14-Day Sri Lanka Highlights Tour with Heritage Sites and Yala Safari

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

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

Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel in Negombo.

• Start with breakfast at the hotel.

• Explore the history of the dynamic city of Negombo.

• 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.

• Set off on a boat ride in the Negombo Lagoon, an extensive mangrove swamp. The Negombo lagoon boat ride would let you spot some of the lush mangroves with vast biodiversity, flora and fauna species in the area, as well as water birds such as herons, terns, cormorants and shorebirds.

• In the afternoon, return to the hotel and relax.

Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel in Negombo.

• Eat breakfast at the hotel.

• Leave for Pinnawala.

• Visit the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala, 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/Sigiriya.

Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Dambulla/Sigiriya.

• Savour breakfast at the hotel.

• Visit the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most dramatic, inspiring and beautiful historical locations in the world. 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 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. 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. 

• Later continued 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 splendid state of preservation. The ‘Gal Vihara’ which consists of statues of the recumbent, standing and seated Buddha, 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.

• Rise for breakfast at the hotel.

• Leave for Anuradhapura.

• Visit Anuradhapura (a World Heritage Site), the first capital and undoubtedly the grandest city of ancient Sri Lanka. Sri Maha Bodhi (sacred Bo-Tree) was brought as a tree sapling under which Prince Siddhartha attained enlightenment. It is over 2,200 years old and is the oldest historically documented tree globally.

• At Brazen Palace (2nd Century B.C) with its 1600 stone columns, see the remains of a magnificent multi-storied residence for monks. Ruwanweliseya (2nd century B.C) is the most famous of all the Dagobas, and the Isurumuniya rock temple (3rd Century B.C) is known for its rock carvings.

• In the afternoon, return to the hotel and relax.

Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Dambulla / Sigiriya.

• Wake up for 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.

• Eat 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. Visit 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.

• Proceed for 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 the height of 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.

• In the evening, walk in the British city and visit a local market.

Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

• Early breakfast at the hotel.

• Leave for a visit to the Horton Plains. The Horton Plains National Park is the highest plateau in Sri Lanka and hosts a unique eco-system, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park views are dominated by panoramic rolling grass plains, with occasional peaks topped by patches of montane forests. Most of its flora and fauna are endemic to Sri Lanka. Among many unique wildlife, dusky striped squirrel, giant squirrel, brown mongoose, rhino-horned lizard, pygmy lizard and the black cheeked lizard are a few. The park has a healthy population of sambar deers frequently spotted grazing. The most popular and accessible foot trail is called the World’s End & Baker’s Falls Round Trail.

• 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 “make” 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.

• Start with breakfast at the hotel.

• Leave for Tissa/Yala. 

• Witness 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, visible in the far distance on a clear day.

• Visit Rawana Ella Water Fall.

Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Tissa / Yala.

• Breakfast at the hotel.

• Visit the Kataragama pilgrimage site. Kataragama is a popular pilgrimage destination frequented by adherents of Buddhists & Hindus in Sri Lanka. The main shrine devoted to Skanda is popularly described in eulogies as God having six faces and twelve arms whose assistance is sought for worldly gain. The history of the shrine dates back to 2 centuries BC.

• Witness an offering (pooja) ceremony.

• In the afternoon, love 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.

• Savour breakfast at the hotel.

• Leave for 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.

• Stop by a turtle hatchery.

Dinner and overnight stay at Beach hotel.

• Wake up for breakfast at the hotel.

• Day at leisure.

Dinner and overnight stay at Beach hotel.

• Eat breakfast at the hotel.

• Transfer to airport for onward flight.