Wilpattu – Anuradhapura – Trincomalee – Habarana – Kandy – Nuwara Eliya - Colombo

Total No of Days : 12 Days

Best Season : May to October

DAY 01:  WILPATTU

Arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport. You will be greeted by a Starron Tours representative. Thereafter you will be transferred to Wilpattu (approximately 03 ½ hours drive). In the evening, take a jeep safari to Wilpattu National Park.

Wilpattu National Park is a park located on the island of Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (Natural lakes) - Natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Located in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park is 131, 693 hectares and ranges from 0 to 152 meters above sea level. Nearly sixty lakes (Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Wilpattu is the largest and one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu is among the top national parks world-renowned for its population. A remote camera survey was conducted in Wilpattu from July to October 2015 by the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust. A sample of forty nine individual leopards were photo-captured in the surveyed area.

Dinner & overnight stay in Wilpattu.

DAY 02:  ANURADHAPURA

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter you will be transferred to Anuradhapura (approximately 01 hour drive). You could visit one of the oldest cities of the Sinhalese kingdom, Anuradhapura and in the evening visit Mihintale.

Anuradhapura is the capital of Sri Lanka from the 05th Century B.C. to the end of the 10th Century A.D. was the most celebrated of Sri Lanka’s ancient ruined cities. The city’s greatest treasures are its Dagabas constructed of bricks and are hemispherical in shape. The most notable of these Dagabas are the Ruvanveliseya dating back to the 2nd Century B.C. and is 300 feet in diameter, the Jetawanarama is 370 feet and the Thuparama Dagoba is enshrined with the collarbone of the Buddha. The city’s most renowned relic is the sacred Bo Tree, which is said to have grown from a branch of the tree under which the Buddha gained Enlightenment. It was planted 2250 years ago and is the oldest historically authenticated tree in the world.

Mihintale where Buddhism was first introduced to Sri Lanka. Mihintale is regarded as the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The rock is riddled with shrines and rock dwellings. A grand stairway of 1,840 steps made out of granite slabs 15′ wide leads to the summit from where one could get a splendid view of the surrounding countryside.

Dinner & overnight stay in Anuradhapura.

DAY 03 - 05:  TRINCOMALEE

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter you will be transferred to Trincomalee (approximately 02 ½ hours drive). During your stay in Trincomalee, you could proceed on the following excursions and also enjoy your days on the beach.

Whale & dolphin watching - Trincomalee is rapidly emerging as another internationally important whale-watching destination. Blue whales in particular (plus smaller numbers of sperm whales) can regularly be seen around six to eight nautical miles east of Trincomalee (about 30min by boat), Dolphins (mainly Spinner) are also regularly seen. Most sightings occur between March/April and August/September, as whales continue their migrations around the island from the south coast (where they mainly congregate from December to April).

Pigeon Island National Park is a paradise for scuba divers and the second marine sanctuary in Sri Lanka. It is considered as one of the iconic tourism attraction site in Eastern Sri Lanka. It was first declared as a sanctuary in 1963 and upgraded as a National Marine Park under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance in 2003. The Park consists of two islands of which one is small and other one is larger in size. This is unique and is the only national park in the country to harbour a colony of the beautiful blue rock pigeons and contains some of the best remaining coral reefs in the country. There are around 100 types of coral reefs and 178 species of fish on this island. The British army used this island as a place for shooting practice during the early world war time. Pigeon Island National Marine Park consists of around five hectares of land area and about 1000 meters radius into the sea with the coral reef as the national park boundary (471.429 hectares). In 2002, the island was opened for tourism and visited by large number of local and foreign tourists since then. 

Dinner & overnight stay in Trincomalee.

DAY 06 - 07: HABARANA

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter you will be transferred to Habarana (approximately 01 hour drive). During your stay in Habarana, you could proceed on the following excursions.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress is located in the central Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. The name refers to a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of rock nearly 200 metres (660 ft) high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Culavamsa, this site was selected by King Kashyapa (477 – 495 CE) for his new capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace was abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.

Polonnaruwa, which was the 2nd capital city of Sri Lanka built in the 11th and 12th centuries AD, and which is a world heritage site. Here you can see the ruins of the Royal Palace, the Gal Viharaya where 4 splendid statues of the Buddha in ‘Upright’, ‘Sedentary’ and ‘Recumbent’ postures carved out of rock could be seen, the Audience Hall, the Lotus Bath, the statue of king Parakramabahu, and the Parakrama Samudraya – a lake built by King Parakramabahu the great. There are also monuments of famous places of worship such as the Shiva Temple, the Lankatilaka, the Watadage, the Galpotha, the Kiri Vehera and the remains of a former Temple of the Tooth Relic.

Village Tour is designed for you to experience the real traditional Sri Lankan rural village style, where you will travel in a Bullock cart to a rural village through lush green paddy fields where you will be served tea and “jaggery" along with lunch made to authentic Sri Lankan style. Traditional cooking methods, and a visit to a paddy field to see how the local farmers protect their crops from the wild animals, will be demonstrated. The finale of this excursion will be a traditional canoe ride in a lake in Habarana. Highly recommended as a "must do” activity when you are in Habarana to get feel the real Sri Lanka.

Dinner & overnight stay in Habarana.

 
DAY 08 - 09:  KANDY

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter, you will be transferred to Kandy (approximately 03 hours drive). En route to Kandy, you could visit the famous Dambulla Cave Temple. During your stay, visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and Temple of the Tooth.

Dambulla Cave Temple also known as the Golden Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. 

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2011, there were 88 elephants, including 39 males and 49 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala. The orphanage was founded to care and protect the many orphaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). You have a chance of proceeding on an elephant ride too.

Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa, is one of the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world. This is a royal palace complex that preserves the left canine tooth relic of Lord Buddha. Built during the 17th century, this Temple is well preserved till today and visited by many thousands of devotees and tourists from around the world. This shrine has always played an important role in politics because there is a belief that whoever is in possession of the relic is the one who holds the governance of the country. In 1987, a golden canopy was built over the main shrine and this made the Temple easily identifiable from far away. Due to the significances that this sacred relic is known for it is one of the best places to visit in Kandy and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dinner & overnight stay in Kandy.

DAY 10:  NUWARA ELIYA

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter you will be transferred to Nuwara Eliya (approximately 02 ½ hours drive). You could visit a tea factory during your stay in Nuwara Eliya.

Visit a working Tea Factory and be enlightened on the tea manufacturing process. Watch the tea pickers as they nimbly climb up the mountainside with their large baskets and pick the tea leaves, then visit the factory and you will be taken around by a friendly staff member who will explain the process of fermentation, rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading of tea. 

Dinner & overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya.

DAY 11:  COLOMBO

Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter you will be transferred to Colombo (approximately 04 ½ hours drive). In the evening, do the city tour of Colombo.

Colombo, like many capital cities in developing countries is fast changing its face. Almost overnight, skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood. Yet in some parts, the old world charm is retained. For example, there is a 100-year-old clock tower and several British built colonial buildings. Other places of interest are the Pettah bazaar – where one can shop for bargain, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) – an outright gift to Sri Lanka from the People’s Republic of China.

Dinner & overnight stay in Colombo.

DAY 12:  DEPARTURE

Breakfast at the hotel. In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the Bandaranaike International Airport (approximately 01 hour drive).