ADVENTUROUS SRI LANKA

Upon arrival at the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport, you will be received warmly by our representative.You will then be escorted to the lounge for refreshments and the airport staff will attend to your baggage till you rest with refreshments. Then to your vehicle to begin your holiday in Sri Lanka. Transfer to Negombo and check-in at the hotel (early check-in on availability) for a good rest to get over the jetlag. Enjoy the hotel’s facilities and acclimatize.

After breakfast at the Hotel, you will proceed to Muthurajawela for Boat Ride where you get to enjoy the nature reserve of this environment. Birdlife on the estuary areas are abundant. Return to the hotel and relax the rest of the day or explore the fishing village of Negombo. The Negombo beach road is also a great place to enjoy an evening out with music and pubs with great food. Dinner and overnight stay at your hotel in Kotugoda.

After breakfast at the Hotel, check-out and you will proceed to Dambulla en route experiencing a bit of adrenalin rush riding quad bikes on a mud trail. South Asia's First ATV Adventure Park extending over 50 acres of natural forest terrain! We have joined hands with the World's leading ATV brand Can Am by BRP to bring out the best for our customers. Crate Adventure ATV Park is located in close proximity to Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, just 40 mins drive and will be any adventure seeker's hots-pot in the region. For the first hike, a not too strenuous climb to reach the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple visit on route. Dambulla rock temple was built by king Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C. and is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s many cave temples. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. meters of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of paintings found in the world. It contains over 150 images of the Buddha of which the largest is the colossal figure carved out of granite rock and spanning 14 meters. Return to the vehicle and enjoy a refreshing “Thambili (King Coconut)” to rejuvenate. Check-in at the hotel for a bit of rest, dinner and overnight stay.

After breakfast at the Hotel, leave for Pidurangala and hike up to the sister rock or the magnificent Sigiriya Rock. Enjoy the beauty of the surroundings dominated by the mighty rock fortress.On completion, leave for Ritigala for another hiking experience (perhaps a ‘tuk tuk’ ride to reach the start of the hike). Remains that are found on the hill confirm existence of a monastery in the 4th century B.C. and also believed to have been used as a fortress. There are more than 70 known drip ledged caves with pre-Christian inscriptions. By the 10th-12th century AD however Ritigala seems to have been abandoned by the hermit monks and soon it was covered by jungle and forgotten. The monastery largely consists of meditation platforms and walkways that are in perfect harmony with the huge boulders, noble trees, and burbling streams of sylvan environment that covered with dense jungle inhabited by wild elephants, leopards and bears. You will be surprised by the tranquility and stillness of the place, an atmosphere that only a forest can create. On completion, return to the hotel in Dambulla for dinner and overnight stay

After breakfast at the Hotel, check-out and you will proceed to Kandy via Matale. Arrive in Kandy and check-in at the hotel for lunch. Experience the stay at this unique property with daily sessions of group ‘Yoga’ and group nature walks with a naturalist from the resort. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

After an early breakfast leave for the hike point (approx. 1 ¼ hour drive) and commence hiking and trekking to Kota Ganga waterfall in the Knuckles mountain range (approx. 4-5 hours). Option 01: The Kota Ganga Ella Falls (Kota Ganga Ella) is a cluster of cascading waterfalls on Knuckles Mountain Range in the Kandy District. The cluster consists of at-least 7 major segments totaling probably over 100 meters in height. The cluster of waterfalls lies deep inside the jungle with no established trail and other trails known by the villagers. Also there is no full view point for this waterfall. Trekkers can reach this waterfall from Thangappuwa village. The hike is approx. 5.5km uphill walk. It’s highly recommended to go with a guide who knows the directions well to the fall. Option 02: (approx. 5-7 hours) The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resembles the knuckles of clenched fist when viewed from certain locations in the Kandy District. Whilst this name was assigned by early British surveyors, the Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as Dumbara Kanduvetiya meaning mist-laden mountain range. Knuckles Mountain Forest Range covering an area of approximately 21,000 ha is a part of the Central Highlands World Heritage site, declared in 2010. Though it is a part of Central Highlands it is well separated by Mahaweli river valley from the sides of South and east and Matale valley from the west. Knuckles Mountain Forest Range consists of a range of vegetation types that have resulted from diverse climatic and topographic conditions. Among these are the humid tropical lowland semi evergreen forest, tropical sub-montane humid evergreen forest, montane grassland (patana) and pygmy forest. The complexity brought to the area with vegetation types is further increased by range of modifications made to the landscape by people since the British colonization. Knuckles Mountain Forest Range supports a rich biological diversity with 128 species of birds, 20 species of amphibians, 53 species of reptiles, 15 fresh water species and 31 mammal species. All species are not equally distributed throughout the range. Their distribution depends on multiplefactors such as food availability, availability of nesting sites etc. that vary with climate, elevation and land cover Tour Itinerary  Arrival time will be 0630 AM at the Knuckles Mountain range trailhead  Brief description of the route and the hike. Knuckles peak hike will be 17 km both ways  Starting the hike at 0645 AM  Rest stops within every 1.5 KM  Refreshments  Estimated time to reach the top by 1215 PM  Lunch  Photography session  Climbing down by 1.15 PM  Refreshments Continue back to the hotel for a good rest… (Optional visit to the Kandy city in the evening) Dinner and overnight stay in Kandy.

