Price
From £3,845 per person
Includes flights, speedboat transfers in Maldives, accommodation, a/c transport with chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka, activities & taxes.
Drive up to Dambulla in the island’s Cultural Triangle.
Three nights at Heritance Kandalama, which was designed by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated contemporary architect. The hotel was the first luxury eco-hotel built in Asia (Green Globe 21 certified) and it is set in its own 250-hectare jungle retreat with unimpeded views across wetlands to Sigiriya rock fortress.
Guided tour of the historic temples and exquisitely carved statues of the medieval capital of Polonnaruwa, with visits to the Quadrangle, Northern Monuments, Royal Citadel Group and Southern Group. Bicycles are available to hire for your own self-guided tour, if preferred.
Jeep safari in Minneriya NP, which forms an ‘elephant corridor’, along with Kaudulla NP, for the vast herds roaming the eastern region of the country from Trincomalee through to Wasgamuwa, Maduru Oya and Gal Oya NPs further south. The park is home to a variety of animals such as elephants, leopards, toque macaques, purple faced langurs, sloth bears, sambar and spotted deer, and about 160 bird species, including many endemics. Minneriya is home to the ‘gathering’ between August and October, when large herds of elephants congregate around Minneriya Lake to seek the last available water at the end of the dry season.
Early morning ascent 200-metre high ‘Lion Rock’ at Sigiriya to view the surrounding countryside at dawn – a very special experience indeed. The unique rock fortress of Sigiriya is a national icon, despite its origins as a usurper’s pleasure palace housing erotic frescoes! Guided tour of the rock palace and ornamental gardens.
Climb gently up the granite massif at Dambulla to visit the most impressive cave temple complex in Sri Lanka, with five ornately and intricately decorated caverns under a vast overhanging rock.
Continue south to Kandy, one of the principal points of the Cultural Triangle.
Two nights at The Kandy House, which is a stunning heritage walauwa (mansion villa) dating back to 1804 and tastefully refurbished to exceptionally high standards.
Experience the Buddhist puja (blessing ceremony) at the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka’s most revered religious relic.
Guided walking tour of Kandy, which will take in the Hindu temples, the lake and the municipal market.
Visit the beautifully kept and well-presented Peradeniya Botanic Gardens.
Leave Kandy and drive through Sri Lankan ‘jungle’ and impressive mountain scenery to the Bogawantalawa valley in the western Hill Country.
You will stay as guests for two nights of Ceylon Tea Trails, the world’s first tea resort, which incorporates five luxuriously upgraded plantation bungalows.
Facilities and services include: swimming pool, tennis court, conservatory, summerhouse, sun deck, garden dining, library and indoor games, and guided walks.
All-inclusive accommodation: bed tea, breakfast, 3-course lunch or rice and curry (gourmet packed lunch if on excursion), traditional afternoon cream tea, pre-dinner cocktails, 4-course gourmet dinner, a selection of international wines, premium spirits and liqueurs, beer (alcohol is not be served on full moon Poya days or other days prohibited by the Government), juices and soft drinks, tea and coffee, laundry, telephone calls within Sri Lanka, the “Tea Experience” (tour of the neighbouring tea estate and factory with the Planter-in-Residence – not on full moon Poya days and public holidays), and bungalow amenities including Wi-Fi.
After a leisurely morning, drop down to Kotugoda close the airport.
One night at an antique colonial manor house, nestled in acres of beautifully manicured gardens, before your flight to Maldives.
On arrival in Malé (Maldives), take a 25-minute speedboat transfer to Angsana Ihuru for five nights.
Surrounded by dazzling white talc sand and the bluest of waters teeming with astonishing soft corals and fish sparkling in brilliant colours around the stunning house reef, the exquisite beauty of this 5-star tropical haven is yours to enjoy. The thatched-roofed villas are well-spaced around the circumference of the island, and each villa contains a private garden and veranda with dining and sitting areas including a Maldivian swing. Although modern facilities are provided in the villas, utmost care is taken to ensure the resort remains environmentally friendly. The sister property, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, is a 5-minute, complimentary boat transfer away and this resort’s amenities and facilities are available throughout your stay at Angsana Ihuru, including dining venues, snorkelling around the magnificent house reef, daily Manta Ray feeding, and reef restoration programmes.
Speedboat transfer back to Malé for your flight home.
