Price
From £2,345 per person.
Includes B&B or H/B accommodation, a/c transport with chauffeur guide, entrance fees & activities, and taxes.
Arrive Colombo airport and greeted by your dedicated Tikalanka chauffeur guide.
Transfer to Negombo on the island’s west coast close by.
One night stay at Villa Hundira, which is an elegant home-from-home situated in a secluded location on Negombo lagoon. The comfortable and stylish rooms are complemented by a relaxed ambience. Indira, one of the passionate owners, runs an on-going community project, Thimble, which supports local fisher folk through an arts and crafts workshop in-house.
Head north to Anuradhapura, the first capital of ancient Lanka in the 3rd century BCE, for a guided tour of the historic city of Anuradhapura, with visits to the preserved and partially restored ruins of the three principal monasteries: Mahavihara, Abhayagiriya and Jetavnarama. Absorb the atmosphere of Ruvanveliseya Dagoba and Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred Bo Tree and the oldest recorded tree in the world, at nightfall.
Two nights stay at The Sanctuary at Tissawewa, which is a sensitively renovated former Dutch colonial governor’s residence immersed in a tree-filled and expansive garden alive with a variety of bird life. The makeover has uplifted the building to its former grandeur with polished wooden floors and reproduction antique furniture.
All-day jeep safari in Wilpattu National Park, which is the island’s largest wildlife reserve at 131,693 hectares as well as one of the oldest and most important protected areas in Sri Lanka. Principally a dry lowland zone, the main topographical feature in the park is the concentration of ‘villus’. Though looking like lakes, these ‘villus’ are in fact basin-like fault depressions in the earth that fill with rain water during the monsoon season. The ‘villus’ attract a variety of animals including leopards, elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, water buffalos and deer. The ‘villus’ also support a variety of resident and migratory waterfowl , including the painted stork, open-billed stork, garganey, whistling teal and spoonbill, as well as forest or scrub dwellers such as the racquet-tailed drongo, Asian paradise flycatcher, crimson-breasted barbet and Malabar pied hornbill.
Visit the hilltop temple of Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and enjoy a guided walking tour of this significant site.
Continue northwest to Mannar Island, a ‘dry zone’ region and one of the least visited areas on the island, famed for migratory birds during the winter and some of Sri Lanka’s best seafood.
Two nights stay at The Palmyrah House, which is a contemporary-styled hotel offering 14 light, spacious and comfortable bedrooms, restaurant and bar, swimming pool, traditional well bath, recreational area, gym, and library.
Suggested activities (NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE):
- Bird watching – Guided bird watching tour of Mannar Island and around Giant’s Tank. Both areas have become a magnet for birders in search of species which are not found regularly in the southern half of the island - migration season from October to March.
- Thantirimale – Ancient village and temple which is over 2200 years old. It hosts one of the few saplings grown from the original Bodhi tree under which Buddha reached enlightenment and includes many other historic monuments.
- Mannar Fort – Built over 450 years ago to monitor Talaimannar Strait, one of the few places where large ships could safely navigate. It was a vital area for the ancient maritime Silk and Spice routes.
Head further north, mostly following the north-western coastline and associated lagoons, to Jaffna at the northern tip of the island.
Three nights stay at Fox Jaffna, which is a real gem and the best place to stay in the area at an incredible price for the quality on offer. Centred on an ancestral walauwa (manor house), the unassuming and tranquil estate is of generous proportions and attractively landscaped.
Guided tour of Jaffna city and the Jaffna peninsula, which may include the recently renovated Jaffna fort, market and library (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (one of the most sacred Hindu temples in Sri Lanka); Keerimalai natural springs; Nilavarai bottomless well; Elephant Pass (the gateway to Jaffna with army memorials commemorating one of the most infamous battle sites of the civil war); The Salterns; Casuarina Beach; Point Pedro (northernmost tip of the island with corals and sand dunes).
Local ferry trip out to one of the islands of the Jaffna archipelago:
- Nainativu Island – home to Nagadeepa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya, one of the locations the Buddha is believed to have visited and an important pilgrimage site.
- Delft Island – peek at Rama’s footprint or take in the relics from the Dutch colonial era, such as Delft Fort, or spend the day with the famous horses of Delft at one of the oldest stables on the island.
Board the train at Jaffna railway station – subject to availability – for your return journey south to Anuradhapura. On arrival at Anuradhapura railway station, pick up by your chauffeur guide and head east to Nilaveli on the island’s east coast, which is about 16 km north of Trincomalee.
Three nights stay at Nilaveli Beach Hotel, which has a superb beachfront position within a palm grove overlooking nearby Pigeon Island, a popular excursion for snorkelling trips. The shady garden is a welcome haven during the heat of the day, with a large swimming pool to cool off in and a beachside cabana bar serving light meals. The hotel opens out directly onto Nilaveli’s soft white sandy beach that seems to stretch endlessly along the east coast and which is lapped by the clear shallow waters of the azure blue Indian Ocean.
Suggested activities (NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE):
- Guided tour of Trincomalee, including visits to Fort Frederick, a 17th century Portuguese-built bastion and a stalwart of the city’s defences, and Koneswaram Kovil, one of the five most holy Shaivite temples on the island.
- Visit the naval base at China Bay near Trincomalee.
- Boat trip to Pigeon Island for snorkelling.
- SCUBA diving – various sites.
- Early morning boat safari off the east coast to spot whales and large pods of dolphins. Season from March to August.
- Visit Kanniyai Hot Springs, which according to legend were created by Lord Vishnu.
- Visit Velgam Vihara, a Buddhist temple complex believed to date back to the 3rd century BC.
Leave the east coast for an afternoon jeep safari in Minneriya National Park, which forms an ‘elephant corridor’, along with Kaudulla National Park, for the vast herds roaming the eastern region of the country from Trincomalee through to Wasgamuwa, Maduru Oya and Gal Oya National Parks 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.
Continue to Dambulla.
Two nights stay at Lake Lodge Boutique Hotel, which is an intimate and stylish hotel set in two hectares of private grounds with panoramic views of Kandalama Lake and the Pothana Hills beyond. The 12 spacious and well-presented rooms are complemented by a serene pool and open-air restaurant.
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.
Return to the hotel and at leisure for the rest of the day.
Suggested activities (NOT INCLUDED IN PRICE):
- 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.
- 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.
- Explore the enigmatic forest monastery and cave hermitage of Ritigala.
The following day, transfer to the airport for your flight home.
