Airport to Negombo 

15 kms approx..  

10 mins drive  

Places of interest :    Fish Market  / Negombo  Town / Catholic church  & Old Dutch  Canal. 

Arrival at the Colombo international airport, a warm welcome by Royal Holidays Sri Lanka. Thereafter, proceed to Negombo.

Check in at the hotel. In the evening, do a city tour in Negombo . The major beach resort on the West Coast is Negombo. The wide sandy beaches and the safe sea are the major attractions of Negombo, a traditional fishing town. Besides the beach, the fish market is worth visiting, where busy trading of a variety of fish, including prawns, crabs, and seaweed, takes place in the mornings when the fishing crafts return to the shore with their catch. The most popular fishing craft is the outrigger canoe called the oruwa, dug out from a huge log and seen in large numbers in the Negombo-lagoon. 

Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel.

Negombo  to Dambulla via Pinnawala  

176 approx. 

4 hrs

Places of interest :   Elephant  Orphnage in Pinnawala ,  Rock cave temple in Dambulla  

Breakfast at the hotel & proceed to Dambulla. En route, visit the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is a home for about 60 elephants (out of which around 50 are baby elephants) found abandoned or orphaned in the wild. They are being cared for, fed and trained by the wild life authority. The best time for your visit is at 9 in the morning, when you will have the opportunity to see these “babes” being bottle-fed. You could also see the elephants having their daily baths at a river close by.

Visit Dambulla Rock Temple: It was built by King Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. Dambulla is a world heritage site and is the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. meters of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of painted walls in the world. The caves contain over 150 images of the Buddha, of which the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha, carved out of rock and spanning 14 meters.

Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel in Dambulla

Dambulla to Sigiriya 

20kms approx. 

2 ½  hrs visit  

Places of intrest / activities  :  Rock fortress of Sigiriya  / Village safari   –  traditional  Lunch 

After breakfast at the hotel, visit  rock fortress in Sigiriya. Sigiriya, sometimes also referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, dates back to over 7,000 years ago, through pre-Historic to Proto-Historic to Early Historic times, then as a rock-shelter mountain in the 3rd century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the monastery from about the sangha. The garden city and the palace were built by Kasyapa in 477–495 AD. Then, after Kasyapa’s death, it was a monastery complex until about the 14th century. Sigiriya is a unique witness to the civilization of Ceylon during the years of the reign of Kassapa I. The site of the ‘Lion Mountain’ was visited from the 6th century AD by passionate admirers.

Afternoon Enjoy a village safari in Hiriwaduwna . The trek begins with an awesome walk along the bank of a wewa, or manmade reservoir. The reservoir itself, the surrounding scrub jungle, marshland, and village are a hive of early morning or evening activity. The amazing birdlife, butterflies, and possible sightings of crocodiles only add to the charm of seeing the villagers as they go about their early morning tasks of fishing or washing clothes at the periphery of the lake.

Catamaran Safari for One Hour

The sense of adventure increases when you need to obtain a Chena Cultivation via a slightly larger tributary that must be crossed on a catamaran!

At the Chena cultivation, you will stop to enjoy the farmer’s humble hospitality. Perhaps enjoy a drink of sweet King Coconut/Aromatic ginger tea or some other seasonal fruit. While on the catamaran, you may see peacocks, green pigeons, comorans, green bitters, kingfishers, eagles, and many other birds, as well as land and water monitors.

A traditional village lunch at a local house 
Finally, after experiencing the cart ride and the catamaran safari, the next is the traditional lunch at a local house prepared by the village women.

This is arranged in a typical and traditional buffet style (clay pots – buffet), served on a lotus leaf and a cane thatched flat holder. (Guests could be invited to participate in cooking the meals) . Overnight stay at the hotel

Dambulla to Polonnaruwa  

20kms approx. 

2 ½ hrs visit  

Places of intrest / activities:  Royal Palace, the Gal Viharaya , audience hall, the lotus bath, the Polonnaruwa statue (12th century) and the Parakrama Sam udra tank (lake) built by king Parakramabahu the great.  Shiva temple, the Lankatileka, the Watadage, the Galpotha, the Kiri Vihare Dagoba and the remains of a former temple of the tooth.

Minneriya jeep safari 

Breakfast at the hotel & proceed to Polonnaruwa. Do a city tour in Polonnaruwa. Polonnaruwa is the 2nd capital of Sri Lanka. It was built in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. and is a world heritage site.

