Exploring Hindu & Buddhist Heritage

Day 01 : Arrival Transfer to Negombo

A warm welcome to Sri Lanka by our representative / your guide, at the Bandaranaike International airport, 30 KMS North of Colombo, the Island’s capital. You will be transferred to your beach hotel in Negombo. Enjoy your first glimpse of the color and culture of Sri Lanka as your travel to the coastal town of Negombo. Rest of the day is at leisure to relax and unwind by the Indian Ocean. The beach is at its most picturesque around sunset time when local fishermen mend their nets and prepare their boats ahead of night fishing trips. The strip of restaurants and cafés behind the beach, is lively after dark and a great place to sample local seafood.

Day 02 : Game Drive in the Wilpattu National Park / Anuradapura

Enjoy an early breakfast and leave for Wilpattu. In the afternoon make a Jeep Safari in the Wilpattu National Park. In the far north east of Sri Lanka, Wilpattu encompasses 130,000 hectares of savannah and marshland is fast regaining its popularity as a wildlife destination. Its varied habitats support 31 Spices of mammal, including elephant, jackal, sambar deer, spotted deer, laughing deer, buffalo and mongoose. Most visitors are here for the sloth bears and leopards. The animals tend to congregate around Wilpattu’s trademark ‘villus’, or lakes, which feed into the Modara Gamaru and Kala Oya Rivers. It tends to be far less busy than the island’s better known national parks. Encounters with elephant and monitor lizards are frequent; leopards and bears may be more elusive but over the course of your stay the odds of seeing them are high. Move to Anuradhapura for the nights stay.

Recommended Activities: Safari Adventure Wilpattu National Park

Day 03 : Anuradapura Ancient Sites / mihintale Temple

Enjoy your breakfast and make a guided tour of the first capital of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura, the greatest and most resilient of all Sri Lanka’s ancient capitals, and Mihintale, the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura, was founded in 377 BC and thrived until its destruction by Indian invaders in 993AD. Today, its monuments attract tourists and Buddhist pilgrims from across the globe. The most revered monument on the site, however, is of more modest proportions: enclosed within tiers of gold railings, the Sri Maha Bodhi, or Sacred Bodhi Tree, is believed to have grown this tree from a cutting taken from India over 2,500 years ago and from the tree under which the Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment. It is considered to be the oldest tree in the world! Among the many Buddhist monuments, brilliant white dome-shaped Ruwanweliseya and Jethawanarama stupas, the largest of their kind in South Asia, Historic architecture, Ponds etc., still can be seen. One of the largest surviving structures is the giant Jethawanarama dagoba, which at the time of its construction in the late 3rd century AD, was as almost as tall as the two great pyramids at Giza. Mihintale Temple holds immense cultural and religious importance for the people of Sri Lanka. It 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 In the afternoon depart for Jaffna the northern capital of the Island predominantly Hindu where you will stay the next two nights.

Recommended Activities: Explore the Ancient City Anuradhapura Mihintale

Day 04 : Explore the Jaffna Peninsula

Enjoy your breakfast and visit the Nagadeepa Buddhist Temple. Later visit the nearby Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, one of the island’s most revered Hindu shrines. Dedicated to the God Murugan, Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is the region’s largest temple. Enjoy a traditional Jaffna lunch in a local restaurant before making a city tour of Jaffna. Later take walk in the Jaffna’s bustling market area. Stay overnight in Jaffna.

Recommended Activities: Taste Of The North – Jaffna Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Bird Watching In Jaffna Exploring Jaffna Dutch Fort

Day 05 : Dambulla Cave Temple / Matale Spice Garden

Enjoy an early breakfast and leave for Kandy. On the way make a stop at the Cave Temple in Dambulla, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sri Lanka’s greatest cave-temple complex. Later visit a Spice Garden to see how the local Spice including cinnamon, cardamom, pepper creepers and other spice trees grow, their numerous forms of use. Drive to Kandy, the island’s cultural capital and the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy, Kandy is encircled by jungle-covered hills. Located in the refreshing highlands, Kandy is easy to fall in love with. Check in at your hotel in Kandy. Later attend a cultural dance performance with fire dancing. Stay overnight in Kandy.

Recommended Activities: Dambulla Cave Temple Tour Of The Spice Garden

Day 06 : Kandy City Tour / Botanical Gardens / Hill Country

Enjoy your breakfast and visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the island’s most revered Buddhist shrine. Pilgrims dressed in white clothes come to worship throughout the day, carrying lotus blooms and frangipani flowers to present at the shrine. Proceed exploring Kandy’s colorful Bazar, Upper Lake, arts centers, museums etc. Visit the Kandy’s Royal Botanical Gardens famed for the world-class collection of orchids, palms and, the real showstopper, a giant Javan fig tree. Leave for Nuwara eliya, known as “Little England” of Sri Lanka. En route see the mountains covered with tea bushes and cascading waterfalls. The drive is scenic, nature rich, with mountains covered with tea bushes etc. The town is set against a beautiful backdrop of mountains, valleys, waterfalls and tea gardens. Nuwara eliya is one of the coldest places in the island, with a weather of almost like a spring day in England. The temperature will drop at night and taking a warm cloth is recommended. Later make a sight-seeing tour of Nuwara eliya. Explore the city center to see the colonial buildings, Race Course, Hill Club Hotel, Gregory Lake and Sita Amman Kovil. Overnight stay in Nuwara eliya.

Recommended Activities: The Temple Of The Tooth Relic, Kandy Royal Botanical Gardens Chasing Waterfalls Kandy City Tour

Day 07 : Tea Experience / Bentota

After breakfast leave for the south coast of Sri Lanka. On the way visit a tea factory and a plantation to learn how the region’s most fragrant brews are produced. The Tea experience starts with a guided tour of a local tea factory, where you’ll be shown how the top best leaves are picked and processed. Taste a cup of freshly brewed pure Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Tea. You can also buy fresh tea from the factory outlet. Leave for the south coast. Travel through a beautiful landscape & see the widest water fall of Sri Lanka, “St. Clair’s”. Enjoy the rich nature. Make a stop at the Tea Kiosk passing the “Devon” waterfall. Drive through Kithulgala where the Oscar winning movie “Bridge on the River Kwai” was filmed. Optional – For those who love adventure, white water rafting could be arranged at Kitulgala, down river Kelani, Sri Lanka’s 2nd largest. On the way at Induruwa visit a Sea Turtle Hatchery. Later in the day enjoy a relaxed stay at your beach hotel in Bentota south coast of Sri Lanka by the Indian Ocean. Overnight stay in Bentota, south coast.

Recommended Activities: Bentota Beach Colombo Tea Factory Tour Tea Plucking

Day 08 : Colombo City Tour

Enjoy the breakfast and the morning is at leisure. In the afternoon make a sight-seeing tour of Colombo. Visit a Buddhist Temple, Pettah, Colonial era remainings, Fort, Galle Face Green, Independence Square, BMICH, a replica of the tallest standing Buddha statue at Aukana, etc. Discover the city & explore one or more of the shopping malls, such as House of Fashion, Odel, Arena, One Galle Face, etc. Evening transfer to Airport for onward flight.

Recommended Activities: Shopping Spree At Urban Malls – Colombo