• Breakfast – a la carte.
•   At leisure at the hotel after a long flight or optional activities based on the arrival time.
• Relax after a body massage.
• Lunch – a la carte.
• Welcome dinner and lecture/slide presentation on Sri Lankan culture and nature at the Ayurvedha Pavilion.
• Overnight stay at The Beach.

DAMBULLA , an ancient city, is known for its beautiful Cave temples and a huge Buddha statue. The history of the 5 caves containing over 150 images of Buddha goes back to 1 st century BC when king Valagambahu took refuge here. 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 at Hotel.
• Lecture/slide presentation on elephants – by SLWCS field scientist.
• Arrive at Minneriya National Park by 3 pm to see the large herds of wild elephants.

MINNERIYA NATIONAL PARK , which is located mainly in the the catchment area, was initially declared as a sanctuary in 1938. The vegetation of this area consists of mainly dry mixed evergreen forest and much of Sri Lanka 's wildlife, including elephants, are found here.

• Dinner – a la carte at Kandalama / Habarana Lodge or Wetlands Lodge & Spa.
• Night back at Kandalama / Habarana Lodge or Wetlands Lodge & Spa.

• Early morning hot air balloon ride (depends on the climate) OR alternatively go on an elephant back bird watching ride
• Lunch at hotel.
• Afternoon visit to climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress to see frescos.

The ancient city of SIGIRIYA was designated a cultural World Heritage Site in 1982. It is also proposed that the site should be named the eighth wonder of the world, indicating it is in the same league as other international wonders such as the Grand Canyon and Ancient Pyramids. Translated as ‘Lion Rock' into English, the name of the monument indicates the way in which visitors used to begin their final ascent to the top – through the open jaws and throat (‘giriya') of a lion (‘sinha'). Unfortunately, the only remains of this lion figure are the gigantic paws, sculpted into the side of the rock. The topography of the area is flat except for the massive rock outcrop of the fortress itself (which rises an incredible 600 ft up from the green scrub jungle). The unusual rock is particularly interesting due to its flat top (nearly 8 acres in size), that was used in its entirety to build King Kasyapa's fortress complex, still evident by the presence of the extensive ruins.

• A la carte dinner and over night stay at the same hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the ancient city of Polonnaruwa . Observe large monitor lizard on the way.

POLONNARUWA

At nearly 1000 years old, POLONNARUWA is one of Sri Lanka 's ancient capital cities (and part of the famous ‘Cultural Triangle'). Although King Vijayabahu 1 was the first to claim the city as his capital, it was King Parakramabahu who made it what it is today, with its massive buildings, ornate parks and the ‘pièce de resistance' – a 2500 hectare tank (reservoir) called ‘Parakrama Samudra' (‘ Sea of Parakrama '). The city itself is divided into new and old towns with the impressively preserved ruins split into five main areas, including ‘The Quadrangle' (aka ‘Terrace of the Tooth Relic'), the Northern City group and the Rest House group (with the royal palace ruins of ‘Nissanka Malla'). Due to its reasonably compact layout, the ruins can be easily explored on foot, and with the surrounding area's flat well maintained roads, you can leave the car behind and jump on a bicycle to get around.

• Lunch - a la carte at the Deer Park Hotel.
• Leave for Wasgamuwa in the afternoon.

WASGAMUWA

The Wasgomuwa National Park, situated in the Central Province is important in many ways. The presence of many small scale ancient tanks and several other ruins and ancient religious sites add vast historical importance to the National Park which is already important for its wide biodiversity. The famous Yudanganapitiya – where the armies of the Kings Dutugemunu and Elara (2 nd century BC) camped during the battles is one of these important sites.

