SriLanka – Elegance of an Island

Immerse yourself in the breathtaking natural beauty and lively spirit of Sri Lanka on an eight-day tour, taking you from the capital of Colombo to local villages and lush mountains. Go on a jeep safari at Minneriya National Park, climb the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sigiriya Rock Fortress, uncover the unforgettable Dambulla Rock Cave Temple and enjoy a close encounter with elephants during a visit to the Millennium Elephant Foundation in Bentota. Enjoy seven nights in your choice of three or four-star accommodation, daily breakfast and additional dining experiences – including a lunch with a local family – private transportation throughout the tour, airport transfers, the services of English-speaking guides, local experiences, sightseeing and more.

SRI LANKA TOUR ITINERARY

DAY 01 – ARRIVAL TRANSFER / COLOMBO 

Meet & Assist on arrival by Travelorphic Representative and transfer from Bandaranayke International airport to Colombo. (01 hr – approx.) 
Enjoy the city tour in Colombo.
Colombo City Tour: Enjoy a city tour of Colombo which is the largest city and former administrative capital of Sri Lanka and is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life and remnants of a bygone colonial era. Due to its large harbor and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. However it was only made the Capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815. The main city is home to a majority of the Sri Lanka’s corporate offices, restaurants and entertainment venues. On this tour you will visit many of the historical, religious and commercial sites of Colombo including the historic and bustling Fort and Pettah, the elite residential Cinnamon Gardens, the Galle face Green, Viharamahadevi Park and much more.
Lunch at Madras Masala restaurant 
Check in to the hotel and leisure
Dinner & Overnight stay at the Hotel in Colombo 

DAY 02 – COLOMBO / PINNAWALA / DAMBULLA

Breakfast at the hotel. 
Transfer to Dambulla. (03 hrs – approx.) 
En route visit Pinnawala elephant orphanage. 
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage: The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular tourist attractions. The orphanages population has now mushroomed to around 65, making it the world’s largest collection of captive elephants. The elephants here range in age from newborns to elderly matriarchs, and include orphaned and abandoned elephants, as well as those injured in the wild.
Continue the journey to Dambulla. (02 hrs – approx.)
Lunch at Elephant bey restaurant 
Visit Dambulla cave Temple
Dambulla – is a vast isolated rock mass 500 feet high and a mile around the base. Here is found the famous Rock Temple dating to the First Century B.C. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagamba during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne he built the most magnificent of Rock Temples to be found in the Island.

In the first Cave is a recumbent image of the Buddha 47ft long cut out of the Rock. There are images of deities associated with Buddhism all around. The frescoes on the walls and the ceiling are the oldest here but they are over painted in the Kandy period.
In the Second Cave, the finest and the largest of all, there are 150 life-size statues of the Buddha in various postures with few statues of Gods and Kings. The ceiling is also covered with frescoes, which depict great events in the life of the Buddha and landmarks in the history of the Sinhalese people. 
Dinner & Overnight stay at the Hotel in Dambulla

DAY 03 – DAMBULLA / MINNERIYA / SIGIRIYA / DAMBULLA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning Jeep safari at Minneriya National Park 
Minneriya National Park – This National Park with 8889 hectares in extent is famous for it large population of elephants in herds of 100 to 150 roaming in the jungle and seen in the catchment area of the lake. Entrance is at Ambagaswewa about 6 km from Habarana on the main Habarana Polonnaruwa road. Office is by the side of the main road.  Elephants, about 300 wild elephants, wild buffaloes, wild boar, spotted deer, sloth bear, Sambhur, leopards, crocodiles, jackals, 9 kinds of amphibians, 25 kinds of reptiles, 160 species of birds, 26 varieties of fishes, 78 varieties of butterflies are recorded from the Minneriya National Park.
Back to Sigiriya 
Lunch at Tropical Village restaurant 
Visit Sigiriya Lion’s Rock 
Sigiriya Lion Rock: Climb the 5th century Sigiriya Rock fortress which is a UNESCO world heritage site, built by King Kashyapa (477-495). The spectacular citadel of Sigiriya rises sheer and impregnable out of the plains of the dry zone. It is the country’s most memorable single attraction, a remarkable archaeological site made unforgettable by its dramatic setting. The rock was the innermost stronghold of a 70 hectare fortified town. A moat, rampart and extensive gardens including the renowned water gardens ring the base of the rock. Visit the world-renowned frescoes of the ‘Heavenly Maidens’ of Sigiriya, which are in a sheltered pocket of the rock approached by a spiral stairway.
Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Dambulla  

