Discovery Sri Lanka - Guaranteed Departure

Arrival at Colombo / Bandaranayake International Airport. Reception with flower necklace and departure for Negombo.

Installation at the hotel. Free time to rest, recover from jet lag and enjoy the beach.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel, then drive to Sigiriya.

Lunch on the way then visit of the Citadel of Sigiriya or "Lion Rock": An ancient, romantic and grandiose site classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and famous for its frescoes of the "Demoiselles de Sigiriya".

(Possibility to go for a ride on an elephant: price from 12 to 15€ for one hour).

Road to Dambulla.

Dinner and night at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Very early departure for Hiriwaduna, a small village on the edge of a reservoir that you will reach on foot (about 45min of easy level). You will cross a banana plantation, taste a local drink and continue the walk through the fields to discover the many crops and spices of the region. A ride in an oxcart and you will be seated for a typical lunch prepared by a Sri Lankan family, served on a banana leaf, at the water's edge.

Departure for Polonnaruwa.

Visit of the site by bike

Depending on the warmth and physical capacity of each person, participants will be able to leave the bikes behind along the route and continue the visit on board the bus following the same itinerary.

Discovery of a woodcarving workshop.

Return to Sigiriya. On the way, walk in a rice field (about 10 minutes of easy level).

(Possibility to go for a ride on an elephant back: price from 12 to 15€ for one hour).

Dinner and night at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. 

Visit of the rock and the Golden Temple of Dambulla. Inside this rock is a set of caves that house the historic temple of Dambulla, one of the oldest Buddhist shrines in the country. In the Mahavamsa there is the most important chronicle of the island's history. It is called the Jambukola Vihara.

Continue to Matale to visit a spice garden for which Sri Lanka is very well known. This is an opportunity to learn more about the cultivation of spices and its various transformation processes. Tasting of spice tea.

Enjoy a foot, head or shoulder massage (about 10 min). Then you can learn how to make curry powder and participate in the elaboration of a dish, coloured by the spices .

Free time in the shop (sale of spices and herbal products).

Lunch in the garden, Sri Lankan national dish "rice & curry".

Drive to Kandy (about 1h drive), the capital of Buddhism classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, beautifully situated at 350m altitude in a green valley (between the last rice fields and the first tea plantations). It is bordered by low hills, naturally ordered around the Sacred Lake. Cultural center of the country, the city fell to the English in 1815.

Kandy remains a center of crafts, music and dance. Charm, splendour of the past and serenity describe the town in a few words.

Visit the Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" which contains the sacred relic of the Tooth of Buddha.

In the evening, show of Kandyan dances with fire walking.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit of the Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya: among the most beautiful in the world, they have the most beautiful tropical species of trees, spices, flowers and fruits, on almost 60 hectares.

Lunch in Ramboda.

Departure by the famous Tea Mountain Road towards Nuwara Eliya. You will discover the "tea country" where the plantations give the landscape a very special aspect. Tea lovers know that the flavour and quality of tea depends on the altitude where the plant was grown. The harvest is always carried out by women. The pickers, dressed in brightly coloured "longhis", go from bush to bush, stripping the young buds and tender leaves with a skilful hand and then, with a quick gesture, throw them into the hood attached to their shoulders.

Visit a tea factory and plantation, then tasting and free time in the shop to do some shopping.

Continue to Nuwara Eliya also called "Little England". This mountain resort (1,900m altitude) lies in an elliptical valley at the foot of Mount Pidurutalagala (2,520m altitude), the highest peak in Sri Lanka. A short walk in the famous climatic station, created by the English.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel then departure for Tissamaharama. On the way, discovery of the Ella Rawana waterfall.

Lunch on the way.

Discovery of the Yala reserve dedicated to the protection and preservation of animal life and wild vegetation; you will certainly have the opportunity to see elephants, bears, deer, wild buffaloes or crocodiles in the coastal lagoons. The luckiest will be able to cross the majestic leopard. This reserve is a national park, located between Nuwara Eliya and the West Coast, famous for its hordes of elephants. The visit is done in a vehicle adapted for the safari.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, departure for Galle via Weligama famous for its fishermen perched on sticks in the sea.

Visit of Galle, a peaceful town of 76,000 inhabitants which was once the main Dutch trading post in Ceylon with a very active port and the hub of the spice trade. The old city, whose ramparts dating from the Dutch occupation are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a delightfully nostalgic colonial charm. You can admire ancient houses and the Groote Kerk, a church dating back to 1754. The lacemakers still sell their work on the ramparts, perpetuating a tradition inherited from the Portuguese. Discovery of the fort and the ramparts, the church and the colonial houses...

Lunch in Galle.

Continuation along the coast to Koggala.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel and free morning to take some colours and enjoy the immense beach.

After lunch at the hotel, departure for the visit of the capital: Colombo. Known since the 8th century by Arab, Persian and Chinese merchants, this village nestled between two dunes, served as a counter on the spice route. The Portuguese, who wanted to control the trade of the Indian Ocean, settled here and built a fort in 1518 for their prospection, as well as a civil and military city, rich in churches, schools and hospitals. Today, Colombo is the political and economic seat of the country.

Dinner is free.

Transfer to Colombo airport. Assistance with check-in formalities for your return flight.