Discover Sri Lanka

Begin your adventure in Veyangoda, a 30 minute drive from Sri Lanka's energetic capital: Colombo. Around 6pm, say ayubowan to your tour leader and fellow travellers at our hotel, where we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Sri Lankan welcome by arranging a group dinner together. Want to explore further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

We depart after breakfast for the drive (approximately 2hr 30min) among coconut palms, paddy fields and banana plantations through Kurunegala to Dambulla. Here, we visit the magnificent Cave Temple, among the most impressive sights in Sri Lanka. There are colourful, well-preserved paintings and Buddha statues inside the caves, which date to the first century BCE. After lunch, we continue to Sigiriya (Lion Rock). From our hotel, we can see the giant rock fortress rising from the plains (occasionally we may stay nearer to Dambulla due to hotel availability)

Sigiriya is, perhaps, the standout attraction in Sri Lanka with the ruins of a fifth-century palace crowning an imposing granite peak, also known as Lion Rock. This morning, we drive to the base, where a moat surrounds impressive water gardens. We then take the route to the top, via a series of steep steps and gangways, ascending 655ft (200m) and passing an overhanging rock, under which portraits of native maidens holding flowers and temple offerings still adorn the rock wall. On the flat-topped summit are extensive remains of the King's Summer Palace. During the afternoon, there is a chance to enjoy an optional game drive in either Minneriya National Park, Kaudulla National Park or the Hurulu Eco Park to see elephants in their natural habitat (which location depends on the elephant herd movements). For those who would prefer not to join the game drive, you can relax by the hotel pool.

This morning, we have a short drive to Girithale where our hotel overlooks the scenic Girithale Tank. The early inhabitants here solved the dual problem of heat and lack of water in this dry area by constructing large tanks to act as reservoirs and cool the warm breeze. Now they provide an important habitat for bird life, particularly from August to April. Today we hop on local bikes and enjoy a leisurely cycle of around 11mi (18km) through small villages and lakes. As an alternative to cycling, you can hire a tuk tuk locally for approximately 4,000 rupees and follow the group on their trail. Along the way, we should see plenty of bird life including egrets, brahmany kites, kingfishers and bulbuls. Breaking up the journey, we stop for a family-cooked lunch in a traditional village, enjoying authentic Sri Lankan dishes under a banyan tree, while also helping to support the family's small business. After, we return to our hotel in Girithale by late afternoon.

After breakfast, we take a short drive to the 10th-century capital of Sri Lanka: Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of the Sinhalese. There are many Buddhist relics and ruins here, dating from a 1,000 years ago when Sinhalese culture reached its zenith. We visit many of the temples, palaces, huge dagobas (Buddhist stupas) and remarkable Buddhist sculptures. After lunch, we head into the hills to the picturesque town of Kandy. Stopping along the way at a spice garden near Matale, where we learn about various spices and herbs growing, and there is a chance to stock up on fresh spices, massage oils and Ayurvedic medicines. This is a long but fascinating day, arriving to Kandy in the early evening.

Kandy is by a small lake and we spend two full days in and around the town. On the first day, we visit the Temple of the Tooth, which houses the most important Buddhist relic in Sri Lanka. The Tooth of Buddha was taken from the funeral pyre in 543 BCE and only found its way to Sri Lanka in the fourth century CE. Hundreds of worshippers visit the temple each day and in August the most spectacular ceremony takes place. Some of our August trips should coincide with the Kandy festival, but the exact dates, decided by priests, are not known until five months prior to the event. After our visit, we drive to a beautiful viewpoint over Kandy overlooked by a huge Buddha, and visit a gem museum where you can see the products of the traditional methods of gem extraction. Another highlight is the vast Peradeniya Botanical Garden with orchid species endemic to Sri Lanka. Your second full day in Kandy is free to explore this wonderful town or take it slow starting the day relaxing by the hotel pool. The surrounding hills are wonderful, offering fantastic views of the town below and there are many handicraft stores and antique shops in which to browse. On either evening, you have the option to attend a traditional performance of dancing and fire eating.

After a relaxed start to the day, we have a spectacular drive through the countryside on the way to Kitulgala. Here, we have the opportunity of going on a walk through the jungle or local villages followed by an optional white-water rafting excursion. The rafting is a supplement cost and requires minimum 4 people (see the Optional Excursions section of the trip notes), the activity lasts a maximum of 1.5 hours and there is a choice of gentle or wild water (grade III rapids) depending on your preference. If you do not wish to go rafting, freshen up and relax by the water until the rafters return for lunch. After, we drive to our hotel in Nuwara Eliya. Please note, it is possible to climb Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) from the full moon day of December to the full moon day of May. This is optional and you need to be confident in your fitness levels to attempt this. You would leave Nuwara Eliya around midnight on Day 8 and drive for approximately two hours to the base of the peak. From here, it is a strenuous four-hour climb to the top in time for sunrise. We then return to Nuwara Eliya to join the group for lunch on Day 9.