Light of Asia

Arrived at Colombo International Airport. Welcome and assistance on arrival. Transfer to Dambulla. En-route, stop at Kurunegala for refreshment. Check in to the hotel. Lunch at the hotel Afternoon: Visit Dambulla Rock Caved temple. Dambulla is a part of the Cultural Triangle declared by UNESCO is on the main road from Sigiriya to Kandy about 19Km from Sigiriya. There are over 80 caves in the surrounding and some of them have been used by the monks as meditation locations. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain the statues and the paintings. Since it’s founding in the 1 century BC by King Valagamba, many improvements and additions have been carried out to the sculptures and paintings over the years. Hindu statues are believed to be of the 12 century AD and the latest paintings are of the late 18-century. The temple is a perfect location to view evolution of the ancient Sri Lankan arts. Dambulla is a unique and important historical site because of the amalgamation of the material from many eras. Return to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay.

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel. Proceed for sightseeing to Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Sigiriya, a massive rock in the green scrub jungle, is perhaps the most memorable place for visitors to Sri Lanka. The site was known from ancient times as a hermitage for Buddhist monks. A well-planned monastic complex included caved temples, bathing pools, lovely ponds and Asia’s oldest surviving landscaped gardens. Today Sigiriya is famous for its frescoes painted in the pocket of the rock. The “Lion stairway”, the “mirror wall” and the “water gardens” are its other highlights Typical Lunch on Lotus leaf Afternoon: Enjoy a bullock cart ride and Traditional Boat (Oruwa) ride. Bullock cart ride will take visitors through the village of Hiriwadunna, to a banana plantation where ripe bananas can be tasted and savored fresh. Cross a scenic reservoir by Oruwa (traditional boat), its long, narrow shape gliding effortlessly on the water, to visit a Chena cultivation, where in the shade of a tree house of mud and thatched Palm leaves, the village of Hiriwadunna can be surveyed. On the return journey guests can drop by the house of a native and enjoy aromatic Ginger Tea and Jaggery. Return to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel. Proceed to Kandy. En-route, stop at Matale to visit Matale Spice Garden for Sri Lankan Spice & Batik. In the 16th century Ceylon, as it was then known, was discovered by Portuguese who soon began trading in cinnamon and other spices. The Dutch and British followed bringing with them their own history and influences, forming a strong Western presence which created a history of food expressed with spices which can be tasted in the dishes today. Also the Spices are use in Ayurveda in Sri Lanka. Visit a Batik factory & demonstration Lunch at a local restaurant Afternoon: visit the Kandy Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, one of the most venerated places by Buddhist in Sri Lanka, and all over the world. The Dalada Maligawa as it is also known enshrines the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Gautama Buddha. Evening: Enjoy a traditional cultural show Check in to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay.

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala. It’s started in 1972 the Elephant Orphanage as relocated at the present site in 1975 Bathing at Ma Oya just in front of the orphanage is sharp at 10.00am and 2.00pm. Lunch at a local restaurant Afternoon: Visit the Peradeniya botanical garden. Botanical Garden was first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and was expanded by the British. It is 147 acres in extent and provides an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. Proceed to Kandy by Tuk Tuk Enjoy the Kandy city Tour. Visit gemological museum & Souvenir Shop Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka, located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is the Second largest city in the country after Colombo. It was the last capital of the ancient kings’ era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an administrative and religious city. It is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), one of the most venerable places for the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka and all around the world. It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988 Return to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay.

