Tour Itinerary
This Tour Departs from Bandaranaike International airport
Duration
15 Nights & 16 Days.
Day 1: Airport/Kandy..
.
Arrival at the Bandaranaike International airport.. Welcome and assistance upon arrival and transfer to the Hotel in Kandy. On the way visit the Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela. It is an orphanage for baby elephants set up by the Department of National Zoological Gardens. The Orphanage was established to feed, nurse and house young elephants found abandoned by their mothers. Other inmates are those found displaced from their natural environs by development projects or those found wounded. evening arrive in Kandy and check in at the Hotel.
Day 2: Kandy
After breakfast, visit the Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya. The Royal Botanical Garden at Peradeniya were established in 1821 and now cover 140 acres enclosed in a loop in the Mahaweli river, the longest river in Sri Lanka. Its primary purpose was the testing and acclimatizing of plants for Commercial use in Sri Lanka. Today the Gardens have one largest collections of flora from sub tropical climates around the world.And beautiful and rare collections of Orchids. And visit an ancient cave Temple in Hindagela or visit Triangle Temple, Gadaladeniya Embekke and Lankatilaka ( those Temple are built in AD1300) Evening visit the temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, Kandyan cultural dance, and visiting a Sri Lanka Gem Museum. Over night stay at Kandy.
Day 3: Kandy/Mathale/Aluwihara/ Dambulla / sigiriya/Polonnaruwa
The legend of Aluvihara
Aluvihara Cave Temple
Located a short distance from Matale town is Aluvihara which is said to belong to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa.
Aluvihara is adorned by innumerable caves and a range of rock peaks. Archaeologists endorse the legendry belief that the Dagaba amd Bo Tree at Aluvihara can be traced to the reign of King Devanampiyatissa.
The Chatragla and Yantragala found amidst the remains of this Dagaba which had collapsed and now preserved in the Bomaluwa are said to be proof of this since it was during King Devanampiyatissa's reign there existed the cult of enshrining Yantragala in chetiyas with Chatra-gal subsequently fixed to these.
Aluvihara abounding in regional assets gradually became a famous cave temple consisting of image houses (pratima malaka) meditation cells (bhavana kuti) and monasteries (sanghavasa).
During the reign of King Valagamba this temple was a special Buddhist centre to perform the task of committing the scriptures to writing. Rock inscriptions in Aluvihara indicate the existence of compact meditation cells designed and donated from time to time by the devotees for the benefit of yogavachara bhikkhus
Dambulla
The gateway to the northwest, and the first of its great sights, is Dambulla, where one of Sri Lanka's finest cave temples stands - 150m (150yd) outside the modern village, and 72km (45 miles) north of Kandy on the outskirts of the dry zone. Within five large caverns the largest some 50m (360ft) deep and 6m (19ft) in height, are sitting, standing and reclining Buddha images by the dozen, as well as Hindu gods; and each cave is decorated with mural paintings of scenes from the Buddha's life. These murals are much more modern than the carvings, some of which are as much as 200 years old. The first temples are said to have been created by King Valagam Bahu (104-76BC), one of the kings of Anuradhapura, who was driven from his throne by South Indian invaders during the 1st century BC. He took shelter here, and on regaining power had a rock temple built in thanksgiving. The ascent to the caves - which are on the higher part of one of the smooth, sloping crags of rock that are a feature of dry zone landscapes - is steep, but as a reward for your efforts there is a great view of the crag of Sigiriya, about 20km (12 miles) away.
Sigiriya
Sri Lankan architectural tradition is well displayed at Sigiriya, the best preserved city centre in Asia from the first millennium, with its combination of buildings and gardens with their trees, pathways, water gardens, the fusion of symmetrical and asymmetrical elements, use of varying levels and of axial and radial planning.
The Complex consists of the central rock, rising 200 meters above the surrounding plain, and the two rectangular precincts on the east (90 hectares) and the west (40 hectares), surrounded by two moats and three ramparts.
