Day 1: (Arrival / Night: Negombo)
A private transport and a Secret Lanka representative pick you up from the airport and take you to the Hotel.
!!! Please consider that in case your plane is expected to land at Bandaranaike International Airport after 20:00 local time (Negombo, Sri Lanka), Day 1 will be the next day. In that case, your accommodation will be in the same hotel during the first two nights!!! Take this into consideration when you book your flight back home!
Night in Negombo.
Days 2 & 3: (Night: Sigiriya)
In the morning your driver meets you at your hotel and you leave to Sigiriya.
Today's program takes you to a guided visit to Sigiriya. Sigiriya, the spectacular 'Lion rock' fortress, stands majestically overlooking the luscious green jungle surroundings, and is one of Sri Lanka's major attractions. Highlights: the water gardens, the frescoes of the Sigiriya Damsels, the mirror wall with graffiti, the lion platform and the summit.
On the next day we will visit a national park, jungle safari by four-wheel jeep. This is an ideal destination to see wild life and elephants.
Two nights in Sigiriya
Days 4 & 5: (Night: Kandy)
In the morning our transport takes you to kandy. Kandy, the charming hill capital, cultural centre of the island and a World Heritage City.
Nestling amidst low hills, and looped by the Mahaweli river, Sri Lanka's largest, Kandy is still the home of the arts and crafts, music and dance and song which flourished under the patronage of the Kandyan Kings. For Buddhists, Kandy is the sacred city. The focal point is the Dalada Maligawa also known as the temple of the tooth, where the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha is enshrined. There are many shrines and temples in and around Kandy, where you will see rare paintings, frescoes, wood and stone carvings.
The highlight of the year is the Kandy Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is taken in procession accompanied by exotically costumed drummers, dancers and about 80 -100 caparisoned elephants during ten glittering nights in July/ August.
The beautiful city, surrounded by hills and valleys, rivers, lakes and cascading waterfalls, boasts of the Royal Botanical gardens at Peradeniya.
Kandy is an exciting place for shopping with souvenirs of wood, copper, silver, brass and bronze. Ceramics, lacquer work, handlooms, batiks, jewellery, rush and reed-ware too could be purchased. While in Kandy, an outing to a tea factory as well as a tea plantation should also be made to witness first hand, the process that leads to the creation of the famous 'Ceylon Tea'.
Dalada Maligawa Temple of the Tooth. The importance of Kandy is mainly due to being the home of the Dalada Maligawa, which houses the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. The tooth relic itself is claimed to have come to Sri Lanka some 1600 years ago, when a certain princess from southern India brought it to Anuradhapura, which was then the most powerful kingdom in Sri Lanka. As king and kingdoms rose and fell, it finally ended up in around 1100AD.
Peradeniya Botanical Gardens These gorgeous gardens were first planned and laid out for King Keerthi Sri Rajasingha (1747-1780) and cover some 150 acres of trees, lawns and flowering shrubs, including a 50 acres arboretum of more than 10000 trees. Under British rule, the royal park became a botanical garden in 1821 and is the largest of Sri Lankas three mail botanical gardens. The best known attraction of the garden is the Orchid house, which has more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids.
Two nights in Kandy.
Day 6: (Night: Nuwara Eliya)
On the way to Kandy you can visit Dambulla Cave Temple like Sigiriya Dambulla is a vast isolated rock mass and it was here king Walagambahu took refuge in the 1st century B.C. He later turned the caves into a rock temple. Its rock ceiling is one large sweep of colorful paintings which depict Buddhist mythology and tales of the Buddhas previous births. Some of them are over 2000 years old. Within the cave temple there is the largest collection of the Buddha statues in a single.
Your transport picks you up from the hotel to take you to Nuwara Eliya. One day city tour.
Blessed a with salubrious climate, breathtaking views of valleys, meadows, mountains and greenery; it's hard to imagine that Nuwara Eliya is only 180 Km from the hot and humid Colombo. Nuwara Eliya (City of Lights), also known as 'Little' England', was the favourite hill station of the British who tried to create Nuwara Eliya into a typical English Village.
Highlights: Gregory's Lake -Nuwara Eliya, Hakgala Botanical Gardens, Horton Plains, Devon Falls, The Ceylon Breweries, The Nissangala Lena on the road to Adam's Peak.
Night in Nuwara Eliya.
Day 7: (Night: Ella)
Today you can enjoy with a Sri Lankan train journey to Ella. (On availability)
Only 8 km from Bandarawela, this small town is used as a base for plenty of trekking expeditions to the surrounding countryside. Day at leisure.
Night in Ella.
Day 8: (Night: Tissa)
About 40km (25 miles) north east of Hambantota, Tissa is the most convenient jumping-off point for Ruhuna National Park, to the east, and the Kataragama temple complex.
Private tour to Buduruwagala Temple and to Yala National Park.
Buduruwagala Temple Although it is off the beaten track and seldom included in tour itineraries it is perhaps the finest sculpture of Mahayana Buddhism found in Sri Lanka dating back to 9-10 c. Its jungle setting adds depth to this site.
Yala National Park is famous for its elephant population seen in small and large herbs, spotted deer, Sambhur, Barking deer, monkey, wild buffalo, wild Boer, sloth bear and innumerable verities of birds, endemic and migratory. Peacock is the most famous of the birds at Yala.
Day 9 & 10: (Night: Mirissa)
Heading eastward from Tissa, the scenery changes from the lush green of the southwest to more open landscapes as you enter the dry zone of southeastern Sri Lanka.
Today we will visit to a Salt farm at Hambantota a natural salt farm producing salt for domestic and export purpose.
The Hummanaya-Blow Hole is a natural fountain, caused when sea water rushes through a submerged cavern and is pushed upwards. Hummanaya is located on the southern Sri Lankan coast. The ocean water flows underneath the shore, and then comes out of this hole due to pressure. Water shoots up every minute or so, and it gives very serene feeling. The spray is often as high as 25 meters, giving on lookers a sea bath on land.
Lighthouse at Devi Nuwara-just over kilometer south of Dondra town, a British built octagonal lighthouse (1889) marks the southernmost point in Sri Lanka. Standing 54 meters tall, the light house presents sweeping views of up & down the coast. To the south from this tropical coast here, beyond the view of local fishing boats riding the indigo waves there is nothing until Antarctica.
Optional: whale and dolphin watching tours in Merissa
Two nights in Mirissa.
Days 11 & 12: (Night: Bentota)
Today's program takes you to a guided visit to Bentota.
Days at leisure. You can enjoy everything from jet skiing and windsurfing, to wakeboarding and canoeing. Boat trips up the river and deep sea fishing trips depend on weather conditions. Many independent diving schools operate along the beach front during diving season.
Two nights in Bentota.
Day 13: (Night: Negombo)
Your transport picks you up from the hotel to take you to Negombo.
Day at leisure.
Day 14: (Leave: Airport)