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel Proceed to Nuwara Eliya En-route, possible to see the Ramboda Water Falls. Ramboda Falls is 109 m (358 ft) high and 11th highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and 729th highest waterfall in the world. It is situated in Pussellawa area, on the A5 highway at Ramboda Pass. It formed by Panna Oya which is a tributary of Kothmale Oya. Altitude of the falls is 945 m (3,100 ft) above sea level Visit Tea Plantation & Tea Factory. Tea production in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is of high importance to the Sri Lankan economy and the world market. The country is the world’s third largest producer of tea and the industry is one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange and a significant source of income for laborers, with tea accounting for 15% of the GDP, generating roughly $700 million annually. In 1995, Sri Lanka was the world’s leading exporter of tea, (rather than producer) with 23% of the total world export, but it has since been surpassed by Kenya. The tea sector employs, directly or indirectly over 1 million people in Sri Lanka and in 1995 directly employed 215,338 on tea plantations and estates. The humidity, cool temperatures, and rainfall in the country’s central highlands provide a climate that favors the production of high quality tea. The industry was introduced to the country in 1867 by James Taylor, the British planter who arrived in 1852. Lunch at a local restaurant Afternoon: proceed to Nanu oya Railway Station to take the train to Ella. (The Train will leave from Nanu oya station at 14h50 & it twill reach to Ella station at 17.15) The train has to cross a lot of mountain ranges passing through tea plantations, eucalyptus forests, mountains, villages and more tea plantations. Much of the track snakes it way along the edge of the mountains overlooking huge valleys of firstly tea plantations and small villages, then forests and waterfalls, before crossing to the other side of the range and being greeted with more valleys of tea plantations and small villages. Check in to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay.

Morning: Breakfast Visit the Little Adam’s Peak. “Punchi Sri Pada” another name for this peak. is 1141 m in height. Little Adam’s Peak attracts many travelers who come to Sri Lanka. With an easy hike up to the mountain of Little Adams Peak you can witness panoramic view, walk through lush green tea plantations, waterfalls and paddy fields while enjoying the sceneries Lunch at a local restaurant Afternoon: Visit Nine Arch Bridge The Nine Arches Bridge is a bridge in Sri Lanka. It is one of the best examples of British railway constructions when Ceylon was a colony of the British Empire. The construction of the bridge is generally attributed to a local Ceylonese builder, P. K. Appuhami, in consultation with British engineers. The chief designer and project manager of the ‘upcountry railway line of Ceylon’ project was D. J. Wimalasurendra, a distinguished Ceylonese engineer and inventor. The designer of the viaduct was Harold Cuthbert Marwood of Railway Construction Department of Ceylon Government Railway Return to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay

Morning: Breakfast Proceed to Udawalawe. En-route, you can see the Ravana water fall. Ravana Water Fall is a popular sightseeing attraction in Sri Lanka. It currently ranks as one of the widest falls in the country. Check in to the hotel. Lunch at the hotel Afternoon: Safari in Udawalawe National Park. With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and leopards, Uda Walawe is the Sri Lankan national park that best rivals the savanna reserves of Africa. The park’s 30, 821 hectares centre on the large Uda Walawe Reservoir, fed by the Walawe Ganga. This is one of the best places in Sri Lanka to see elephants there are about 500 in the park in herds of up to 100. There’s an elephant-proof fence around the perimeter of the park, preventing elephants from getting out and cattle from getting in. The best time to observe elephant herds is from 6.30am to 10am and again from 4pm to 6.30pm; they’re usually near water. Other creatures that call Uda Walawe home are sambar deer, wild buffaloes (their numbers boosted by domesticated buffaloes), mongooses, bandicoots, foxes, water monitor lizards, crocodiles, sloth bears and the occasional leopard. There are 30 varieties of snake and a wealth of birdlife. Return to the hotel for Dinner & overnight stay.

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe The Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home is a facility within Udawalawe National Park in Sri Lanka that was established in 1995 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation. Its primary objective is to rehabilitate orphaned elephant calves for ultimate release back into the wild. Proceed to Mirissa. Lunch at a local restaurant Check in the hotel for Overnight stay. Leisure at the Beach Dinner at a local restaurant

Morning: Breakfast Enjoy a city tour in Galle. Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the administrative capital of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and the district capital of Galle District. Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. The major river in the area is the Gin River (Gin Ganga), which starts from Gongala Kanda and, passing villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada, and Wakwella, reaches the sea at Ginthota. The river is bridged at Wakwella by the Wakwella Bridge Proceed to Colombo. Lunch at a local restaurant Afternoon: Enjoy a city tour in Colombo. Commercial capital, cosmopolitan city, big Asian port and main city of the country, Colombo, with its 850,000 inhabitants, offer a vivid image of a city rich in the multiple influences of its past and the diversity of its present. To stroll up and down its streets means to capture a wealth of smells and images reminiscent of a history lavish with events which have sculpted Sri Lanka as it is today Possible to do Shopping Check in to the hotel for overnight stay. Dinner at a local restaurant.

Morning: Breakfast at the hotel Proceed to the Airport for Departure