Ceylon Endearment (25 Days): Colombo

The excursion

Itinerary

• Day 1 — Airport → Hikkaduwa
• Arrival at Colombo International Airport, where a chauffeur guide meets travellers before the drive to Hikkaduwa.
• Colombo International Airport arrival
• Travellers are met by a designated chauffeur guide after the arrival formalities, then driven to Hikkaduwa to check in.
• Day 2 — Hikkaduwa → Galle
• A day exploring the Dutch and Portuguese heritage of Galle, followed by a visit to a tea factory specialising in white tea.
• Galle Fort
• One of Asia's best-preserved fortifications, built up by the Portuguese and Dutch, with museums, a lighthouse and cobblestoned streets bearing their old Dutch names.
• Handunugoda Tea Factory
• Known as the Virgin White Tea Factory, where visitors learn how this rare tea is plucked and processed by hand, followed by a tasting with tea and chocolate cake.
• Day 3 — Galle
• A day around Galle taking in a hilltop dagoba linked to local legend and the coastal tradition of stilt fishing.
• Rumassala Hill
• A hill east of Unuwatuna beach topped with a Buddhist dagoba, said in local legend to be a fragment of the Himalayan mountain Hanuman carried over Lanka.
• Koggala stilt fishermen
• Fishermen perched on stilts along the Koggala coast demonstrate a craft passed down through generations, best photographed as they fish against the sunset.
• Day 4 — Galle → Mirissa
• A crescent-shaped beach at the eastern end of Weligama Bay, kept for unwinding over the next two days.
• Mirissa Beach
• A curving stretch of sand that gives the feel of a secluded island, tucked into the far end of Weligama Bay.
• Day 5 — Mirissa
• A half-day out on the water from Mirissa in search of whales.
• Whale watching
• A five-hour tour with a chance to see blue, sperm and fin whales off Sri Lanka's south coast, with a qualified naturalist on hand to help identify the species.
• Day 6 — Mirissa → Ussangoda → Yala
• The drive to Yala passes through Ussangoda, a bare coastal stretch with its own legend.
• Ussangoda
• A largely treeless coastal area whose serpentine rock holds toxic heavy metals, said in the Ramayana to be one of the places scorched by Hanuman's burning tail.
• Day 7 — Yala
• A full day on safari in one of the island's best-known national parks.
• Yala National Park
• The second-largest park on the island, home to Sri Lankan leopards, wild water buffalo, sloth bears, large elephant herds and a wide range of birds, reptiles and other species.
• Day 8 — Yala → Ella
• The day combines an ancient rock temple with a walk through Ella's best-known viewpoints and landmarks.
• Buduruwagala
• An ancient Buddhist temple with seven Mahayana statues dating to the 10th century, including a large Buddha figure still bearing traces of its original stuccoed robe.
• Ella sightseeing
• A walk through tea fields and rocky stretches to Little Adam's Peak, over the Nine Arches Bridge, and on to Demodara Railway Station with its loop-over track.
• Day 9 — Ella
• A morning hike to one of the area's highest viewpoints.
• Ella Rock
• A three-hour hike up to one of the highest viewpoints in the area, with views over the Namunukula Range, Little Adam's Peak, the Ella Gap and the Badulla train tracks.
• Day 10 — Ella → Nuwara Eliya
• A visit to the former British hill station, with its colonial-era streets and parks.
• Nuwara Eliya town
• The one-time premier hill resort of the British in Sri Lanka, with cottages, villas and mansions, an old red-brick post office, Queen Victoria Park and Lake Gregory.
• Day 11 — Nuwara Eliya → Kandy
• The drive to Kandy takes in tea country, a waterfall, botanical gardens and an evening of traditional dance.
• Tea plantation and factory visit
• A look at how Ceylon Tea is made, tracing the crop's history back to the first plants brought from China in 1824 and James Taylor's commercial plantation at Loolecondera from 1852.
• Ramboda Falls
• The 11th tallest waterfall in the country, visited en route.
• Mackwoods Tea Estate
• A guided tour covering the varieties, processing methods and qualities of tea.
• Hakgala Botanical Gardens
• Shaded avenues and colourful planted mazes to walk through.
• Lake Gregory
• A walk along the lake shore.
• Kandy Cultural Show
• An hour-long performance of traditional Sri Lankan art forms, including fire dancers, sword dancers and Kandyan dancers performing to drums.
• Day 12 — Kandy
• A day centred on Kandy's most important religious site and its botanical gardens.
• Temple of the Tooth Relic
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 16th century to house and protect the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha, with painted halls and carved pillars.
• Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya
• Gardens dating to the early 19th century with over 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices and medicinal plants, a suspension bridge and a cannonball tree.
