Waikkala is located in the Puttalam District, which is in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. Waikkala consists of marine, coastal, estuarine, mangroves, marshland and man made habitat systems. All of these have contributed to the bird diversity visible in the immediate surroundings. Much of the bird species are characteristically wetland. More than 60 species of birds can be observed here.

After breakfast an introduction to the precepts and concepts of Buddhism followed by an in-depth discussion.

You will be guided through the steps to give you a practical introduction to “Insight Meditation” to discover the true nature of your body and mind.

After breakfast leaving to Kandy from Negombo.

After breakfast we will depart to Kandy and on the way drive through the Peradeniya University (one of Sri Lanka’s most renowned institutions of higher studies).  We will check into the hotel have lunch and do some shopping while going on a city tour.  We will visit the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy City, which is set around the man-made Kandy Lake.  The Temple of the Tooth is the time honored official depository of the sacred tooth of the Lord Buddha.  Please note all male and female visitors must be wearing long attire (no shorts) before entering the Temple of the Tooth.  After visiting the Temple of the Tooth we will attend a cultural show where you can see dancers attired in traditional Kandyan costumes perform traditional dances.

After Breakfast leaving to the Nilambe Meditation Center at Galaha in the vicinity of Kandy. You will learn and practice the art of Buddhist Meditation.

Nilambe is truly a magical place, perched on the side of a mountain amidst tea plantations at over 2000 feet above sea level, the place is a perfect setting for a meditation retreat.v

Lunch will be provided.

Dinner and overnight stay at  Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy

After Breakfast leaving to the Nilambe Meditation Center to continue learning and practicing Buddhist Mediation.

Lunch will be provided.

Dinner and overnight stay at  Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy

After Breakfast leaving to Kandalama from Kandy.

On the way visit the Matale Alu vihare Temple.

Lunch at Habarana Lodge.

After lunch we will leave for Minneriya or Kaudulla National Parks (45 minutes away) to observe the huge herds of elephants – sometimes numbering over two hundred feeding in the grass plains.  The best time to visit these two national parks is from April to September during the dry season.

Dinner and overnight stay at Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla

After breakfast visit the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple.

Dambulla

By far the most impressive of all the many cave temples in Sri Lanka is the series of five caves comprising the Raja Maha Vihara at the village of Dambulla.  Among the cave’s numerous statues – there are 48 statues of the Buddha alone – are images dating from the 12^th Century. These impressive works are considered to be the earliest devala statues to appear in a Buddhist image house.  The cave’s history dates to the 1^st or 2^nd Century B.C., when King Valagam Bahu took refuge here after being driven out of Anuradhapura by invading armies.  This place is worth visiting not only for the cave temple, but also for the beautiful view over the countryside you can get from the hill.

Lunch will be provided. After lunch visit to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress.

Sigiriya is a world heritage site and considered the 8^th Wonder of the World.  This massive rock outcrop has held the palace complex of King Kassapa completed with moats, walls, terraces, and water gardens on its summit.  It dates back from over 7,000 years ago, through the pre-historic to the proto-historic to the early history of Sri Lanka.  Around 3rd Century BC devotees to the sangha (Buddhist clergy) prepared and donated a monastery consisting of rock-shelters and caves.

Dinner and over night stay at Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla

After breakfast leaving to Anuradhapura & Mihintale from Dambulla

Anuradhapura – A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Centuries before the birth of Christ, while the Greek Empire was flourishing in the Mediterranean and other regions were emerging from the late Stone Ages, Sri Lanka was a land of highly advanced civilization.  Well-ordered cities, linked by fine roads and nourished by a marvelous irrigation system, made this tropical island one of the trade centers of the world.  In its time, Anuradhapura was the greatest city of all.  Its ruins today display infinite details of rare beauty, delicately set in the world’s mightiest masses of monumental masonry, second only to the Pyramids of Egypt.  Excavations on the site of Anuradhapura verify that human settlement began here about 500 B.C.  Anuradhapura remained the capital of Sri Lanka for about 1,400 years, until the 10^th Century A.D.  At the height of its glory, this civilization spread its influence from the Tiber to the Yellow Sea.  The city covered some 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) and had a population estimated to be several hundred thousand.  Houses two and three stories high, and perhaps two stories underground were common.  Minor streets were organized according to classes of artisans. Industry was thriving.  The king lived in a bejeweled palace of 1,000 chambers, and gold-pinnacled shrines rose hundred of feet into the air.  Since its fall over 1,000 years ago, the city has been left to the dry-zone jungles.  Only the sacred Bo Tree itself, the Sri Maha Bodhi, was continually attended, generation after generation by hereditary guardians. This tradition continues to this day.

We will have lunch in Anuradhapura and proceed to Mihintale.

