Itinerary in Detail
Day 01: Colombo
On your arrival in Sri Lanka you will be met at the airport by your chauffeur and transferred to Colombo. During the 60 minute journey from the airport you can catch a glimpse of Sri Lankan life.
Throngs of street vendors, tuk-tuks weaving crazily about in traffic, 60 seater busses that always seem come right at you are all part of the sights and sounds that would greet you on your way.
Upon arrival at the Galle Face Hotel, you can rest, relax and recover from jetlag. We will host you to a complimentary dinner in the evening. During this dinner we will answer all your questions regarding the tour and also familiarize you with general information.
Day 02: Wasgamuwa
We depart Colombo and proceed to Wasgamuwa. The drive to Wasgamuwa is quite a long one but the surrounding scenery more than compensate for this.
Passing through the Knuckles mountain range guests can truly appreciate the natural beauty of Sri Lanka. Arrive in Wasgamuwa towards afternoon. Spend the rest of the day relaxing at Wasgamuwa.
Day 03: Wasgamuwa
Enter the Wasgamuwa national park early morning as this is one of the best times to see animals. Spend 4 hrs at the park observing the animals.
Return to the hotel and relax for the day when the midday sun drives the animals to shelter. Visit the Park again in the evening.
Day 04: Nuwara Eliya
Leave Wasgamuwa after breakfast and drive to Nuwara Eliya. Arrive in Nuwara Eliya towards late afternoon.
Nuwara Eliya is a beautiful high altitude town. The town still retains most of its old colonial British architecture. Depending on your time of arrival you may explore the surroundings of the city known as little England.
Spend the night in Nuwara Eliya.
Day 05: Horton Plains & Kitulgala
The next morning we travel to Horton Plains accompanied by our horticulturalist Lal. This high altitude nature reserve is home to large herds of Sambur and some unique fauna and flora.
The highlight of the Horton Plains nature reserve is the world’s end. It is a cliff face 700m in height with some spectacular views. On a clear day you can see the Indian Ocean over 50km away.
Upon returing to Nuwara Eliya bid farwell to Lal and travel a few hours to Kitulgala. Kitulgala is a sleepy town enroute to Sinharaja and the location for the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai".
Spend the night in log cabins overlooking the Kelani River. This ecolodge is a birders paradise with many endemics visiting the premises. You may also optionally whitewater raft or explore the forest on the other side of the river. The river is crossed by dugout (canoe).
Day 06: Sinharaja
Travel to Sinharja after breakfast. Arrive at the Forestry base camp around noon and transfer to Martins Lodge only a few meters from the forest entrance.
You can explore around the boundry of the forest. During the evenings it is a very good time to spot the noctural birds including the Serendib Scops Owl.
Day 07: Sinharaja
Enter the Sinharaja Rain forest with packed lunches to explore the forest for the entire day. Depending on your fitness levels you may trek upto 16km inside the forest.
Return to the eco lodge to rest and relax.
Day 08: Uda Walawe
After breakfast of bread and fresh fruit travel to Uda Walawe. The drive to Uda Walawe is relatively short and un-eventful.
Arrive in Uda Walawe towards evening and relax for the rest of the day.
Day 09: Uda Walawe and Yala
Enter the Uda Walawe national park after an early breakfast for an early morning safari. Return to the entrance of the park and visit the Elephant Transit camp.
The elephant transit camp is a highly successful conservation project where orphaned elephants are cared for until there are 6 feet or 6 years old and then released back to the wild.
You may only observe the babies from a distance as human interaction would significantly lower their chances of survival in adult life.
Travel onwards to Yala arriving towards afternoon at the hotel. Rest and relax at the hotel for the rest of the day.
Day 10: Yala
The Yala or Ruhuna National park is Sri Lankas most famous wildlife parks and this is probably due to its population of Leopard.
The park while being home to many animals including Deer, Wild boars, Buffalos, Elephants, Crocodiles and Bear is widely considered to have the highest density of Leopard in the World. Current estimates put the population of Leopard at 35.
Although this may seem a high number of Leopards it takes a good eye to see one of these majestic cats. Enter the park at dawn which is one of the best times to see the animal. After about 3 or 4 hrs in the park return to the hotel and relax.
Return to the park in the afternoon to explore further. If you didn’t see the Leopard in the morning you may instruct the tracker to look only for the Leopard and this should hopefully catch you a glimpse of the animal.
Return to the hotel and relax under the stars.
Day 11 - 13: Galle
Leave Yala after breakfast and travel along the coast to the city of Bentota. Enroute depending on the season you can visit the stilt fisherman of Weligama.
Upon arrival in Galle visit the 18th Century Dutch Fort in Galle. The area within the Fort is like a period preserved in nature an some of the houses posess the old colonial charm.
After visiting the fort travel onwards to Bentota for the next three nights.
Day 14: Airport
Transfer to the Airport for your flight out of Sri Lanka.