After an early breakfast at the Hotel, check-out and you will proceed to Yala en route visiting the “Veddha” community (aboriginal tribes of ancient Sri Lanka), with a hike up to their village. Mahiyanagana is the home of the aborigines of Sri Lanka - The Veddha Kingdom, whose ethnic origin dates back to the very dawn of evolution. The Mahiyanagana Dagoba situated on the banks of the Mahaweli River 60 km from Badulla is one of the classic Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka. This Dagoba has been built over a hair relic of the Buddha given to God Saman, a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. The shrine was restored and re-built on its original site recently. A colourful Perahera is held annually during the month of September in which the Veddha living in the surrounding jungles participate. Continue the journey to Yala via Moneragala and Buttala (probably a common sight on this road)… Arrive late in the evening at the hotel and check-in. Dinner and overnight stay with All-Inclusive services and facilities at the hotel.

Early morning game drive to Yala National Park with a trekker and picnic breakfast. Yala is approximately 1,259 sq. km in extent and is located in the southeastern corner of the island. Its northern boundaries border the Lahugala Elephant Sanctuary and it has the added bonus of scenic ocean frontage. The terrain is a varied course of flat plains altering with rocky outcrops. The vegetation ranges from open parklands to dense jungle. Water holes, small lakes, lagoons and streams provide water for the animals and birds. The specialty here is the large numbers of elephants. On completion, return to the hotel for lunch and relax with the comforts. Late afternoon, return to the Yala National Park for an evening game drive with a trekker. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay thereafter.

Hambantota has been famous for decades due to its salt production. This is one of the oldest industry in this area. The dry weather prevailing most of the years permits good environment condition for salt harvesting process. According to the recent statistics 30% of the Sri Lanka salt production comes from Hambantota. Salt pans are located by the sea bordering the main road. You can see a long stretch of salt pans along when you traveling along the main road. Sea water collected and stored in salt pans and kept until water get evaporated. They process will leave solid salt concentration on the fields. You can see that there are number of small road side stalls selling packets of salts by the main road. Arrive in Tangalle and check-in at the hotel for the beach stay to relax and tan. Overnight stay at the hotel in Tangalle for the next 03 nights – (The vehicle will return on Day 13).

After breakfast at the Hotel, full day is at leisure on the south coast relaxing.Nestling in the southern part of Sri Lanka, this town is famous for its bay. The view is picturesque and sea food is a specialty here. Overnight is at the hotel.

After breakfast at the Hotel, check-out around 1000 hrs. You will travel along the southern expressway from Matara mid-way to Bentota. Arrive around 1400 to commence a personalized guided tour of the Bawa Estate. The Lunuganga Estate was the country house of the renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. The estate had been used as a cinnamon estate during the Dutch era and then a rubber plantation under the British. In 1948, the small house in the estate was given on rent to the local tax collector. In 1949 newly qualified lawyer Geoffrey Bawa bought it from its owner intending to convert the estate bungalow into a weekend house and create a tropical version of a European renaissance garden. The 6.1 ha (15 acres) property is located on the banks of the Dedduwa Lake, in Bentota. Bawa named the estate Lunuganga, which in Sinhala means Salt River. Recognizing his lack of architectural knowledge Bawa returned to England to study architecture. After qualifying as an architect he returning to Ceylon in 1958 and joined the architectural practice of Edwards, Reid and Beggs. Bawa continued to develop the house and gardens at Lunuganga for forty years, until his death in May 2003. Bawa was cremated on the Cinnamon Hill and ashes buried there. The house and gardens contain many works from artists such as Donald Friend and Laki Senanayake as well as artifacts from Asia and Europe. Since Bawa's death in 2003, Lunuganga has been managed by a group of his close friends, who form the Lunuganga Trust. The gardens are now open to the public and the buildings on the estate are run as a seasonal country house hotel. Continue to Colombo and enjoy a brief visit of the commercial capital. Dinner reservations either at “Gallery Café” or at the “Ministry of Crab” in the city (reservation only, dinner and accompaniments by your own preference to settled directly). Late night transfer to airport to connect you onward flight the next morning with wonderful memories…