Situated 12 kilometers east of the ruins of the great city of Anuradhapura, the sacred mountain of Mihintale is considered the location where Buddhism was first introduced to the island of Sri Lanka. There are two stories, one historical and one mythological, that explain the arrival of Buddhism at Mihintale. According to historical sources, in the middle of the third century BC the great Indian Emperor Ashoka had sent his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of the Buddha. Mahinda and his group of Buddhist monks were camped upon the sides of the Mihintale Mountain when King Devanampiya-Tissa the King of Anuradhapura encountered them during a royal hunting expedition.  Mahinda spoke to the king of Buddhism and recited the Culahastipadopama and other sutras. The date of this meeting between King Devanampiya-Tissa and the Buddhist monk is believed to have been on the full moon of June in the year 247 BC. Soon thereafter the King and 40,000 inhabitants of Anuradhapura converted to Buddhism.  An alternate story of the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka tells that the Buddha himself journeyed to the island, on the back of the great winged demigod Garuda, but there is no historical evidence that the Buddha himself ever visited the island.  Today the peak of Mihintale, approached by a grand stairway of 1840 granite steps, has many temples, lodgings for monks and several splendid statues of the Buddha.  Each June on the full moon there is a pilgrimage commemorating the date when Mahinda first preached the Buddhist doctrine in Sri Lanka and many thousands of pilgrims flock from all over Sri Lanka to meditate on the holy peak.

After breakfast leaving to Polonnaruwa from Kandalama.

Polonnaruwa

Towards the end of the 13^th Century Polonnaruwa was abandoned when the capital was moved to the western part of the country.  The Portuguese seem to have found and looted the site, but it was lost to the Dutch, and was not for rediscovered until the 19^th Century when the British became involved in excavation.  The city of Polonnaruwa rests along the shores of a large inland sea known as the Parakrama Samudraya.  The largest irrigation tank built by King Parakramabahu I, it was the life-blood of the ancient city as much as it is today.  Its 5,600 acres of water irrigate an estimated 25,000 acres of rice fields.  Among the most famous of the historic landmarks in the city is the Terrace of the Tooth Relic, also known as the Quadrangle.  The Vatadage is a circular building which is probably the oldest monument in Polonnaruwa, preceding by several centuries the establishment of the capital.  Of all the brilliant structures at Polonnaruwa, the best known is the Buddha sculptures comprising the Gal Vihara.  The four mid-12^th Century statues cut from a single granite wall, and rank among the true masterpieces of Sri Lankan art.  The whole city can be considered an excellent representation of Sri Lanka’s ancient history.

Lunch will be provided.

After breakfast leaving to Tree Tops Jungle Lodge (optional Yala Safari Hotel)

Jungle Life

Tree Tops Jungle Lodge offers a real jungle experience and simple clay huts blending unfenced and discretely with the beautiful jungle surroundings; virgin forest, rocky hills, and wildlife. The lodge is located near Buttala in Southeast Sri Lanka, in the Weliara wilderness bordering the northwestern corner of the 1300 square kilometer Yala National Park. The 5 km gravel road to the lodge gradually turns into a path through scrub jungle; at this point one leaves civilisation and the jungles of Yala stretches all the way to the south and east coasts far away.

Philosophy

The central idea of the lodge is living close to nature with a minimal infrastructure. Life at Tree Tops is a journey back to basics, in huts made from clay and wood found in the forest, there is no electricity, no private rooms nights are black, bathing is primitive at a freshwater well, and the mainly vegetarian meals are cooked native style in open fire.

The management of the lodge depend on local staff and their knowledge of the jungle. Small-scale sustainable tourism can hopefully contribute to reducing the villager’s need of hunting and logging in the forest which is habitat for endangered elephants and other wildlife. Saving the forest is one step towards solving the conflict between humans and elephants; the main threat to the endangered Sri Lankan elephant.

Upon arrival spend time at leisure or meditating

About 15 km to the south of Monaragala, Maligawila is where two colossal Buddha statues stand. One of them is a 14 meter high ancient Buddha statue dating back to the 7th century AD and is considered to be the world's largest free standing Buddha figure.  Both the statues are carved from crystalline limestone. In close proximity (about 1 km away) at Dambegoda is another 10 meter high statue of the Avalokitheswara Bodhisattva a divine being who chooses to reside on the human plane to help ordinary people attain salvation.

Buduruwagala -  which means the rock with the images of the Buddha is a granite rock on a cliff side cut with a series of Buddha statues. This complex of seven Buddha statues is of the Mahayana Buddhist School and comprises of several huge standing Buddha figures tracing back to the 8th - 10th Centuries AD.  The central of the three figures that are to the right of the Buddha's statue is assumed to be the Buddhist mythological figure, the Avalokitheswara Bodhisattva.

see the above detailed description of the lodge. It is extremely rustic and basic with communal bathrooms (only for your group use) shared accommodation and no electricity.  Optionally we will accommodate you in the 5-star Yala Safari Hotel about 1 hour away. Please see attached detailed description of the Tree Tops Lodge.  The whole group must choose one of the options since the group cannot be split.

