Programme details
Day 1. Airport – Habarana
Day 2. Habarana-Sigiriya-Habarana
Day 3. Habarana-Anuradhapura-Habarana
Day 4. Habarana – Matale – Kandy
Day 5. Kandy
Day 6. Kandy – Nuwara Eliya.
Day 7. Nuwara Eliya–Airport
Day 1. Airport – Habarana
Arrival at the Airport.
Continue your journey through Kurunegala into the interior of the island, past paddy fields, palm groves and coconut plantations. Check-in and overnight stay at Hotel Sigiriana by Thilanka Resorts & Spa. Dinner at Hotel.
www.camelliaresortspa.com
Day 2. Habarana-Sigiriya-Habarana
After breakfast drive to Sigiriya Rock. This impressive monolith rises 200 m. out of the jungle and was transformed in the 5th century by King Kassapa into a fortress that became his capital, as he feared for his life. On top of the rock was the king’s palace,” The Heaven Castle”. What remains today are only the foundation walls of this once magnificent building and its many fortifications. What remains to be seen and worth the difficult climb are the phenomenal frescoes of the Sigiriya Maidens. No one knows who the seductive beauties, painted in brilliant colours on the rock walls, represent. One might think of them as heaven dwelling nymphs from a realm of radiant light.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel Sigiriana by Thilanka Resorts & Spa
Day 3. Habarana-Anuradhapura-Habarana
After breakfast you leave to Anuradhapura to visit some remarkable sights. According to historical records, Anuradhapura was made the royal capital by King Pandukabhaya in 380 BC. It remained the residence and royal capital for 119 successive Singhalese kings until the 1000 AD, when it was abandoned and the capital moved to Polonnaruwa. You will see some of the most famous as well as the tallest dagoba of Sri Lanka, remains of palaces, temples, monasteries, ceremonial baths, and the temple of the holy Bo-tree. This tree was grown from a sapling of the very tree under which the Buddha found enlightenment more than 2500 years ago.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel Sigiriana by Thilanka Resorts & Spa
Day 4. Matale – Kandy
After breakfast you check-out and continue your journey to Kandy. On the way along the road you will see paddy fields, coconut groves, rubber and spice gardens, and plantations. You will stop at one of the spice gardens; there you can see a lot of trees, bushes and plants cropping spices. After arriving in Kandy you will proceed to the Hotel Topaz at Kandy (www.mclarenshotels.lk)
Kandy, situated at 500 m, is beautifully nestled between green hills. At its very centre lies a small artificial lake and the palace of the last Singhalese king, a temple and the holiest shrine in Sri Lanka, where the tooth relic of Lord Buddha is highly venerated. You will visit this temple in the late afternoon during a short city tour of Kandy. In the evening you will have the opportunity to attend a dance performance, where you will see the famous Kandyan dances, as well as up-country and devil dances. – Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 5. Kandy
After breakfast you will visit the world famous Botanical Garden in Peradeniya. The park dates back to 1371 under the reign of King Vikrama Bahu III, when he held court here. The English installed the cornerstone of the present garden in 1821. During the Second World War the garden served as headquarters of Earl Mountbatten, the supreme commander of the allied forces in Southeast Asia, who was later the last Viceroy of India. You will find in the garden a very large variety of orchids, spice trees, palms, bushes, as well as tropical plants and flowers of all type.
You then visit the Elephant Orphenage at the Pinnawala, where the many wild elephants were treated. See their daily bath. After this, you return to hotel for lunch. Afternoon at leisure, dinner and overnight at Hotel Topaz at Kandy.
Day 6. Kandy – Nuwara Eliya.
From Peradeniya the road starts steadily to ascend and at noon, shortly before reaching Nuwara Eliya, you will have climbed 2000 m. to the tea country. Wherever you look, you will see tea plantations, the rich full green of thousands and thousands of tea bushes. And out of the green in regular intervals the white coloured tea factories will enchant your eyes. You will stop at one of these tea factories where you will learn how the green tea leaves become the well known Ceylon teas. Occasionally you can see a few rice fields and near some villages, vegetable plantations or gardens.
City tour at Nuwara Eliya . Visit Grand Hotel. During the British rule, the Grand Hotel was the summer palace of the English governor. The small resort town of Nuwara Eliya, situated at 2,070 m above sea level, lies on a little lake and is surrounded by mountains covered over with tea bushes. At the town boundaries are many vegetable plantations and flower fields, and along the roads of Nuwara Eliya and in most of its gardens flowers bloom.
Dinner and over night at Oak Ray Summer Hill Breeze, Nuwara Eliya.
www.oakraysummerhillbreeze.com
Day 7. Nuwara Eliya.
Nuwara Eliya to Airport or to the beach hotel.
Important information
Visa.
For Sri Lanka a paid visa is required, which should be requested in advance by www.eta.gov.lk (USD 30) or can be purchased upon arrival (USD 35). Detailed information is available from the Foreign Office or the competent diplomatic mission.
