Sri Lanka: Heart and North

DAY 01: EUROPE – (AIRPORT OF) COLOMBO

Flight to Colombo.

DAY 02: AIRPORT / KANDY 115 km (about 3 h)

Arrival at Colombo International Airport. Welcome by your English speaking guide and a young woman in traditional dress with flower garlands.

City tour in Negambo

The Portuguese and Dutch left a lasting impression on Negambo. From this time, remains the canal which extends approximately 120 km from Colombo to Puttalam.

Visit the fish market

The inhabitants of Negombo, the Karavas, fishermen of Indian origin, take out their boats or oruvas everyday. Continuation to Kandy.

Kandy, bordered by hills, naturally ordered around the lake and cultural center of the country, nestles in a green valley (between the last rice fields and the first tea plantations), and remains a center of crafts, music and dance.

Afternoon relax at the hotel to recover the fatigue of the trip. Around 17:00, travel to the Temple of the tooth.

Visit of the Temple of the Tooth, pink building surrounded by a ditch, solitary, on the edge of the lake. Brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD, the tooth of Buddha, a relic that has become a renowned and sacred object of piety, is not only the most prized treasure of Sri Lanka, but also the seal of sovereignty.

DAY 03: KANDY / PERADENIYA / GIRAGAMA / LANKATHILAKE / KANDY

KANDY – PERADENIYA : 5 Km (10 min) / KANDY – LANKATHILAKE : 25 Km (about 40 min)

Continuation to Peradeniya for the visit of the world famous botanical garden of Peradeniya, located in the big curve of Mahaweli Ganga in the west of Kandy. You will be able to admire a profusion of tropical plants, trees from all over the world, with a palm grove illustrating the great variety of this species, impressive bamboos, orchids, lotus in an artificial pond and “sensitives flowers“!

Walking tour of the local market of Kandy and free time for shopping in the alleys lined with many stalls: silk, local handicrafts, jewelry, basketry, masks, umbrella.

Departure for Giragama to explore a tea plantation. The harvest is always done by women: the pickers, dressed in brightly colored “longhis“.

Visit a tea factory and plantation with tea tasting and free time in the factory store.

Then continuation towards Lankathilake. (with apart of the journey in Tuk Tuk)

Meeting with a “Guru”, teacher of traditional Kandyan dances for an initiation to these dances with costume testing, followed by a small private show.

Then visit one of the best places in the region for Art and Culture, the Suriyakantha Centre and spend an unforgettable moment in the heart of an authentic universe: art objects, old books, manuscripts, photographs, postcards.

DAY 04 : KANDY / MATALE / DAMBULLA / HABARANA

KANDY – MATALE : 32 km (1h) / MATALE – DAMBULLA : 47 km (1h30) /

DAMBULLA – HABARANA : 25 km (30 min)

On the way, visit a Batik factory.

Arrival in Matale and visit of the spice gardens offering all the indigenous varieties: peppers, cardamoms, nutmeg, cloves, chilies… etc.

Tasting of spice tea, a small massage of 5 minutes with natural products.

Typical lunch in a rice field in Matale near the spice garden.

Dambulla : visit of the Dambulla caves, refuge of King Valagambahu when he was expelled from Anuradhapura, his capital. The rock of Dambulla is a huge rocky projection which stands naked, black, exposed to the burning sun. Inside the rock is a series of caves that house the historic Dambulla temple, one of the oldest Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka.

DAY 05 : HABARANA / POLONNARUWA / ELEPHANTS / HABARANA

HABARANA – POLONNARUWA : 46 km (1h)

Visit of the archeological site of Polonnaruwa where the Kings of Ceylon settled in the 11th century after having left Anuradhapura as capital. At the edge of the romantic lake of Parakrama and in a park of greenery populated with monkeys, one can discover the statue of King Parakramabhu, his palace, the audience hall, the royal bath, the chamber of the relics, the Galpotha (stone book of 8 meters), the Temple dedicated to Shiva and the famous cave temple of Gal-Vihare and its 4 Buddha statues.

Visit of a woodcarving workshop. Then visit a rice cooperative in one of the regions known for the preparation of rice. Lunch at the inhabitant’s house of rice with curry in a traditional house made of bamboo and clay and covered with coconut leaves; a ”Priyamali Gedara”.

Around 3:30 pm, visit of a village followed by a seeing and spending time with elephants.

You will be accompanied by a naturalist. The road will lead you to a lake and you will cross the lake by boat ”ORUWA”.

A coconut will be served in the middle of nature, an opportunity for the participants to exchange with the inhabitants their experiences and emotions.

Then, appointment with the unique programme with elephants, attending and participating in their bath: magical moment: the bath of elephants.

Then return by tractor to the main road and return to the hotel.

DAY 06 : HABARANA / SIGIRIYA / TRINCOMALEE

HABARANA – SIGIRIYA : 25 km (30 min) / HABARANA – TRINCOMALEE : 110 km (approx. 2h)

Visit of the Sigiriya Citadel or “Lion Rock”, a romantic and grandiose ancient site with the world famous frescoes of the “Sigiriya Damsels“, one of the most surprising sites in Ceylon, considered to be the 8th wonder of the world, a colossal rock of red stones dominating the thick forest which it overhangs by nearly 150 m. On this inaccessible rock remain however the ruins of a grandiose palace, built in the 5th century, by king Kashyapa. One of the greatest curiosities of the rock: the paintings of the “Damsels of Sigiriya”, splendid and perfectly preserved, in a crevice of the rock.

