Price
From £2,875 per person.
Includes B&B, H/B or AI accommodation, a/c transport with chauffeur guide or transfers, entrance fees & activities, and taxes.
Arrive Colombo airport and greeted by your dedicated Tikalanka chauffeur guide.
Drive up to Dambulla in the island’s Cultural Triangle.
Three nights stay 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 National Park, which is part of 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 of 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.
Suggested activities (NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE):
- Guided tour of Anuradhapura, the first capital of ancient Lanka in the 3rd century BCE.
- Climb to the hilltop temple of Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
- Explore the enigmatic forest monastery and cave hermitage of Ritigala.
- Early morning (07.15) field session of the ‘Monkey Tour’ run by The Smithsonian Primate Research Station at Polonnaruwa – on Day 2 or 5.
- Visit Popham’s Arboretum near Dambulla, which is the island’s only Dry Zone arboretum, home to a great variety of trees, birds, butterflies, dragonflies and mammals.
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 and the seat of the last Sinhalese kingdom.
Two nights stay at Adigar's Manor, which is a charming and an historic Burger raj colonial estate bungalow dating back to 1804 and sensitively restored to its previous grandeur. Formerly The Kandy House, this stunning manor house has individually designed rooms and lush tropical gardens, with a secluded forest pool, enveloping the property.
Experience the Buddhist puja (blessing ceremony) at the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka’s most revered religious relic.
Kandy is the perfect size to be explored on foot, since the altitude (500 metres above sea level) makes the climate conducive to long and leisurely strolls. A guided walking tour of the city will take in the Hindu devales (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 into the western Hill Country.
You will stay as guests of Camellia Hills for three nights, living the life of a modern-day tea planter at this luxurious five-bedroom boutique bungalow. From its verdant valley-side perch, views of the mirror-still Castlereagh Reservoir and surrounding tea-wrapped hills are spectacular. Drink in the panoramas while relaxing on comfy sofas warmed by an open fire, dining in the semi open air or swimming lengths of the refreshing garden pool. Trails through neighbouring tea estates to gushing waterfalls promise striking panoramas at every turn, and picnics can be packed for enjoying many of these drama-fuelled locations, while the islands on the reservoir proffer further picnic potential.
All inclusive accommodation comprises of breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner; beer, house wine, house spirits (gin, vodka, whisky, arrack etc.) with mixers, soft drinks and tea/coffee throughout the day; and a tea factory tour daily at 4.00 pm (please note that tea leaves are not plucked on Sundays and public holidays so the factory process does not take place on Sundays/Public Holidays).
The fresh mountain climate makes venturing outside a breeze. Trails through neighbouring tea estates, patches of dense forest and to gushing waterfalls promise striking panoramas at every turn, and picnics can be packed up for enjoying in many of these drama-fuelled locations. The islands on the reservoir proffer further picnic potential, and you can island hop by boat. The lush forest edges and the surrounding hills are home to wild leopards. At the local Leopard Research Station, you can learn all about this elusive hill-dwelling sub-species that manages to exist in this fragile environment. Many more live in the nearby Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, a vast region of protected forest which is also home to sacred Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka’s fourth highest mountain – a place of pilgrimage for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus alike.
Drop down to the golden sandy beaches of Balapitiya on the island’s palm-fringed southwest coast for your five nights stay at Kumu Beach.
Beneath gently swaying coconut palms on a serene boulder-sprinkled seafront sits Kumu Beach, a contemporary beach hotel home to 10 generous bedrooms, chic living and dining areas basking in the open air, and a generous lawn with infinity swimming pool. Balapitiya's quiet and secluded powder-soft beach is footsteps away, and this exclusive boutique hotel is an enchanting place to relax, unwind, eat well and enjoy personalised service. The immaculately finished rooms and suites are spacious, light and airy, all with ocean views, and the attention to detail and design is impressive, from modern ribbed teak furniture to large luxury bathrooms.
Suggested activities (NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE):
- Afternoon’s boat safari around the coastal lagoons and mangrove-clad waterways of the Madu Ganga near Balapitiya.
- Guided tour of the house and gardens of Lunuganga, which were lovingly created over several decades by the world renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa, as his vision of a tropical garden idyll. The Italian garden with spectacular views over lakes and tropical jungle together with a simply designed plantation house are one of the lasting legacies of Asia’s most famous architect.
- Visit the tropical garden paradise of Brief, the life’s work of the late Bevis Bawa, famed bon viveur and brother of Geoffrey.
- Boat safari through the mangroves and lush vegetation along the Mahamodara River near Galle, which offers great opportunities for spotting birds, butterflies, monitor lizards, and much more!
- Guided cycling tours of the lush paddy fields and local villages around Galle.
- Early morning boat safari off the south coast from Mirissa or Weligama to spot blue whales, the largest animal on Earth! Sperm, orca, and humpback whales as well as large pods of dolphins are also regular sightings. Season from November to April.
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.