The plan of the city is based on a precise square module. The layout extends outwards from co-ordinates at the centre of the palace complex at the summit, with the eastern and western axis directly aligned to it. The water garden, moats and ramparts are based on an 'echo plan' duplicating the layout and design on either side. This city still displays its skeletal layout and its significant features. 3 km from east to west and 1 km from north to south it displays the grandeur and complexity of urban-planning in 5th century Sri Lanka over night stay at polonnaruwa
Day 4: Polonnaruwa/Trincomalee
Polonnaruwa
After breakfast proceed to the Ancient City
Ancient City
Just north of present-day Polonnaruwa town, 140km (90 miles) north of Kandy, are the ruins of ancient Polonnaruwa, which date from the late 10th century, when the Chola kings of southern India invaded Sri Lanka and conquered Anuradhapura. The invaders moved their capital to Polonnaruwa, strategically located for defence against attacks from the unconquered Sinhala kingdom of Ruhuna, in the southeast (which has lent its name to Sri Lanka's most visited national park, ). Their defences ultimately proved inadequate and in 1070 they were forcibly evicted from Polonnaruwa by the Sinhalese ruler Vijayabahu 1. Recognizing, however, that Anuradhapura's location made it vulnerable to any assault from southern India, he and his successors made their capital at Polonnaruwa, adding enormous temples,palaces, parks, gardens and huge tanks. By the 13th century AD, however, new waves of attacks from southern India forced the Sinhalese kings to abandon the north of the island, and the kingdoms of Kotte in the southwest (near modern Colombo), and Kandy, in the highlands, became the centres of Sinhalese power
The ruins of the ancient city stand on the east shore of a large artificial lake, the Topa Wewa Lake, or Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama), created by King Parakramabahu I (1153-86), whose reign was Polonnaruwa's golden age. Within a rectangle of city walls stand palace buildings and clusters of dozens of dagobas, temples and various other religious buildings.
Over night stay at Trincomalee
Day 5: Trincomalee
Nilaveli - East Coast Delights...
Nilaveli Beach, is located 275 Km east to Colombo in one of finest tropical beaches and dive spots in Asia superior to the better known popular beaches of the South Coast. The East Coast offers a different holiday experience of Sri Lanka
Only a short drive from the Eastern Coastal town of Trincomalee, for years Nilaveli is the holiday destination of the selected few. A clean secluded beach is approached through a tangle of trees where there is white sand sloping gently with miles of picture perfect shores into a clear, shallow ocean.
The Nilaveli Beach introduces you to the other side of Sri Lanka. The East Coast beaches, the scenery, the sea, the cultural attractions are all there - but fascinatingly different and totally unforgettable.
Visit the Ganesh Temple one of the oldest temple in sri lanka…..and also visiting hot wells In Trincomalee
Day 6: Trincomalee/ Anuradhapura
After breakfast proceed to Anuradhapura
over night stay at Anuradhapura
Day 7: Anuradhapura / Kandy
After breakfask proceed to Anuradhapura...
The largest and oldest of all Sri Lanka's ancient cities, Anuradhapura is a fitting climax to any tour of the Cultural Triangle. Arguably, it takes a bit more effort to imagine it as it was more than 2000 years ago, with palaces and huge dagobas standing up to nine storeys high, a main processional avenue 24km (16 miles) long, and the richly decorated, ostentatious mansions of Sinhalese nobles and wealthy foreign merchants.
Founded by King Pandukhabaya in 437BC, by the mid-3rd century BC Anuradhapura's fame had spread as far as the Roman-Hellenistic world of the Mediterranean and by the 1st century AD it had established trade and diplomatic links with China. The Jetavana treasures, unearthed over the past 20 years (some are now displayed in the partially completed Jetavanarama Museum, on site) show evidence of these links to east and west.
Anuradhapura was the royal seat of more than 250 Buddhist and Hindu kings recorded in the royal genealogies, and the preeminent city on the island for some 1400 years
Anuradhapura's proximity to southern India both enriched it and encouraged the kingdom's conversion to Buddhism, but was also its eventual downfall, making it vulnerable to the invading Tamil forces of Rajaraja Chola, who sacked the city in the 11th century AD. The Sinhalese capital then moved to Polonnaruwa. Although attempts were made to preserve its monuments after the overthrow and expulsion of the Chola dynasty, it was never restored to its former glory.