The presence of many water sources in this park adds to the beauty of this park. The view the visitor gets of large flocks of birds on dead treetops and big herds of dear and buffalos grazing when passing by a water source is always a pleasant sight. Peacocks roam this park in abundance where, having a glimpse of a bear is not very uncommon. Elephants, numbering about 800 are not confined to this park. They roam in small herds through Flood Plains National Park and cross over to Somawathi Chaithya Sanctuary and even to Polonnaruwa. The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society (www.SLWC.org) has been conducting several community based elephant research, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and human-elephant conflict resolution projects for the past 8 years in the Wasgamuwa area. Special insight tours to these project sites shows visitors how revenue generated from touriism is helping to sustain these projects over the long term.

• Dinner – Kinjou's or SLWCS Safari Camp.
• Night at Kinjou's or SLWCS Safari Camp.

• Breakfast at Kinjou or SLWCS Safari Camp – a la cart.
• Presentation on SLWCS projects.
• Morning visit to see some of the projects.
• Lunch.
• Afternoon leave for Kandy via the Knuckles Mountain Range.

The KNUCKLES MOUNTAIN RANGE (so-called because its appearance resembles a set of knuckles in a closed fist) has been declared a conservation area, and is now known as the KNUCKLES NATIONAL HERITAGE AND WILDERNESS AREA. The region stretches an impressive 155 sq km that contains five major forest formations, a wide variety of rare and endemic flora and fauna and some breathtaking mountain scenery. It is a real paradise for those who love to hike or mountain bike, offering numerous trails that journey across clear rivers, through dense forests, past flowing waterfalls and lush tea plantations, and alongside terraced paddy fields and colourful Kandyan home gardens. The chance to visit traditional small mountain villages in the area gives an interesting insight into the close-knit atmosphere that such a local community fosters and provides a welcome departure from fast-paced modern day life. It is also a great place for birding with many of Sri Lanka 's endemic bird species present.

KANDY , Sri Lanka 's hill capital stronghold of the Sinhala kings, repository of culture, and religious center is Sri Lanka 's most beautiful town. Focal point of this city is the Dalada Maligawa, where the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is enshrined. Highlight of the year is the Kandy Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is paraded in the streets, accompanied by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and anything from eighty to a hundred gaily-caparisoned elephants, for ten glittering festival nights. Once in Kandy you can't miss the lovely artificial lake built by the last Sinhala king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, in 1806 or visiting the beautifully laid out Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens.

• A la carte dinner and night at Earl's Regency / Le Kandyan / Mahaweli Reach.

• Morning Peradeniya Gardens .

THE PERADENYA ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS is 147 acres in extent started in 1374 as a pleasure garden of the kings of Kandy . There are more than 500 species of trees and plants. Some are rare & endemic as well as flora from the tropical world. The Spice Garden and Orchid House are most popular with tourists

• Shopping and curio hunting.
• Lunch.
• Presentation on Buddhism with special emphasis on the importance and relevance of the Temple of the Tooth Relic.
• Evening city tour including a visit to Dalada Maligawa ( Temple of the Tooth Relic)

DALADA MALIGAWA

The Temple of the Tooth or Dalada Malgawa dates from the 16 th century, though most of the present buildings were built in the 19 th century. Entering the shrine over a moonstone step, you pass a stone depicting the Indian goddess Lakshmi and a wall with frescoes illustrating the Buddhist conception of hell. The upper stories house the relic of the tooth, caged behind the gilded iron bars. Behind the tooth relic sanctuary is a hall with a number of golden Buddha statues and modern paintings, showing Buddha's life and the arrival of Buddhism in the land.

• Dinner at Earls Regency / Le Kandyan / Mahaweli Reach – a la carte. (Dinner can be aranged at a different hotel or at “The Pub”).
• Night stay at Earls Regency / Le Kandyan / Mahaweli Reach .

SCHEDULE

• Arrival at the entrance
• Get in to 4 WD jeeps & transfer to the campsite
• Relax till lunch time
• Enjoy typical Sri Lankan lunch
• Evening Safari
• After the safari back to campsite
• BBQ dinner & over night stay at camp site

• After breakfast at Hotel leave for Sinharaja Rainforest.
• Visit the Pinnawella Elephant Orphanage. Private elephant feeding.

