12-Day Sri Lanka Cultural Tour with Sigiriya and Minneriya Safari

• Meet your guide on arrival.

• Transfer from the airport to Colombo.

Overnight stay in Colombo.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel in Colombo.

• Transfer from Colombo to Pinnawala. Established in 1975, the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage began with seven orphaned elephants. Today, some of these elephants have the chance to see their grandchildren born in the same place.

• Proceed to Sigiriya.

• Climb the Sigiriya rock fortress. The "Lion Rock" is a citadel of unusual beauty, rising 200 meters above the scrub jungle.

Overnight stay in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Eat breakfast at the hotel in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Take a trip to Anuradhapura, home to two World Heritage Sites.

• Visit the Samadhi Buddha statue, one of the most famous statues depicting the Buddha in a state of "Samadhi," or deep meditation.

• Proceed to the Isurumuniya rock temple, famous for its rock carvings.

Overnight stay in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Take a trip to Polonnaruwa, the second capital city of Sri Lanka and a World Heritage Site.

• See the Royal Palace ruins and the Gal Viharaya, where four wonderful statues of the Buddha in upright, sedentary, and recumbent postures are carved out of rock.

• Enjoy a jeep safari in Minneriya National Park and marvel at the beauty of nature.

• Transfer from Minneriya back to Sigiriya via Polonnaruwa.

Overnight stay in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Have breakfast at the hotel in Sigiriya / Dambulla / Kandalama.

• Go to Dambulla.

• Marvel at the Dambulla rock temple, constructed by King Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. and recognized as a World Heritage Site. It contains over 150 images of the Buddha, including a gigantic 14-meter figure carved out of rock.

• Travel to Matale.

• Visit a spice garden in Matale to see the different spices for which Sri Lanka is famous.

• Watch a cookery show.

• Transfer from Matale to Kandy.

Overnight stay in Kandy.

• Eat breakfast at the hotel in Kandy.

• Transfer to Peradeniya to visit the Peradeniya Botanical Garden, which was first created as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and later expanded by the British.

• Travel to Kandy, a World Heritage Site.

• Visit the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy town and bazaar, the arts and crafts centre, a gem museum, Kandy Lake, and a lapidary.

• Witness a cultural show.

Overnight stay in Kandy.

• Start your day with breakfast at the hotel in Kandy.

• Take a trip to a tea plantation and tea factory, where some of the best tea in the world is produced.

• Learn about the tea manufacturing process and see how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea at the factory.

• Visit Nuwara Eliya, the heart of Sri Lanka's tea country, which produces a major share of the world's best tea. Sri Lanka's highest mountain, Pidurutalagala, is located here.

Overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya.

• Eat breakfast at the hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

• Transfer to Kataragama through the Bandarawela-Tissamaharama road.

• Visit many historical religious sites connected with Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism, Kataragama is associated with the bodhisattva, or Buddha-to-be, while in Hindu tradition, Skanda, the Hindu God of War, is said to have arrived in Sri Lanka and received two gifts from the Sinhalese.

• Transfer from Kataragama.

Overnight stay in Kataragama.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel in Kataragama.

• Transfer from Hambantota to Galle, the former chief port of Ceylon, still well known for its handmade lace.

• Visit Galle Fort, a World Heritage Site that was initially constructed by the Portuguese and later extended by the Dutch in 1663.

Overnight stay in Bentota / Ahungalla.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel in Bentota / Ahungalla.

• Spend leisure time in Bentota.

• Try water skiing, banana boating, fishing, jet-skiing, visit Beruwala fishing harbour, or enjoy a BBQ night.

Overnight stay in Bentota / Ahungalla.

• Enjoy breakfast at the hotel in Bentota / Ahungalla.

• Transfer from Bentota / Ahungalla to Colombo.

• Proceed on a city tour of Colombo.

• Visit a 100-year-old clock tower and several colonial buildings from the British period, the Pettah bazaar where you can shop for bargains, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, residential areas with stately homes of the wealthy, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), and more.

Overnight stay in Colombo.

• Go for breakfast at the hotel in Colombo.

• Transfer from Colombo to the airport to board your flight for the onward journey.