The Mawathu Oya River forms the boundary between the sacred ancient city and the modern town of Anuradhapura, east of the river. To the west are several large tanks, some of them the work of King Mahasena (AD276-303), whose passion for large-scale construction also endowed the city with the enormous Jetavanarama Dagoba.
As at Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura's secular buildings were built partly or entirely of wood, which has not survived the centuries, whereas the giant dagobas, made entirely of earth, brick and stone, still stand complete. All sites and museums within the sacred city complex of Anuradhapura .
Sri Maha Bodhi (Sacred Bo-Tree)
Said to be the very tree brought to Sri Lanka as a gift from the Buddhist Indian Emperor Ashok in the 3rd century BC, this huge specimen of Ficus reliyiosa, or sacred fig tree, has a real claim to be genuinely the oldest tree in the world. It has been guarded by an uninterrupted series of guardian monks since it was planted. It stands
at the crossroads of Sri Maha Bodi Mawatha Mihindu Road and Kurunegala Road and is the best place to start exploring the sacred city.
After seeing Anuradhapura proceed to Kandy...over night stay at Kandy......
Day 8: Kandy /Adams speak….
After breakfast proceed to Adams speak
The most famous physical feature of Ceylon is Adam's Peak, which is situated in the Ratnapura district. It is on the edge of the central massif but its surrounding group of mountains called the Wilderness of the Peak, is so extensive in comparison to the bulk of the other mountain groups that it appears to form a nucleus of its own, separate from the others. It is about 7500 ft high and, though it is the second highest peak in the land, its position in relation to the topography is so dominant that it stands out above all others
over night stay at Adams speak….
Day 9: Adamspeak.. NuwaraEliya..
Early morning 02.30 proceed to the Adamspeak . Over night stay at Nuwara Eliya
NUWARA ELIYA
Day 10: Nuwara Eliya /Tea Plantation & Tea Factory
Nuwara Eliya, 100km (62 miles) south of Kandy and among some of Sri Lanka's most verdant hillsides at 1800m (5906ft) above sea level, is more reminiscent of the days of the English tea planters than any other place in Sri Lanka. This is hardly surprising, for Nuwara Eliya was built entirely during the 19th century and its architecture mimics that of an English country town, with red-brick walls and mock-Tudor half-timbering. Though the British planters and officials who found Nuwara Eliya a congenial place to escape from the heat of the lowlands are long gone, Sri Lanka's well-to-do still migrate to its cool climes during the hottest parts of the year and especially during the Sinhalese New Year holidays in April.With mountain forests, wilderness areas and national parks in easy reach - starting only 8km (5 miles) from the center Nuwara Eliya is a very popular base for bird watchers and eco tourists.It also has an adequate 18-hole golf course.
The Legendary Origins of Tea
The story of tea began in ancient China over 5,000 years ago. According to legend, Shen Nung, an early emperor was a skilled ruler, creative scientist and patron of the arts. His far-sighted edicts required, among other things, that all drinking water be boiled as a hygienic precaution. One summer day while visiting a distant region of his realm, he and the court stopped to rest. In accordance with his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from the near by bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown liquid was infused into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing. And so, according to legend, tea was created. (This myth maintains such a practical narrative, that many mythologists believe it may relate closely to the actual events, now lost in ancient history.)
Day 11: Nuwara Eliya \ Worlds End \ Ella
World's End
One of the attraction of Horton plains is World's End. There are infect two of them. "The small world's end" and "The big world's end" they are about 0.8km (1/2mile) apart from each other. From these, one could see the fall to the Tea states down bellow. A merry 1000ft(328m) from the small one and a dramatic 4000ft (1312m) from the big one. From here one could get a fantastic view of the surrounding hills and the mountain ranges wreathed in mists and clouds and on clear days even the Indian ocean which is about 50 miles (81km) to the south is visible. over night stay at Ella....
Day 12: Ella....
