3-Day Sri Lanka Heritage Tour with Sigiriya, Kandy and Pinnawala

• Meet your local tour guide at the airport in Sri Lanka. You will be given a warm welcome, or "Ayubowan," the traditional way of saying welcome, as you come out of the airport with our representative, who will accompany you throughout your tour in Sri Lanka.

• Start your journey with the transfer to Habarana.

• On the way, stop to visit the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple. Have dinner and stay the night in Dambulla or Habarana.

• After breakfast at the hotel, proceed to Sigiriya, which is a World Heritage Site. According to the inscriptions found in the caves, the area was a religious retreat as far back as the 3rd century BC, but it came to light in the 5th century AD after the rebel king made Sigiriya his stronghold and built a palace on top of the 200-meter-high massive rock outcrop. Sigiriya is derived from the huge lion (Sinha) structure built halfway up the rock (Giriya).

• After visiting Sigiriya, proceed to Kandy.

• Make a few technical stops at Matale to visit a spice garden, wood carving factory, and batik factory.

• When you reach Kandy, go for a city tour and drive around Bogambara Lake, Upper Lake, and its busy streets. Kandy is a World Heritage Site and was the last capital and a stronghold of the Sri Lankan kings until the British took over the whole island in 1815. Today, Kandy is the center of Buddhism. Kandy is one of the most sacred sites for Buddhists in Sri Lanka and the world over, as it houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha at the temple known as "Dalada Maligawa." Kandy is also famous for arts and crafts, Sri Lankan dancing, music, and culture.

• Visit the Gem Museum and then, later in the evening, witness a cultural show featuring the various dance types of the country, which will end with a fire-walking performance.

• Visit the "Dalada Maligawa" in time to witness the Pooja ceremony, where you could see the outermost casket of seven, which enshrines the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha.

• Check into the hotel, and the evening will be at leisure.

Have dinner and stay the night in Kandy.

• After breakfast at the hotel, proceed to Peradeniya. Explore the Royal Botanical Gardens, which extend over about 147 acres and attract over 2 million visitors annually, and are situated 460 metres above sea level. The garden includes more than 4,000 plants from all over the world, as well as extensive, well-kept lawns and a pavilion. The Cannonball Tree was planted by King George V and Queen Mary of the United Kingdom in 1901, while the Giant Java Fig Tree and the Orchid House are of interest to any visitor to the gardens.

• Proceed to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 to care for orphaned or injured elephants from the wild. It became a nursery, orphanage, and, more importantly, a captive breeding ground for elephants. Pinnawala has the largest captive herd of elephants in the world. It is a beautiful sight to see these elephants being given a bath by the caretakers of the orphanage in the nearby river.

• On completion, you will be transferred to a beach resort of your choice, up to Galle in the south or Chilaw in the northwest, or you may pick a resort in the Maldives.

• For departures, you will be dropped at the airport.