• Day 13 — Kandy → Elkaduwa → Matale → Dambulla
• The route to Dambulla passes a spring-fed lake and a spice garden with a cooking demonstration.
• Sembuwatta Lake
• A lake formed from natural spring water, reputed to be 30 to 40 feet deep, with a natural swimming pool alongside it.
• Spice and herbal garden
• A guided tour of spices such as coriander, chilli, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg, with a traditional cooking demonstration covering roti and curry powder.
• Day 14 — Dambulla → Sigiriya → Dambulla
• A day combining the climb up Sigiriya rock, a taste of village life, and an evening safari for elephants.
• Sigiriya rock fortress
• The 5th-century rock fortress of King Kasyapa, entered through the paws of the carved lion that gives it its name, with its painted murals, terraced gardens and water cisterns.
• Sigiriya village experience
• An oxen cart ride, a catamaran ride on a calm lake, a walk through paddy fields, and a traditional cooking demonstration with a wood-fired lunch served on lotus leaves.
• Minneriya National Park safari
• A three-hour safari with a chance to see elephants gathering in large numbers during the dry season, along with other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
• Day 15 — Dambulla → Polonnaruwa → Dambulla
• A visit to Sri Lanka's medieval capital followed by the cave temples of Dambulla.
• Polonnaruwa ancient city
• The second major capital of Sri Lanka, flourishing from the 10th to 13th centuries, with ruins including Gal Vihara, Vatadage, the lotus bath, Lankathilaka Temple and a statue of King Parakramabahu.
• Golden Temple of Dambulla
• Cave temples dating to the 1st century BC, with murals of the Buddha's life, hundreds of Buddha and deity figures across five main caves, and a large golden Buddha statue outside.
• Day 16 — Dambulla → Trincomalee
• The drive north takes in an ancient cave shrine and the historic fort at Trincomalee.
• Ancient cave shrine
• A temple with murals telling its history, including a cave shrine dating to 1580 BC and a giant statue of King Ravana, who according to legend worshipped there.
• Fort Frederick, Trincomalee
• A fort originally built by the Portuguese in 1624 and later rebuilt by the Dutch, standing near stones from the destroyed Koneswaram temple.
• Day 17 — Trincomalee
• A day combining a well-known beach with a boat trip to an island known for its coral reef.
• Nilaveli Beach
• A beach with golden sand and clear water, linked by a 10th-century Tamil inscription to a land grant for the Koneswaram Temple.
• Pigeon Island National Park
• Two islands surrounded by coral reef, home to breeding rock pigeons and a range of coral types and marine life.
• Day 18 — Trincomalee
• A free day at the beach in Trincomalee.
• Beach day
• A day spent at leisure on the beach.
• Day 19 — Trincomalee → Jaffna
• The drive north into the Jaffna peninsula, with its Hindu temples and historic sites.
• Jaffna temples and sites
• Hindu temples including Nallur, Nainativu and Mavittapuram with over four millennia of history, alongside the Dutch Fort, war memorials, the Saraswathy Mahal Library, Nagadeepa Vihara and the palace of Cankili I, the last king of Jaffna.
• Day 20 — Jaffna
• A day exploring Nayinathivu island and its temples, reached from Jaffna.
• Nayinathivu island
• An island north of Jaffna known as Nagadeepa, linked to the Naga people who worshipped the snake, with the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple as evidence of this history.
• Nagadeepa Purana Vihara
• One of sixteen of the holiest Buddhist sites in Sri Lanka, believed to be where the Buddha stopped during his second visit to the island.
• Day 21 — Jaffna → Anuradhapura
• A walk through the ruins of Sri Lanka's first great capital.
• Anuradhapura ancient city
• The island's capital for over a millennium until the 10th century AD, with pagodas, monastic buildings and ponds including Jetavanarama, once one of the tallest buildings in the ancient world, the Sri Maha Bodhi, and the ruins of Abhayagiri Monastery.
• Day 22 — Anuradhapura → Colombo
• A city tour of Sri Lanka's capital, taking in its historic landmarks and city life.
• Colombo city tour
• Visits to the Old Lighthouse, the Old Parliament, Galle Face Hotel, Galle Face Green, Gangarama Temple and the National Museum, with time for shopping around Independence Square and the Race Course.
• Day 23 — Colombo
• A free day in Colombo.
• Free day
• A day spent at leisure at the hotel.
• Day 24 — Colombo → Negombo
• A beach day on the west coast, with options for diving and water sports.
• Negombo beach
• Sandy beaches with a long-standing fishing industry, water sports, and diving near a 50-year-old shipwreck just off the coast.
• Day 25 — Negombo → Airport
• After breakfast, check out and transfer to the airport for departure.
• Departure
• Transfer from Negombo to the airport, marking the end of the tour.