Discover the Enchanting Wonders of Sri Lanka with Prestige TouEmbark on a captivating journey through the enchanting island of Sri Lanka with Prestige Tours. Immerse yourself in a rich tapestry of ancient history, breathtaking landscapes, and vibrant cultural experiences.
On arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport, You will be greeted by your Sri Lanka Prestige representative who will introduce you to your English-speaking chauffeur guide. Thereafter we drive to our beautiful hotel near Airport, The Wallawwa, located approximately 30 minutes away.
Hotel – The Wallawwa (Dinner and Night)
After breakfast we drive to the Cultural Triangle with a stopover at Dambulla en route.
Lunch on route at the Sigiriya Village Hotel. We enjoy a light lunch at the Sigiriya Rest House overlooking the rock fortress.
Afternoon we visit Polonnaruwa. This medieval city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rose to fame as the capital (10th – 12th century AD) after the decline of Anuradhapura. The entire landscape of the region is punctuated by huge man-made reservoirs, the most famous of which is the Parakrama Samudra or the Sea of Parakrama, larger in size than the Colombo harbor. The monuments are relatively well preserved and give clear evidence of the glory of Sri Lanka’s past. Highlights are the Royal Palace complex including the Kings Palace and Audience Hall, the Quadrangle with its concentration of ancient heritage and the spectacular Gal Vihare complex of four massive images of the Buddha, cut from a single slab of granite – a highlight of ancient Sri Lankan rock carving. Some of the best examples of the Hindu influence – the Temples of Shiva, intricate statues of Hindu Gods, fascinating Buddhist temples, the Lankatileka and Watadage, the Galpotha, the Lotus bath, the Kiri Vihare Dagoba and the remains of a former Temple of the Tooth are other impressive sights.
We proceed to Ulagalla Resort, in the town of Thiriappane.
Hotel – Ulagalla Resort (Dinner and night)
Full day visit to Anuradhapura – a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the north central part of the Island was the first capital (5th century BC – 9th century AD), the centre of the island’s Buddhist civilization and undoubtedly the grandest city of ancient Sri Lanka. In antiquity and the interest, it is the equal of any ancient ‘buried city’ in the world. The oldest historically documented tree on earth (over 2,200 years old) – The Sri Maha Bodhi, brought as a sapling of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, and the island’s oldest Buddhist shrines – some dating back to the 3rd century BC, impressive white ‘dagabas’ (relic chambers) and monuments embellished with handsome stone carvings or sculpture, pleasure gardens, beautifully executed stone baths and ponds and a superb irrigation system of reservoirs and canals are the main attractions of Anuradhapura. Specific places to visit are – the Brazen Palace (2nd century B.C.), with 1600 significant stone columns are the remains of a magnificent multi-storied residence for monks – an engineering marvel at the time, Ruwanweli Seya (2nd century B.C) the most famous of all the dagoba’s, originally depicted the perfect water-bubble shape that modern restoration has not been able to accurately reproduce, Samadhi Buddha (3rd century B.C.) regarded as the finest rock sculpture in the island – depicting the Buddha in a state of deep meditation, Isurumuniya rock temple (3rd century B.C.) known for its rock carving of the “Lovers”, Kuttam Pokuna, twin ponds (3rd century B.C.) which were used by monks of this glorious era as a bathing pool. Thuparama (3rd century B.C.), the oldest dagoba in the island – enshrines the right collarbone of Buddha, Ratnaprasada with the best preserved Guard Stone, Mahasena’s Palace with its renowned Moonstone, Abayagiri and Jetevanarama – a huge dagoba said to the largest brick built structure in the world.
Lunch at the Tissawewa Rest House and then continue to explore the archaeological site of Anuradhapura
Hotel – Ulagalla Resort (Dinner and night)
Morning: Guided visit to Dambulla Cave Temples Dambulla – located in the north central province this UNESCO World Heritage Site which dates back to the 01st century BC, is an amazing complex of 05 caves, first used as a refuge by an ancient king who on regaining his throne, commissioned magnificent carved images within the living rock. Later kings made further improvements and the caves contain over 150 images of the Buddha of which the largest is a colossal figure spanning 15 meters. Cave inscriptions from the 2nd Century BC are found and on the walls are many paintings most of which belong to the Kandy period (early 19th century). This temple is a perfect location to view evolution of ancient Sri Lankan art and is an important historical site due to the amalgamation of the material from many eras.
Afternoon: experience village life at Hiriwaduna
This trek begins with an awesome walk along a bund of a “wewa” or manmade reservoir. The reservoir itself, the surrounding scrub jungle, marshland and village are a hive of early morning activity. The amazing birdlife, butterflies and possible sightings of crocodile only add to the charm of seeing the villagers as they go about their early morning tasks of fishing, or washing clothes at the periphery of the lake. You wade through a shallow stream and the sense of adventure heightens when you need to get a Chena Cultivation via a somewhat wider tributary which needs to be crossed on an obliging farmer’s catamaran!!
