Itinerary

1. Day 1: Airport - Negombo

   • Meet the tour guide upon arrival in Sri Lanka, and transfer to a beach hotel in Negombo.
   • Spend the rest of the day at your leisure. Negombo is a characteristic fishing town north of Colombo; it is 6 km from the international airport. Negombo is a gourmet paradise with seafood in plenty and old-world fishing craft, like the outrigger canoe and the catamaran. Seer, skip jack, herring and mullet, amberjack, lobster and prawn are caught in the lagoon.

   Overnight stay in Negombo.

   Approximately: 26 minutes / 17 Km

2. Day 2: Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - Anuradhapura

   • Have breakfast, check out of the hotel and leave for Anuradhapura. En route, take a short break and visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Elephant Orphanage is an institution that has been looking after orphaned or injured elephants that would otherwise have surely died. Then you can watch the elephants bathe in the river after the youngest babies are milk fed.
   • Travel to Anuradhapura. Visit the Anuradhapura cultural sites. Anuradhapura is the birthplace of the Sinhalese civilization and one of the world’s largest archaeological sites. It is considered the greatest monastic city.

   Approximately: 3 hours & 35 minutes / 168 Km

3. Day 3: Mihintale rock - Polonnaruwa

   • Have breakfast and visit the Mihintale rock is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa, which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It is now a pilgrimage site and the site of several religious monuments and abandoned structures.
   • Travel to Polonnaruwa, and visit Polonnaruwa cultural sites. Polonnaruwa was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 11th to the 13th century AD. This ancient city is today one of the most beautiful centres of the island’s cultural heritage. In its prime, the city housed hundreds of thousands of people inside its 3 miles-strong encircling walls.  

   Overnight stay at Polonnaruwa.

   Approximately: 2 hours 5 minutes / 103Km

4. Day 4: Sigirya - Minneriya National Park

   • Enjoy breakfast, check out of the hotel and leave for Sigiriya.
   • Visit the Sigiriya rock fortress, one of Sri Lanka’s most fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Sites. No matter how often you climb to the summit of this one-time hilltop fortress of the maverick Sinhalese king, Kassapa, the pleasure barely diminishes because of the abandoned spectacular views at the summit. You can go for the elephant ride at Sigiriya.
   • Go to a forest Buddhist monastery in the evening. Before that, in the afternoon, hop on a jeep safari through the Minneriya National Park, looking for elephants, deer, peacocks, boars, and many kinds of birds.

   Overnight stay in Sigiriya.

   Approximately: 1 hour 10 minutes / 56Km

5. Day 5: Dambulla Temple - Matale - Kandy

   • Travel to Kandy via Dambulla and Matale. En route, visit the Golden Rock Temple. Golden Rock is a cave temple which dates back to the 1st Century BC. Its rock ceiling is one large sweep of colourful frescoes, which depict Buddhist mythology and the tales of the Buddha’s previous births. The caves house the largest collection of Buddha statues in one place.  
   • Drive to Matale to visit the Nalanda Gedige Temple. The small building is designed like a Hindu temple with a mandapa, an entrance hall (originally roofed), a short passage to a bare cello, and an ambulatory around the holy centre. There is no sign of Hindu gods. The temple is said to have been used by Buddhists. This is one of the earliest stone-constructed buildings in Ceylon.
   • Visit the Matale spice garden.
   • Reach Kandy and visit the Temple of the Tooth. View a cultural dance in the evening.

   Overnight stay at a hotel in Kandy.

   Approximately: 2 hours 30 minutes / 90Km

6. Day 6: Colombo - Departure

   • Transfer to the airport on time for the flight. En route, you will have a city tour in Colombo. Colombo city is the capital of Sri Lanka; it is the largest city and main port of Sri Lanka. It is also the commercial and financial center of Sri Lanka. A bustling metropolis, the city, is an attractive blend of old and new. It has the lazy charm of the bygone era combined with the verve and vivaciousness of a modern city.
   • Visit the important places in the capital city of Colombo, such as the Parliament, Gangarama Temple, Independence Square, Galle Face Green, the museum and the World Trade Center.
   • Reach the airport on time for the flight.