalo, Sri Lankan sloth bear, and large herds of Sri Lankan elephants.

Enjoy a scrumptious breakfast, check out, and proceed to Colombo.

En route, stop at Galle and walk through the old colonial city.

Discover the city of Galle, where the Portuguese and Dutch made their headquarters.

Continue to Balapitiya and go on a lovely boat safari on the Madu River.

Pass through the secretive passages created by the mangroves, and see basking crocodiles and water monitors.

Visit one of the small islands with its cinnamon-harvesting natives.

Proceed to Kosgoda and visit the Turtle Hatchery.

Learn more about the five endangered sea turtle species that come to the shores of Sri Lanka to nest. Also learn how the Kosgoda Turtle Care Program helps protect the nests until they hatch and increases the babies' chances of survival.

Get a chance to see, touch, and feed baby turtles, or even injured adult turtles that the Turtle Hatchery cares for.

Go wandering through the commercial city of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Visit historic monuments such as the Old Lighthouse, the Old Parliament, Galle Face Hotel, Galle Face Green, Gangaramaya Temple, and the National Museum.

Enjoy the malls of Independence Square or the Race Course, and visit boutique shops and designer stores.

Check out from the hotel and proceed to the airport.