Minneriya Jeep Safari in Minneriya National Park is the world’s largest known gathering place for Asian elephants. During this time, herds of up to 350 elephants can be seen in the 8,890-hectare park located just a few square kilometers from the Minneriya Tank. According to some reports, there are as many as 700 elephants. During the dry season in August and September each year, wild elephants migrate from Wasgamuwa National Park to Minneriya National Park in search of food and shelter.

Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel in Polonnaruwa

Habarana  to Kandy via matale 

 93 Kms approx. 

3 ½ hrs.  

 Places of interest:    Rock cave temple of Dambulla. Spice Garden in Matale, Cultural dance show.  

Breakfast at the hotel & proceed to Kandy. While on the way, visit Dambulla Rock Cave Temple. Dambulla Rock Temple was built by King Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. Dambulla is a world heritage site and is the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. meters of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of painted walls in the world. The caves contain over 150 images of the Buddha, of which the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha, carved out of rock and spanning 14 meters.

En route, visit a spice garden to see the different spices that Sri Lanka is famous for. You will be introduced to different spices and shown how some of these spices are grown and processed.

Arrive in Kandy. In the evening, enjoy a cultural dance show.

Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel.

Places of interest:  Temple of tooth relic.   

Breakfast at the hotel city tour of Kandy.

One of the holiest and most important places for Buddhists is the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, also known as Dalada Maligawa, which is located in the old kingdom in the country’s central highlands. One of Lord Buddha’s teeth is believed to be housed in the temple. The tooth relic was delivered to Sri Lanka by an Indian princess by the name of Hemamala many years after Buddha’s passing.

A moat surrounds the temple complex, which is bordered by white elephant carvings. The temple complex also provided views of the four primary Devalas (God temples). As soon as you approach the temple grounds, you see statues of revered and well-known monks, including the Hikkaduwe Sri Summangala Thera and Weera Keppetipola Disawe, a hero of the Uva uprising against the British. You can see the Octagon and the golden canopy over the chamber holding the tooth relic clearly from this location.

Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Kandy to Ella via Nuwara Eliya 

130kms approx. 

6 ½ hrs

Places of interest:  Nuwara Eliya, Little Adams Peak, Ravana Waterfall, Demodara Nine Arch Bridge

Breakfast at the hotel and proceed to Ella. En route, visit a tea factory in Nuwara Eliya.

Visit a tea plantation and a tea factory where some of the best tea in the world is produced. You will be told all about the process of manufacturing tea and also see how tea is graded. Try tasting a cup of pure Ceylon tea in the factory. Nuwara Eliya is Sri Lanka’s premier hill resort with a fine, bracing mountain climate. Nuwara Eliya is also the heart of Sri Lanka’s tea country, producing 50% of the world’s best tea. Sri Lanka’s highest mountain, Pidurutalagala (8280 ft), is located here. It is also famous for British architecture. 

Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel in Ella.

Ella to Udawalawe 

Breakfast at the hotel.  Proceed to  Udawalawe.  Do a Jeep safari in Udawalawe National Park which is one of the largest national parks in the country and is renowned for its elephants. 

Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Udawalawe 

Udawalawe to Colombo vía Galle 

250kms 

4kms 

Places of interest: Galle Face Promenade, Dutch Hospital Shopping precinct, Colombo harbor , Lake House Complex , Gangarama Sima Malaka, Public Library, National Museum, Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo Town hall , Race Course Ground Independence Square , BMICH, Replica of Aukana Buddha Statue, , Pettah market, fort Railway Station ,World Market.

Visit the ancient city of Galle en route after breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Galle Dutch Fort. The Galle Fort, also known as The Dutch Fort or the “Ramparts of Galle,” withstood the Boxing Day tsunami, which damaged a portion of Galle Town’s coastal area. It was later repaired. The Galle Fort also houses the prestigious Amangalla resort hotel, which is close to the Dutch Reformed Church. It was constructed in 1684 to house the Dutch Governor and his staff. In 1865, it was converted into a hotel called the New Oriental Hotel, which catered to European passengers traveling between Europe and Galle Port in the nineteenth century.

Proceed to Colombo. Similar to many other capital cities in developing nations, Colombo is rapidly evolving. Where ancient ones once stood, new ones appear virtually overnight, although some locations still have an old-world charm. The city still has a century-old clock tower and a number of colonial structures constructed by the British. The folk-art center, the new parliament in Sri Jayawardenapura, the Bandaranaike memorial international conference hall, the Pettah bazaar, where one can find bargains, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, residential areas where mansions of the wealthy can be found, the Colombo Museum (outside visit only), and others are some of the places of interest that one can visit.

Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel in Colombo

Colombo – Airport  

40kms approx..

15Min 

We wish you farewell as our Chauffeur Guide drives you to the airport to catch your return trip home because all wonderful things must come to an end.