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Day 1: | COLOMBO - NEGOMBO When you arrive at the airport in Colombo you will be met by one of our representatives and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to relax and unwind. |
Day 2: | NEGOMBO This morning you take a boat ride in the Muthurajawela Nature Reserve. This huge area covers 7,000 hectares and is located within the tropical wetlands between Colombo and Negombo. The area is gorgeous, with endless small water channels, thick mangrove forest, swaying palm trees and abundance of birds and butterflies. You may be able to spot herons, storks, waders and brilliantly coloured kingfishers. The children will enjoy keeping their eyes peeled for larger animals including monitor lizards and an occasional python and crocodile. The afternoon is free for you to relax. |
Day 3: | NEGOMBO - WILPATTU NATIONAL PARK You will have a free morning at the Horathapola. Later drive to Wilpattu where you will spend the night in a tented camp. Children will love sleeping beneath the stars. |
Day 4: | WILPATTU Today you will have a full day jeep safari in the Wilpattu National Park. This is the largest in Sri Lanka and is spread across a large area that is home to more than 50 natural lakes. These prove a magnet for wildlife and the park is home to a significant leopard population although exact numbers are not known. There are also a wide range of other animals including wild elephant, sloth bear and a variety of deer. |
Day 5: | WILPATTU - SIGIRIYA Head through picturesque countryside of coconut plantations and lush green paddy fields, en route the ‘cultural triangle’. In the afternoon you will visit Sigiriya, a huge rock fortress built in the 5th century on top of an enormous, sheer sided rock. It is quite a steep climb up to the top but the views are immense and you can stop along the way at the ‘open air art gallery’ where beautiful frescoes adorn the sides of the rock. There are also extensive ruined gardens around the base of the rock so make sure that you allow time to wander around these to get a real sense of the scale of the palace. |
Day 6: | DAMBULLA After breakfast join pilgrims in Dambulla to climb up to a vast series of caves covered in brightly coloured frescoes and statues of Buddha and his disciples that date back more than 2,000 years. This is a UNESCO world heritage site and is very impressive. Along the way you will see a large number of playful monkeys that live in and around the temple; a fantastic photo opportunity. The rest of the day is your own to relax and unwind. |
Day 7: | POLONARRUWA - MINNERIYA This morning you visit the magnificent remains of Sri Lanka’s medieval capital at Polonnaruwa. The ruins are quite extensive and include a number of exquisite temples, giant Buddhist carvings and huge lakes which formed the basis of a remarkable irrigation system. In the afternoon you will take a safari in Minneriya National Park. The park is famous for its large herds of wild elephants as well as deer, wild boar, water buffalo and jackals. This is one of the best places in Asia to see wild elephants and you can get remarkably close to large numbers of the animals; the herds are sometimes 150-200 strong. |
Day 8: | TRINCOMALEE Drive to Trincomalee, a bustling town in the North East of Sri Lanka which has been off limits for many years but has recently opened up to tourism again. You will stay just outside the town on the beach. You will visit the Fort Fredrick, first built by the Portuguese to protect this valuable deep water port, and also the colourful Koneswaram Temple. |
Days 9-10: | TRINCOMALEE Two full days to relax and enjoy the beach. There are various options if you would like to take part in activities; this is one of the best places in the world to see blue whales and you can arrange a morning boat trip out into the deep seas off the coast in search of both whales and dolphin. You can also go snorkeling on Pigeon Island where you can see the brightly coloured coral as well as an array of fish such as angelfish, trumpet fish, parrot fish and many, many others. |
Day 11: | TRINCOMALEE - ELKADUWA After breakfast you will drive to the edge of the Knuckles Ranges where you will stay for two nights in a 1930s tea planter’s bungalow with incredible views. The estate covers an area of around 98 acres, most of it used to grow tea although there are also a number of cows and a small pepper plantation. The area around the estate is lovely and if you are feeling active you can follow peaceful trails through the tea fields, down to a waterfall at the base of the valley where you ca swim. Alternatively you can just relax by the swimming pool and enjoy the views over the Knuckles Ranges. If you prefer, you can keep the day free to laze by the pool, take part in a cookery demonstration or wander down to the local village, explore the temple and meet the locals. |
Day 12: | ELKADUWA You have a full free day to relax and enjoy the beautiful views or to head out exploring the estate. The children will love swimming in the pool at the base of the waterfall on the estate, getting a ‘power shower’ from the cascade. |
Day 13: | KNUCKLE RANGES - KANDY After breakfast you will depart for Kandy. You will visit The Temple of the Tooth, which is believed to hold one of Buddha’s teeth and is one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world and will also head to the Royal Botanical Gardens. These are some of the most extensive in Asia with more than 5000 different species of flora and the area is essentially a huge and extremely beautiful park. This is a great place to just wander at will. In the evening you will see a cultural performance of traditional Kandyan dancing and devotional fire walking. It is fascinating to watch as hot coals are brought out and laid on the stage before the dancers walk briskly over them. Afterwards, drive on to Negombo, for a final day at this friendly fishing town. |
Day 14: | KANDY - NEGOMBO This morning rise with the sun for a hike in the Udawattakella Nature Reserve which encompasses the sacred woods bordering the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. This is an interesting sanctuary and the lush and relatively untouched rainforest provides a haven for birds and monkeys. |
Day 15: | NEGOMBO Time to say goodbye to Sri Lanka and head home. |