A coconut will be served to each participant after the visit of Sigiriya.

TRINCOMALEE: After decades of conflict in the country, the city of Trincomalee is reopened to the public. The city is built on a peninsula at the entrance to the most important bay on the island’s eastern coast. Trincomalee is considered a natural harbor and was used by the Portuguese, the Dutch and especially by the French, until the colonization of the English.

Afternoon at leisure at the hotel to enjoy the pool/beach.

DAY 07 TO 09: TRINCOMALEE…. “IN RELAXATION

Day of relaxation at the hotel to enjoy the pool/beach.

Possibility to visit the city of Trincomalee.

Visit the Koneswaram temple, also called Thirukeswaram. The tip of Swami Rock is crowned by a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, where there is intense activity on poya days. Located at the end of the point, Swami Rock rises 130 m above the water and offers a very picturesque perspective on the two bays that surround it as well as on the city. One can also visit hot springs in Kanniyai.

DAY 10 : TRINCOMALEE / VAVUNIA / JAFFNA

TRINCOMALEE – VAVUNIA : 103 km (approx. 2h30) / VAVUNIA – JAFFNA : 141 km (approx. 3h)

JAFFNA: Since the end of the war and after more than three years, the northernmost city of Sri Lanka, Jaffna, has been reopened to visitors. Recently, the government has opened the northern territory without special permits as it was the case before. Now the city of Jaffna looks like any other city in Sri Lanka, with iron gates and hand-painted signs above the small stores.

Visit Jaffna town including the central market, on foot with your guide.

DAY 11: JAFFNA

JAFFNA – NAAGADEEPA : 38 km (1h)

In the morning, continuation towards the Naagadeepa temple.

Small boat trip (20 minutes) on the island Nagadeepa. Visit of the Nagadeepa temple; an ancient Buddhist temple.

Visit of the Jaffna Public Library which is one of the oldest in Asia and which contained more than a thousand palm leaf manuscripts. These were unfortunately burned by the belligerents in 1981. Even if many books disappeared, the building was rebuilt. Then visit the Dutch Fort, which bears witness to the history of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

In the evening, visit the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil temple, one of the most important Hindu temples in the Jaffna district, in the town of Nallur.

DAY 12: JAFFNA / ANURADHAPURA

JAFFNA – ANURADHAPURA : 201 km (approx.3 h by train)

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Jaffna station to take the local train to Anuradhapura. (2h45 of journey). The train is an original and very pleasant way to discover this region in a typical way: magnificent landscapes, palm groves, pineapple plantations, rice fields, etc…

Planned activity: you will exchange a few words in Sinhalese with the passengers in the train.

Visit the archaeological site of Anuradhapura, for more than a millennium the main city of Sri Lanka with its many monuments, palaces and temples as a home of art and Buddhism and currently an archaeological park where religious life has resumed its rights.

The Rock Temple. Isurumuniya Vihara, one of the most endearing Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka; stop at a school for young Buddhist monks.

Visit the Ruvanveliseya Temple and the Sri Maha Bodhiya in the evening to attend the pooja ceremony with pilgrims.

DAY 13: ANURADHAPURA / NEGAMBO / AIRPORT/EUROPE

ANURADHAPURA – NEGAMBO : 170 km (3h30) / NEGAMBO – THE AIRPORT : 15 km (20 min)

Continuation to Negambo via Puttalampour a visit of salt marshes, then Thirambiadiya where lives a community of Africans named “Ceylon African Caper” whose first arrival in Sri Lanka dates from 1505 as slaves. Visit of the village and small show.

On the way, visit of the Munneshwaram Kovil, a remarkable Hindu temple, an important pilgrimage site with its three shrines.

Arrival at Negambo where rooms will be reserved for a break and a wash before the departure flight. After dinner, transfer to the airport. Assistance with boarding formalities and flight to Europe.

DAY 14 : EUROPE

ARRIVAL IN EUROPE

Les hôtels de 3* suggérés comme suivants,

02 nuits à l’hôtel Thilanka OU Hotel Topaz

02 nuits à l’hôtel Kassapa Lions RockOU Camellia Resort & Spa

04 nuits à Trinco Blu by Cinnamon

02 nuits à North Gate by Jetwing

01 nuit à The Lakeside Nuwarawewa

 

Les hôtels de 4* suggérés comme suivants,

02 nuits à Amaya Hills OU Cinnamon Citadel OU Earl’s Regent OU OZO Kandy

02 nuits à Amaya Lake OU Habarana Village by Cinnamon OU Sigiriya Jungles

04 nuits à Anilana Nilaveli

02 nuits à Jetwing Jaffna

01 nuit à Palm Garden Village

Inclus : Pension complète (voir détails) en hôtels supérieurs, guide accompagnateur, transports en bus climatisé, train et entrées sur site*.

 Non inclus : billet d’avion international, visa d’entrée au Sri Lanka, permis photos sur certains sites assurances, boissons, repas non mentionnés et pourboires chauffeur et guide.