Ella, situated at 1,050 meters, is famous for the view from its mountain gap, its towering rock, and a mysterious cave. Although Sri Lanka has many scenic delights, there are few places to equal Ella. The view from the front garden of the rest house is particularly awe-inspiring. The terrain falls away precipitously down a ravine and then over miles of jungle to the shimmering expanse of the sea in the far distance, a scene enhanced by the looming Ella Rock on the right and a jungle ridge on the left
Ella Rock is remarkable for the cave popularly known as the Cave of Ravana, because The legend has it that, it was here that Ravana, the demon villain of the Ramayana, hid his captive, the beautiful Site. Properly known as Rattaran Guhava, it was in this cave that the Sri Lankan paleontologist, Dr Paul Deraniyagala, discovered ten skeletons of the cannibalistic Balangoda Man, Homo sapiens balangodensis. A visit to the cave requires a rope or rope ladder for entry as the floor is below the mouth. The cave has not been explored beyond the lake that fills it only a short way from the entrance.
Ravana Ella Falls, about 5 km from Ella, are also associated with the Ramayana. Ravana The stream plunges with a foaming spray over a series of ledges into the valley close to the road. Wide but not very high (9m) this waterfall has been described as the wildest looking in Sri Lanka. It is certainly one of the most beautiful.
over night stay at Yala
Day 13: Yala National Wild park / Hikkaduwa
Yala West (Ruhuna) National Park is well recognised as one of the best parks in the world to observe and photograph leopards. The park covers an area of over 100,000 hectares and is divided into five blocks. Block one is the most visited area since it contains the highest density of leopards. However other areas of Yala such as Yala East had been closed to visitors for some years and it will take time to research leopard numbers in these areas. Yala West consists of scrub jungle, brackish lagoons and stunning rock monoliths scattered throughout the park, its eastern edge is bounded by the South East coast
An excellent 'Natural World' wildlife documentary was filmed here featuring the 'Leopards of Yala', by Gordon Buchanan. Two local leopard experts, Jehan Kumara and Ravi Samarasinha assisted with the research and filming, Ravi continues his study of the park and its residents. One of the main findings of the film was that Yala has well over thirty leopards, probably the highest density anywhere in the world. It is also thought that Sri Lankan leopards are a distinct sub-species from their Indian neighbours, and the largest leopards in Asia over night stay Hikkaduwa OR choice of beach in south....
Day 14: Hikkaduwa Beach OR choice of beach in south
One of the worlds best beaches
Hikkaduwa is a sleepy fishing village situated a small distance from the city of Galle. With 2 km of unspoilt sands Unawatuna beach will never be overcrowded. Fringing the beach on the west side are a collection of beachside bars and restaurants serving drinks and meals. A reef on the West side of the beach creates a sheltered bay safe for swimming & snorkelling - equipment may be hired from VIP. The average water temperature is delicious 27 ° C
Hikkaduwa less than 5km (3 miles) southward around the coast from Galle, is a beach resort waiting to happen. If not for the troubles of the 1980s and 1990s, this 4km (2.5-mile) sweep of palm-fringed sand - said by some to be among the Twelve best beaches in the world - would no doubt already have gone the way of Beruwala, Bentota and Hikkaduwa. As it is, Hikkaduwa while no longer the well-kept secret of a handful of die-hard backpackers and divers, is still far from over-developed. Attractions include sheltered waters for swimming, and an accessible, reasonably well-preserved coral reef for snorkelling. For scuba divers, there are several wreck dives only 20-30 minutes away from the beach by boat.
Along the seafront there are many beachside bars and restaurants all serving very good food straight from the fisherman's net
Day 15: Hikkaduwa/ Galle Fort
Atmospheric Capital of the Southern Province, Galle boasts of a long history stretching back centuries, even before the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial days. Some scholars believe it to be the "Tarshish" of the Old Testament to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels
Today it is home to the historic 90-acre preserved Dutch Fort, declared an archeological reserve by the UN since 1969. This walled city is the slow-beating heart of Galle, bearing witness to it's past through the near crumbling architecture of grand old buildings, street names, and Dutch churches, still active. Join Galle's citizenry by taking a promenade at dusk around the old walls, ending up at the Star Bastion, front and center to one of the loveliest sunsets in the Indian Ocean.Over night stay at Hikkaduwa.
Day 16:
After Breakfast Proceed to air port in the time of Departure…….
