Day 1

Welcome to Colombo!

You will be met at the airport on arrival and transferred to your hotel.

After check-in you may like to relax after a long flight with a dip in the roof top infinity pool with views of the city.

This evening you will meet your new friends and our local representative for a welcome dinner at Kaema Sutra (meaning ‘The Art of Food’). Located in the heart of the city, this is one of Colombo’s newest restaurants; it features traditional Sri Lankan cuisine re-magined.

Galle Face Hotel, Colombo (or Similar) D

Day 2

Enjoy breakfast in your Hotel

Meet your Local Guide this morning for a guided walk around Colombo city with an interesting personality. Every city has a character that loves it, studies it, and shares his knowledge and passion with those who want to learn about it. Colombo has Mark Forbes and his team to assist you.

This walk will take you through the years of the Portuguese and Dutch Fort right at the heart of the city, to the most recent British period. There are monumental buildings to be seen such as the Grand Oriental Hotel and Cargills department store. This is an opportunity to see it before it all changes as the city is undergoing modernization and many of its architectural gems will be gone in a couple of years.

Our favourite part of the program is walking through the crazy streets of the Pettah, Colombo’s main market hub.  A modern open-air bazaar of sorts where the smells of dried chillies and fish can mix with the smells of trucks delivering Indian saris all happening in a small alleyway.

The afternoon and lunch is at your leisure.

Not to be missed in Colombo is a wander around the Galle Face Green. Every evening families come here to watch the sunset, play a little cricket and just hang around this large esplanade.  One of the legacies of British rule, it is used as much today as it was a hundred years back. Visit around sunset, when there is a cooling breeze from the Indian Ocean, and enjoy the convivial family atmosphere.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Galle Face Hotel, Colombo (or similar) B

Day 3

Enjoy breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast depart Colombo for the 4-hour drive to Sigiriya, located in Sri Lanka’s “Cultural Triangle”.

Check in on arrival and the remainder of the day and lunch is at your leisure.  Relax by the swimming pool or indulge in a rejuvenating treatment at the Spa (additional cost).  If you’d like to stretch your legs after the drive – the peaceful Audangawa Village is just a 5-minute walk away.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Sigiriya Jungles, Sigiriya  (or similar) B

Day 4

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast make an early morning visit to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Rising over the dry plains of the Sigiriya district, this is one of Sri Lanka’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. This marvellous rock fortress – also known as Lion Rock – was the domain of King Kashyapa whose aim was to build an impregnable fortress and within it, a heavenly abode. The skeletal layout of the ancient city within the fortress reveals the grandeur and complexity of 5th century urban-planning of Sri Lanka.

On the strenuous climb of 1200 steps up this flat-topped rock you can view the famous Sigiriya frescoes of buxom, wasp-waisted maidens bearing flowers, whilst the smoothly glazed ‘Mirror Wall’ located a few steps away has sealed the expressions of ancient visitors, inspired by these vibrant frescoes. The climb ends with the most scenic bird’s-eye view of the green plains and leafy villages below.

The Sigiriya climb takes approximately 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the pace at which you wish to climb.

From here visit the Ritigala Archaeological Monastery. Think Indiana Jones – well that is a bit exaggerated – but Ritigala does have the feel of an undiscovered world far away from the more famous sights in Sri Lanka.  Archaeologists have uncovered various structures and implements dating back to the 4th century BC here – proof of a once extensive monastic complex.  Explore it in depth and walk all the way to the higher part of the complex. The site bears a certain mysterious nature owing to its long meditation pathways that open into thick jungle and large stone-lined reservoirs.  Take some time to sit down and connect with nature inside these ancient, sacred meditation grounds. Lunch is at your leisure.

Return to your hotel and the remainder of the day is free to relax and enjoy your accommodation.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Sigiriya Jungles, Sigiriya  (or similar) B

Day 5

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

Today is at leisure or you have the driver and vehicle at your disposal if you wish to do more exploring with other Individual Travellers.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Sigiriya Jungles, Sigiriya  (or similar) B

Day 6

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast we will depart Sigiriya for Kandy this morning – a 3-hour drive.

The last stronghold of the Sinhalese Kings, Kandy is also known as the hill capital.  It belongs to the fabric of legends. While Sri Lanka was under Portuguese and Dutch rule the Kings of Kandy remained defiant and independent. It was much later during the British rule that the city finally fell to the biggest Empire in the world.  Today Kandy still retains touches of its colonial history in buildings such as the Queen’s Hotel a beautiful 19th century neoclassical beauty. Lunch is at your leisure.

Check in to your hotel on arrival and later in the evening visit the Dalada Maligawa – the Buddhist ‘Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic’, which houses the relic of the tooth of Buddha. Kandy is a UNESCO World Heritage site partly due to this temple.  Arrive in time to witness the evening puja ceremony, a daily religious observation that has been followed for generations.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

This evening you will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant with beer, wine & soft drinks included

Theva Residency, Kandy (or similar) B, D

Day 7

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast this morning explore Kandy on a “Kandy Heritage Tuk Tuk Tour”. Using tuk tuks, the most popular mode of transport for the locals, enables you to blend in with the whole village experience.  You may be a bit nervous – but the feeling of being in Sri Lanka will be complete.