In the morning after breakfast, visit Maligawila (free standing Buddha)

After lunch we will rest and then visit Buduruwagala.

Stay at the Tree Top Lodge or Yala Safari Hotel

After breakfast leaving to the UNESCO Living Heritage Port City of Galle for a city tour. Enroute visit  the Holy Town of Kataragama.

Kataragama

The 40 kilometer Buttala-Kataragama road used to be - and still is - one of the main pilgrim routes to the important religious shrines of Kataragama. Captain John Davy of the British Army went this way on his journey to Kataragama, as described in his book 'Travels across Ceylon' (1821).  Kataragama is the main place in Sri Lanka where "Bhakti" ('emotional') style religious activity is observed. Tens or hundreds of thousands of devotees gather here to make vows, walk on fire, pierce themselves with big needles, etc. The purpose is to get the god to assist the devotee in 'this life'.  Peak seasons for the pilgrimage to Kataragama are the days around Full Moon ('Poya'), especially in May and August.  On Poya day central elements of the Buddha's life and teachings are celebrated.

Most important of the shrines in Kataragama is the Maha Devala housing the six-faced, 12-armed Buddhist God, Kataragama - one of four Sri Lankan guardian Gods in the cosmology of Sinhala Buddhists.  This god is also well known as the god of war, Skanda, in the pantheon of Hindunism.  Legends say that the shrine of Kataragama Devio (resident God) was built by King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century B.C.

The large white Buddhist Kirivehara Dagoba in Kataragama dates back to the 1st century B.C. While devotees seek favors from God Kataragama to ease sufferings of their ‘present life'; they go to the Dagoba to light oil lamps for purposes related to karma and samsara (after life).

Lunch at Eva Lanka Hotel

the largest town in the region, is full of history, and Sri Lanka's small size means that a stay in one of the beach resorts of the southwest can easily be combined with sightseeing in the hill country or the ancient cities of the Cultural Triangle. The biggest concentration of resort hotels is in the area closest to Colombo, between Beruwela and Bentota, where several fishing villages have merged into a string of attractive low-rise resorts surrounded by boutiques, beach bars and restaurants.

Gall Fort

The port town of Galle is Sri Lanka's fourth biggest City with 80,000 people. The history of Galle dates back to 1505 when a Portuguese fleet bound for Maldives was blown off course and took shelter in the Galle Harbor. This arrival drastically changed the course of Sri Lankan history.  In 1598, the Portuguese built a small fort which was later extended.  However, when the Dutch took over in 1640, they destroyed all traces of the Portuguese presence. In 1663, the Dutch built the 36-hectare Fort, which is now a World Heritage Site.

Dinner and over night stay Light House Hotel, Galle

After breakfast at leisure.

Dinner and over night stay Light House Hotel, Galle

After breakfast leaving to Colombo from Galle.

Colombo

Like many capital cities in developing countries this city too is fast changing its face. Almost overnight, skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood. Yet in some parts, the Old World charm is retained. As an example there is a 100-year-old clock tower and several British built colonial buildings. Other places of interest are the Pettah bazaar where one can shop for bargains, the old Parliament in Fort, Hindu and Buddhist temples, residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent and the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall - BMICH, an outright gift to Sri Lanka from the People's Republic of China.

After lunch at Leisure.

After breakfast at leisure.

Lunch will be provided

After lunch visit to Kelaniya Temple.

The Dagoba of Kelaniya Raja maha viharaya is unusual. It is not round like those found in most parts of the island, but shaped like a heap of paddy (rice). The history of the temple dates back to over 2,500 years. It is believed that the Buddha visited here and preached from a jeweled chair to warring factions on the futility of fighting. The original dagoba was said to have enshrined the chair but was later destroyed by South Indian invaders.

The reclining Buddha and the Buddha in meditative pose are two important statues here, but it is possible to spend hours just looking at the extraordinary frescoes depicting the life of the Buddha and important events in the island's history.  There is the story of King Kelanitissa who boiled a Buddhist monk alive in oil because he suspected him of trying to pass a love letter to the Queen. The angry gods raised tidal waves and the King was told that the only way to appease the gods was to sacrifice his daughter to the sea. the King obeyed the wishes of the wise ones; the seas calmed and the daughter who was swept out to sea on a boat landed at Kirinda in the south of Sri Lanka. King Kavantissa of the southern kingdom married her and she became the mother of perhaps the best known of the island's kings, Dutugemunu. The temple is a hive of activity on the full moon of January, when hundreds of elephants and thousands of dancers parade the streets during the Duruthu Perahera festival

Dinner and overnight stay at Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo.

After breakfast the visitors will leave for airport

The above mentioned location descriptions, images and program have been compiled after long, arduous, and expensive research, exploration and work.  Hence it is the property of Escape Tourism (Pvt.) Ltd.  Making use of this information for any public or commercial purpose requires the permission of Escape Tourism (Pvt.) Ltd.