Thereafter we experience a delicious local lunch
Hotel – Water Garden, Sigiriya (Dinner and night)
Morning guided visit UNESCO Sigiriya Rock Fortress. We depart our hotel early this morning to climb one of Sri Lanka’s major attractions, the Sigiriya Rock Fortress. The most impressive facets of the unique complex are the Water Gardens, the Frescoes of beautiful maidens, the Mirror Wall with ancient graffiti, the Lion platform and the Summit of 1.6 hectares, which was completely covered by buildings during the period of Sigiriya’s glory. Built by King Kashyapa (477-495 A.D), the “Lion Rock” is a citadel of unusual beauty rising 200m from the scrub jungle. The rock was the innermost stronghold of the 70 hectare fortified town and the base is ringed by a moat, rampart, and extensive gardens. The world-renowned frescoes (originally 500, of which only 19 remain today) which are in a sheltered pocket of the rock approached by a spiral stairway are painted in earth pigments on plaster. The old stairway to the top led through the mouth of a crouching lion but today only the huge paws remain giving an indication of the massive proportions of the head. Remains of the handsome royal citadel are on the summit and several caves for meditation, audience platforms and baths complete the unique site.
Lunch at Jetwing Vil Uyana
Afternoon: Safari into Minneriya National Park
Located between Habarana and POLONNARUWA, the 8890 hectares of MINNERIYA NATIONAL PARK is an ideal eco-tourism location in Sri Lanka. The park consists of mixed evergreen forest and scrub areas and is home to Sri Lanka’s favourites such as sambar deer, leopards and elephants.
However the central feature of the park is the ancient Minneriya Tank (built in 3rdcentury AD by King Mahasena). During the dry season (June to September), this tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants who come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds (cormorants and painted storks to name but a few) that come to fish in the shallow waters.
Hotel – Water Garden Sigiriya (Dinner and night)
After breakfast we travel towards Kandy. On route, we stop at a spice garden and we stop for lunch at Ena de Silva’s private residence in Matale. Ena De Silva is a pioneer artist from an elite Kandyan family and a well-loved cultural icon, who introduced the art of batik to Sri Lanka in the early 1960s. She remains the undisputed master of batik and Kandyan embroidery, and of Sri Lankan traditional design. Her unsurpassable batik designs are inspired by ancient Sinhalese flags and traditional motifs but are instilled with originality. Her finest work is carried out on a monumental scale. Her exquisite appliqué and embroidered patchwork quilts and wall hangings are a dizzying confusion of colour and stitching that only de Silva can carry off with aplomb.
Afternoon (late): We check into Adigar’s Manor.
Late afternoon if interested we could arrange a visit to a renowned artist living in the hills of Kandy. You could join him for tea and discuss art, yoga, meditation and music, each of which he’s fluent in.
Dinner at Adigar’s Manor
Hotel – Adigar’s Manor, Kandy (Overnight)
After breakfast we visit the Royal Botanical Gardens with a professor from the Peradeniya University. Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is one of the best botanical gardens in Sri Lanka, and one of the most beautiful in Asia. It is located just 6 km from Kandy, the second largest city in Sri Lanka. The botanical gardens is huge & well-organized gardens, It is renowned for the collection the variety of Orchids, and has more than 300 varieties of Orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palms trees attach it is the National Herbarium. Total land mass of the botanical garden is 147 acres; it is managed by the Division of National Botanic Gardens of the Department of Agriculture. The origins of the Botanic Gardens date as far back. The Classical Avenue of Palms is located in this Garden. One tree with a significant history is the Cannon ball Tree planted by King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen
Mary in 1901. The tree is bent with their fruit which looks like Cannon Ball, which is how it came to be named
Lunch: A light lunch is served at the Botanical Gardens.
In the afternoon, we visit the British Garrison Cemetery dedicated to British Nationals who died in Sri Lanka during the colonial times. The highly informed caretaker who had accompanied Prince Charles himself around the graveyard has a story to tell about each of the 163 graves in this
Hotel – Adigar’s Manor, Kandy (Overnight)
After breakfast we drive to Colombo.
Colombo – the trade and commercial capital has long been the traditional gateway to the Orient. Sri Lanka’s largest city, it is located on the west coast and draws together all the cultures, religions and influences of foreign lands into a pot-pourri of sounds, smells and a kaleidoscope of colour. The original traders and settlers – the Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and the British have left in their wake churches and monuments, names and religions, costumes and food and smatterings of their languages which have been absorbed into the speech of the Sri Lankan. Today, Colombo is a fascinating city – a happy blend of east & west, past & present, with a charm of its own. A less known but amazingly true fact is that Colombo has a superb range of high quality restaurants serving food from all over the world and some of the best shopping opportunities in Asia. The main seaport of Sri Lanka is in Colombo & adjoining it, is Pettah, a local bazaar & trading area. Other places of interest are the beautiful Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, mosques, the historic Wolfendhal church, (1749) residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent, the Colombo Museum, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the New Parliament in Sri Jayewardenepura, the Folk Art Centre, Art Galleries, Parks, Independence Square, the Zoo, the Ceramic Corporation famous for its well-known brand “Noritake” and ODEL the renowned shopping centre.
Afternoon: A personalized city walk through the Old city of Colombo, A unforgettable experience with your host Mark Forbes or Ruvi Forbes as you walk through the picturesque streets of Fort and the mayhem of Pettah. You get to spend an evening in beautiful colonial Colombo, submerged in the beauty within our city that just cannot be experienced whizzing through in a vehicle
Dinner at the Ministry of Crab
Hotel – Uga Residence (Overnight)
Depending on your departure flight we leave for Airport
We’ll tailor your trip to match your individual interests, tastes, and preferences, offering genuine advice drawn from our firsthand experience.