Day 01 : Colombo – Giritale

A warm and truly Sri Lankan welcome at the Colombo International Airport, where our representatives will be on hand to greet the group by garlanding them. The group will pose for a photograph which will appear in the local news paper.
We will board our coach to drive to Giritale (185 kms - Approx 5 hrs). Refreshing cold towels and information packs will be handed over to all guests.
En route, we will stop in Habarana famous among tourists and locals alike for its safari rides in the nearby Habarana national park which has a huge population of Elephants. Each elephant is able to carry 5 adults in a Howda or Basket. Once the guest mount the Elephants, they will be taken deep in to the jungle, accompanied by a Mahout.
After the fascinating elephant safari experience, we will proceed to Giritale to check into The Deer Park Hotel where we will be accorded a VIP welcome.
Later in the evening, a typical ‘Village Night’ theme dinner will be organised for us.
Overnight at Deer Park Hotel in Giritale.

Day 02 : Giritale - Trincomalee – Giritale

This morning, after breakfast, we will leave for Trincomalee (100 kms - 2 hrs approx).
Trincomalee could have been one of the major city's of the region because of its huge natural harbour, yet it became a quiet town - for Asian norms that is - off the beaten track.
Things that you will remember most: the strong smell of curry, filling whole streets. Wild monkeys on the road south, following the sea. Some of the best beaches of the country, in Nilevali. Authentic little fishing villages to the north that have never thought of the possibility that a passing tourist might think they're authentic little fishing villages. In Trincomalee itself some temples.
While at Trincomalee, we will visit the Pigeon Island. The island's name derives from the Rock Pigeon which has colonized it. Still you can see Pigeons if you can reach to the north end of the island. The island is a designated National Park, one of the two marine national parks of Sri Lanka. The national park contains some of the best remaining coral reefs of Sri Lanka.
After our trip to Trincomalee, we return back to Giritale. In the evening a buffet dinner is organised for in the Deer Park Hotel.
Overnight in Dear Park Hotel in Giritale.

Day 03 : Giritale - Polonnaruwa – Giritale

This morning, after breakfast, we will undertake a day excursion for Polonnaruwa which was established as the capital after Anuradhapura had been invaded in the late 10th century. Under King Parakramabu, who ruled in the late 11th entury, Polonnaruwa became a magnificent walled ity. He built the vast reservoir, Parakrama Samudra (the Sea of Parakrama), which is still in use today, and ordered the construction of monasterices, temples, palaces, bathing pools and Buddhist statues, all set in a forested park surrounded by moats. The remains of Polonnaruwa are today a designated World Heritage Site.
After the excursion, we return back to our hotel in Giritale. Rest of the day free at leisure. Enjoy a rejuvenating ayurvedic therapy in the hotel’s spa or just lay around the pool. Late evening, enjoy a sumptuous buffet dinner.
Overnight at Deer Park Hotel in Giritale.

Day 04 : Giritale - Sigiriya - Matale – Kandy

This morning, after an International buffet breakfast, we check out of the hotel and are bound for Kandy. Enroute, we will visit the World Heritage Site of Sigiriya (30 kms - 45 minutes approx). Built in the 5th century, Sigiriya or Lion Rock, rises 200 metres above a forested plain, its flattened summit sloping gently.
A series of moats, ramparts and amazingly engineered water gardens spreads out on two sides of the rock, with the remains of a pair of giant stone lion’s paws still guarding the staircase leading to the summit, once occupied by a royal palace.

Sigiriya (a World Heritage Site), is Asia’s best preserved city of the first millennium, showing complex urban planning around the base of the rock and sheer bravado in the palace perched on the summit. One of the most famous aspects of Sigiriya are the frescoes painted under a rocky overhang part way up the rock, depicting graceful bare-breasted maidens whose beauty inspired ancient graffiti which can still be seen.

After visiting this unique world heritage site we proceed to Matale (48 kms - 1 hr approx). We will be treated to a grand tour of one of Matale’s more famous spice gardens to understand the intricacies of spice farming. We will also view a cooking demonstration using some of the spices picked from the garden.
After visiting Matale, we finally reach the last stronghold of Sinhala Kings & UN World Heritage Site – the Hill Country capital of Kandy.

On arrival at Mahaweli Reach Hotel we are accorded a special welcome.
The last stronghold of the Sri Lankan kings against a series of colonial invaders was at Kandy, at 500 metres in the Hill Country. Now a bustling city, Kandy still remains a sanctuary for traditional Sinhalese culture, with a number of important heritage sites in and around the city. Kandy is the perfect size for exploring on foot . Visit the Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic. The temple enshrines Sri Lanka’s most important relic of Lord Buddha. Constructed during the 17th and 18th centuries, this temple is surrounded by a deep moat.

Other things to do include strolling by the lake and around the Mahaweli Spice Garden as well as visiting the Royal Bathhouse and National Museum. For those interested in shopping for gems, antiques, clothes and leather use our shopping guide and explore the local shopping areas. Back at the hotel in evening, we are treated to a ‘Kandyan Night’ theme dinner.
Overnight at Mahaweli Reach Hotel in Kandy.

Day 05 : Kandy - Dambana – Kandy

After breakfast we will take an excursion to Dambana 990 kms - 2.45 hrs approx) where Sri Lanka’s indigenous inhabitants, the Veddas or Wanniya-laeto ('forest-dwellers') as they call themselves, live. We will observe their way of life and participate in their traditional and cultural activities such as “Bow and arrow competition”.

We will have lunch with them and also visit the chief of their community. After this enriching experience we return back to Kandy.

In the evening, at the hotel, we will be treated to a cultural performance which will come to a climax with a breathtaking display of Fire Walking. After a buffet dinner we will retire to our rooms.
Overnight in Mahaweli Reach in Kandy.

Day 06 : Kandy - Pinnawala - Mount Lavinia

After breakfast, the group will be transferred to Pinnawala by coach. En route we will visit a tea Plantation and a tea factory (Giragama). Here one can observe all about the process of manufacturing tea and how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea in the factory.

Later, we proceed to Pinnawala. See baby jumbos wondering around their cramped foster home or bottle fed and bathed by their human foster fathers at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Most orphans are accustomed to their curious human visitors are harmless. Started in 1972 the Elephant Orphanage was relocated to at the present site in 1975. Bathing time at Ma Oya just in front of the orphanage is sharp at 10.00am and 2.00pm. Feeding time is about and hour earlier.

After lunch, we will either proceed to Mount Lavinia by coach

OR

will be transferred to Rabukkana Railway Station to board the ‘Viceroy’ steam railway which will take us to Moint Lavinia. Our baggage will follow separately in the coach. At Mount Lavinia, we will check into Mount Lavinia Hotel.
Later in the evening we will be trated to a Gala Seafood dinner on the beach of the hotel.
Overnight in Mount Lavinia Hotel.

Day 07 : Mount Lavinia – Airport.

Sun and fun at the Beach continues in the morning.
In the evening the group will be treated to a fireworks display at the beach. The entertainment will continue with a farewell gala dinner buffet, with lively and joyful music!
After dinner we will bid the group farewell as they leave for the airport.
Toue ends till we meet again.