DAY 04 – DAMBULLA / MATALE / KANDY 

Breakfast at Hotel.
Transfers to Kandy. (03hrs – approx.)
En route visit Matale spice Garden 
Lunch at Matale spice Garden 
Check in to the hotel and leisure
Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Kandy

DAY 05 – KANDY

Breakfast at the hotel. 
Visit Kandy Temple of the tooth.
Temple of the Tooth: According to legend, the tooth was taken from the Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre. It was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 AD, hidden in the hair of Princess Hemamali who fled the Hindu armies besieging her father’s kingdom in India. It immediately became an object of great reverence and was enshrined in a series of nested jeweled reliquaries. The tooth was brought out for special occasions and paraded on the backs of elephants, which are sacred to the Buddha. Where it survived numerous attempts to capture and destroy it. When the capital was moved to Kandy, the tooth was taken to the new city and placed in temples built to honor it. The temple was originally built under Kandyan kings between 1687 and 1707, but later severely damaged during the 18th-century colonial wars against the Portuguese and Dutch. After the wars, the original wooden structures were restored in stone. In January 1998 Hindu Tamil separatists bombed the temple, damaging its facade and roof. Restoration began immediately afterward.
Visit Peradeniya botanical garden.
Peradeniya Botanical Gardens: Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is situated about 5.5 km to the west from the city of Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka and attracts 1.2 million visitors annually; it is renowned for its collection of more than 300 varieties of orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees.
Lunch at Oak Ray Regency restaurant 
Enjoy the city tour in Kandy.
Kandy City Tour: Enjoy a sightseeing tour of Kandy which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The historic city about 480m above sea level surrounded by mountains was known to Sri Lankan as Kanda Uda Rata, which means the hill country. Kandy was home to Sri Lanka’s last independent Kingdom, which survived two centuries of colonial incursion before finally falling to the British at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Visit the Temple of the tooth, The Royal Botanical Gardens, the Peradeniya University campus and catch a panoramic view of the picturesque town from Upper Lake Drive.
Kandyan Dance Performance: The Kandyan dance has become most distinctively Sinhalese and is readily associated with the idea of a National Dance. This development can be explained by the fact that the Kandyan Kingdom was the last of the Sinhala kingdoms to fall under foreign rule (1815).
Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Kandy  

DAY 06 – KANDY / BENTOTA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfers to Bentota (05 hrs – approx.)
Lunch at Vishwa Chandra restaurant 
Check in to the hotel and leisure
Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Bentota  

DAY 07 – BENTOTA

Breakfast at the hotel. 
Visit Kosgoda Turtle hatchery 
Kosgoda: is famous for its turtle hatchery- operated by the Wild Life Protection Society of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1981 to protect Sri Lanka’s turtles from extinction. The hatchery pays fishermen for eggs that they collect at night along the sandy beach. Visitors can see huge tanks filled with new born turtle hatchlings. After being fed, the baby turtles are taken to the sea and released when they are 2-4 days old, usually during the safer hours of darkness.
Lunch at Golden Grill restaurant 
Enjoy the boat ride in Madhu River.
Madhu River is also a remarkable place you must visit. Bordering to the coastal village Balaptiya, Madu River flows by adding an incomparable beauty to the surrounding. It’s unique in its beauty, hundreds of islets, mangroves, indigenous aquatic birds & fish creates a green heave in front of your eyes. These enchanting landscapes make people breathless by creating a paradise for their own dreams. 
Water sports in Bentota 
Dinner & Overnight stay at the hotel in Bentota  

DAY 08 – DEPARTURE

Breakfast at the hotel. 
Transfer to Airport for departure. (02 hrs – approx.)

** End of Tour **