Nationals from 80 countries who visit Sri Lanka for tourist purposes are exempt from visa requirements and automatically receive a free 30-day visa on arrival. Those from these countries who visit for purposes other than tourism should obtain prior visas from a Sri Lankan Consular Office. For nationals of other countries there is a varying fee for the 30-day visa. (Those who hold passports of listed countries and travel to Sri Lanka from 01.08.2019 to 31.01.2020 for Tourist purposes are exempted paying ETA fee, in view of enhancing tourist arrivals from designated countries) http://www.eta.gov.lk
The 30-day visa can be extended up to 90 days on the payment of a fee. You’ll need to show a return or onward airline ticket out of Sri Lanka, along with proof of funds, such as traveler’s cheques or credit card, and provide a copy of the bio-data page of your passport and 02 photographs.
Department of Immigration and Emigration,
“Suhurupaya”
Sri Subhuthipura Road
Battaramulla.
Tel:+94-11-5329000,+94-11-5329316/20/21/25
www.immigration.gov.lk
Currency:
1 Sri Lanka Rupee = 100 cents. Currency Symbol: RS, LKR (ISO code). Banknotes are in denominations of 5000, 2,000, 1,000, 500, 100, 50, 20 and 10 RS. Coins worth 10, 5, 2 and 1 RS and 50 and 25 cents (extremely rare). In addition, numerous commemorative coins in circulation.
Currency Exchange:
Foreign currency may only be exchanged at authorized banks, exchange offices and hotels; the transactions must be in the output at entry form D Enter. One should inquire prior to entry into a bank, as some currencies (eg. B. of Pakistan and India) will not be exchanged.
Credit Cards:
Visa, MasterCard / Euro Card and American Express are widely accepted, Diners Club is less common. For details of the credit card.
Traveler’s checks:
Are recommended as the exchange rate is more favorable than for cash. Traveler’s checks should be issued in US Dollars or Euros. However, it can be redeemed only in major cities. Travelers checks from American Express are often not accepted.
Foreign exchange regulations:
The import and export of local currency is limited to 1,000 RS. Imports of foreign currencies (not permitted import Indian and Pakistani currency) from an amount equivalent to US $ 10,000 declarable. The export of foreign currency is up in the amount of the declared amounts, net of exchange amounts allowed (declaration and Exchange documents must be available).
Opening times of banks:
Mon-Fri 09.00-13.30 clock, z. T. evenings and Saturday mornings.
Link to currency update: Euro to LKR (Sri Lankan Rupee)
Required vaccinations:
Precautions recommended? Vaccination required?
Food & Drink 4 –
Malaria 3 –
Typhoid and Polio Yes –
Cholera 2
Yellow Fever 1
Health care:
The treatment in public hospitals is free. The General Hospital in Colombo is open day and night. Some hotels have family doctors. However, the medical care does not meet the usual in Europe.
The travel insurance with return flight is strongly recommended.
Health certificate:
Foreigners who are suspected of AIDS, himself may have to undergo an HIV test; with a positive result which may be refused entry.
Note:
[1] A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travelers arriving within 6 days of stay in the designated from infected areas and more than a year old. Except for travelers who do not leave the transit area in the infected areas, as well as transit passengers who do not leave the transit area in Sri Lanka. About people without a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate, a quarantine may be imposed.
[2] A cholera vaccination certificate is not a condition of entry, the risk of infection, however, but with tourists should be classified as very low. Cholera comes V. A. in the northern and western parts of the country and on the Jaffna peninsula before. To protect yourself you should apply a careful drinking water and food hygiene. Since the effectiveness of vaccination is controversial, it is advisable to seek medical advice in good time prior to travel. Vaccination is recommended only in rare cases.
[3] Malaria, mostly in the less dangerous form Plasmodium vivax occurs throughout the year in the whole country especially in the northwest. No malaria risk there is in the districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Gampaha and Matara. The also occurring falciparum strain (about 12%) should be strong chloroquine. Protection provide long-sleeved clothing, mosquito repellent and rescue medication.
[4] Because of the potential for intestinal infections is to pay attention to a careful drinking water and food hygiene. Water should be bought before are generally used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should be boiled or otherwise sterilized or either packaged. Buyer of packaged water should be taken to ensure that the original packaging is not dawned. Milk is unpasteurised and should be boiled. Powdered or tinned milk only with pure water. Avoid dairy products from raw milk. Meat or fish dishes only thoroughly cooked and served hot. The consumption of pork, mayonnaise and raw salads should be avoided. Fruits and vegetables should be peeled cooked. Before eating and buying food from cheap street restaurants and markets is warned.
Insurance for cancellation.
I am an intermediary of services between customers and airlines and tourism companies. In flight cancellation or name and date changes arising cancellation fees. Think time of vaccination and visa regulations. Stated times, and hotel Itineraries can be changed due to special reasons. It is recommend to take a travel cancellation insurance.
Route map