Take small lanes and back roads to discover the heritage of Kandy through its people who carry on the traditions of the Kandyan Kingdom, from the keeper of a Buddhist temple, to a woman selling coconuts.  Stepping back into a gentler time, this tour recreates the charm of Ceylon in the 1920s, an era where things moved at a slower pace. Stop for roti and string hoppers on a countryside picnic. Continue on to visit some cottage industries – make sure you get a unique coconut made spoon.  You can also check out the village hairdresser and get a Sri Lanka style haircut at this charming little shop!

Return to your hotel and the afternoon and Lunch is at leisure.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Theva Residency, Kandy (or similar) B

Day 8

Enjoy breakfast in your Hotel

Today is at leisure or you have the driver and vehicle at your disposal if you wish to do more exploring with other Individual Travellers.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Theva Residency, Kandy (or similar) B

Day 9

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast we depart Kandy for the 5-hour drive to Galle. We will stop along the way for lunch at your leisure.

The port city of Galle Fort in southern Sri Lanka is a place that speaks of another era of times gone by. An impressive rampart surrounding a small peninsula jutting out to the Indian Ocean, the Fort’s cobbled streets have seen four hundred years of history from Arab merchants to the adventurous Portuguese and the industrious Dutch.  However, one of the most remarkable things about the Fort is that it is a living monument – families that have lived here for generations continue to inhabit the fortified streets.

Your accommodation here, Fort Bazaar, is a renovated 17th century townhouse superbly located in the heart of the Fort.  Once occupied by spice, tea and gem traders, a stay here gives you an opportunity to soak up the Fort’s legendary atmosphere.  A boutique property, it comprises just eighteen rooms beautifully built around a traditional Galle Fort private courtyard; it has a restaurant and bar, private cinema, library and spa.  Check in on arrival and the remainder of the day is at leisure.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Fort Bazaar, Galle (or similar) B

Day 10

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

The rest of the morning and Lunch at your leisure

Later in the afternoon, discover the many faces of Galle with a local guide, who will help you to find a way to look beyond the touristy facade and discover the Fort’s true nature.  The walls that enclosure the fort have kept the inner city intact from years of turmoil and conquest making it a synthesis of the history of Sri Lanka. Just as the walls have kept the city protected from the outside, they have also – from the inside – created a unique atmosphere of a place lost in time.

With boutique shops, restored colonial mansions and an upcoming food scene, the city has a hip vibe to it. This tour gives you an opportunity to look beyond the glitzy magazine articles and heritage hotels and experience Galle through its people who are the repository of hundreds of years of living history.

Following the walk around the Fort it is time to eat – walking builds up an appetite – and what better way to finish the evening that in the company of friends and with a home cooked meal fit for the king of Kandy.  This is an opportunity to try authentic local food.  Mum, Washanti, makes some of the tastiest curries in this part of Sri Lanka – we are not exaggerating her food is better than anything you will find in a restaurant. Dad, Sam, used to be a cabbie in New York and he has some very interesting stories to tell. Also part of the family are Mira, the labrador, and Poosea, the cat. The family atmosphere, the fragrant spices and the casual conversation ensure that by the time you leave the house you will feel like a new family member and your taste buds will be in culinary heaven.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Fort Bazaar, Galle (or similar) B, D

Day 11

Enjoy breakfast in your Hotel

Today is at leisure or you have the driver and vehicle at your disposal if you wish to do more exploring with other Individual Travellers.

Galle Fort is a pleasant place to explore with its quiet streets, inviting cafes and many boutiques and artisan workshops. There are plenty of places to pick up souvenirs to take home including colourful, locally made textiles, vintage posters and tea. You may also be tempted by the modern cafes, ice cream sellers and hotels serving luxurious high teas. Outside the fort’s walls are long stretches of beach backed by coconut palms and lush hillsides.

A nice end to a day here is a sunset stroll along the ramparts and seawall, where locals gather to fly kites and play cricket and where you can stop for some thambili from a local vendor or some crispy vaddais.

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

Dinner is at your leisure

Fort Bazaar, Galle (or similar) B

Day 12

Enjoy breakfast in your Hotel

Today is at leisure with the driver / vehicle at your disposal. You might like to head down the coast for a day at the beach – easy!

Hotel Bar is open between 5.30pm – 6.30pm with house wine, beer, soft drinks included exclusively for Individual Travellers

This evening you will enjoy a farewell dinner at local restaurant with beer, wine & soft drinks included

Fort Bazaar, Galle (or similar) B, D

Day 13

Enjoy Breakfast in your Hotel

After breakfast depart Galle for the 2-hour drive to Colombo Airport to board your onward flight

newatha hamuvemu!