PINNAWELA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE

• Special lunch at Pinnawella.
• Arrive at Boulder Garden Hotel.
• Presentation on the Sinharaja Rainforest.
• A le carte dinner and over night stay at the Boulder Garden Hotel. A le carte dinner and over night stay at the Boulder Garden Hotel.  

• Leave Boulder Gardens at 07.00am in the jeeps to Sinharaja Rainforest.

SINHARAJA RAIN FOREST, which is a world heritage site, may be described either as a Tropical Lowland Rainforest or Tropical wet evergreen forest. Birding in this ecosystem is very interesting. 95% of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka have been recorded in Sinharaja. Sinharaja is the best location to observe the flock behaviour of birds such as Sri Lanka Spur fowl, Sri Lanka Jungle fowl, Green-billed Coucal, Red-faced Malkoha, Blue Magpie and Spot-winged Thrush, Endemic White-faced Starling, Sri Lanka Myna amongst others. Also keep an eye out for the endemic purple-faced leaf monkeys moving through the canopy, and the impressive grizzled Indian giant squirrel.

• Special lavish breakfast near the vicinity of the rainforest.
• Walk nature trails in the forest till afternoon.
• Arrive back at the Boulder Gardens Hotel for lunch - a la carte.
• At leisure until 7 course dinner in the evening.
• Night at Boulder Gardens Hotel.

• After breakfast at hotel leave for Yala.

YALA NATIONAL PARK lies 24 km northeast of Tissamaharama and 290km from Colombo on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka and spans the Southern and Uva Provinces. The park consists of 97,878ha. The altitude is 90m from sea level. The vegetation in this park comprises secondary forest, possibly a few hundred years old at the most. It is predominantly semi-arid thorny-scrub, interspersed with pockets of fairly dense forest. Small patches of mangrove vegetation occur along the costal lagoons. Yala is renowned for the variety of its wildlife and its fine coastline and associated coral reefs. A large number of important cultural ruins bear testimony to earlier civilizations and indicate that, much of the area was populated and well developed. Yala is famous for its elephants, leopards and sloth bears.

• Arrive at the Yala Village Hotel.
• Lunch.
• Leave for evening game drive at 3.00 P.M
• Special video & lecture presentation on Yala leopards by local leopard expert.
• Dinner & the overnight stay at Yala Village Hotel / Yala Game Lodge.

• Leaving for a game drive at 05.30 am with packeted snacks/ breakfast.
• Lunch back at the hotel.
• Leave on an evening game drive.
• Video & lecture presentation on Turtle Conservation.
• Dinner & the overnight stay at Yala Village Hotel.

• After breakfast leave for Bentota.
• On the way visit a turtle hatchery
• Visit the historic port town of Galle and its fort

GALLE, 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 and its international airport, 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.

• Lunch – a la carte at the Lighthouse Hotel.
• Arrive at Villas.
• Evening at leisure.
• Dinner and night stay at the Villas.

BENTOTA BEACH is about 64 km south of Colombo . A 100-acre National Resort complex at Bentota singles it out as one of the most popular beach resort areas on the island. The Bentota River , which forms the boundary between the island's western and southern provinces, is ideal for boating excursions. With a well-equipped centre for water sports including deep sea diving, Bentota also provides a variety of interesting sites including the 12th Century Galapata Viharaya. Beaches also attract nature lovers and conservationists who plot the movements of turtles swimming up to lay their eggs in the warm sands.

• Relax on the beach.
• Visit around the area to observe local sites.
• Cultural show.
• All meals a la carte at the hotel.

• Leave after breakfast to Colombo.

COLOMBO

Like many capital cities in developing countries 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 a bargain, the old Parliament in Fort, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, 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 .

• Arrive at the Colombo Plaza Hotel or similar.
• Lunch.
• Shopping & leisure.
• Special farewell dinner and giving of gifts – along the banks of the Talangama Tank (reservoir).

• Breakfast on a la carte menu.
• DEPARTURE - Leave on time to the 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.