10D/9N: Sri Lanka’s essentials on a shoestring

Welcome to Sri Lanka!

Your guide will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall of the international airport with a sign with your name on it.

Kandy City Tour

Nestled in the heart of lush green hills, Kandy is the cultural capital par excellence of the island.

It is home to the famous Temple of the Tooth, the most important religious shrine in the country.

With its buildings dating from the colonial and Kandyan eras and its picturesque setting on the surrounding mountains, it enjoys a pleasantly temperate climate.

Visit to the Temple of the Tooth

The Tooth Relic Temple, named Sri Dalada Maligawa, is a world-renowned place of worship, venerated daily by thousands of devotees and local and foreign visitors.

The site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

At certain times, an offering ceremony allows participants to have a glimpse at the golden pagoda that enshrines Buddha’s left canine tooth.

Visit to a food forest garden

Let your local guide tell you the story of this abandoned tea plantation transformed into a verdant food forest.

You will be guided through the garden of the ecolodge’s organic agroforestry project, and will be able to enjoy the beauty and calm of the place while learning to recognize the different spices present, the flowers and the kithul trees…

Lunch on site prepared with garden products.

Train journey from Nanu Oya to Ella

This approximately 3-hour train journey is ranked by many travel magazines as one of the most beautiful train rides in the world.

Between Nanu Oya and Haputale, you will experience the most picturesque scenery as the train slowly glides from hillside tea plantations to patches of forest, from dark tunnels to sun-drenched vegetable gardens, passing villages and busy tea pickers.

Immersion in an organic plantation

The ecolodge where you are staying is home to an organic coffee plantation, tea plants, a hill covered with sandalwood and a vegetable garden that we invite you to discover.

After a guided walk in the estate, you can also visit the coffee factory. Coffee tasting.

Visit to an organic tea plantation

A tea specialist will take you on a one-hour tour of the plantation and the artisanal factory, where you can observe dryers and machines polished by time.

You are indeed more in the heart of a traditional workshop than in a modern factory, favoring quality over quantity, embodied by its workers patiently preparing, manually, the artistic star tea.

You will then be cordially invited to taste many teas and herbal teas, and probably amazed by the rainbow colors they might display.

Eagle Rock Climb

For a third of the way up, the slope is steep, with rocks, stone stairs, bushes, no view. It takes perseverance to overcome the temptation to give up.

Your efforts are finally rewarded when you suddenly escape from the canopy and begin to marvel at the beauty of the surrounding hills.

After 15-20 breathless minutes, this is where the magic begins. The slope is also a little gentler now. Another 25 minutes of walking through dry vegetation brings you to the top.

Here is a 360-degree view of the nearest and farthest hills, flanked by delicate shades of green, while the alternating sun and thick clouds add their deep hues to the spectacular landscape.

Just sit in silence, reflecting on your place in this vast universe. You certainly seem like tiny dots to the people in the valley.

With gravity now on your side, bid farewell to Eagle Rock, easily descending the slope that may have had your joints cry an hour ago.

Walk to the river and river bath

A short walk will take you to the river’s edge, where monkeys perched in the trees will watch with shameless curiosity as your little tribe offers your tired bodies a refreshing swim in a secluded natural pool.

Gal Oya National Park Boat Safari

The children have gone silent. So has the engine of our boat. “What’s going on?” their mother’s eyes seem to ask. Without a word, our boatman slowly points his arm towards the lake shore in front of us. Barely hidden behind the branches, stands a huge elephant.

What a magical moment to be able to observe it while it doesn’t even seem to notice our silent presence. Quietly eating a lunch of green leaves plucked from the nearby trees. All aboard are fascinated by the serene scene, and for the next fifteen minutes we feel connected to the mighty animal, without noise, just delighted to be the privileged spectators of this fascinating spectacle.

Later, we observe a larger herd of elephants at the edge of the lake, mothers with their calves, entering the forest.

A variety of birds also offer us a spectacle of aerobatics and songs, from solitary kites flying high over our heads to flocks of cormorants gathering on the surrounding rocks.

Shy but fearsome crocodiles will disappear into the water as we approach.

To our untrained eyes, any dark shape in the distance looks like an elephant, and the naturalist accompanying us will have to gently convince us that they are in fact water buffalo grazing peacefully.

Bicycle ride “Let’s cook and fish!”

You will learn good recipes of delicious curries to bring back home and get in touch with local fishermen willing to share their ancestral way of fishing with you…

The day starts with a bike ride to explore the Batticaloa market.

You will then reach the family that will teach you Sri Lankan cooking, take your lunch with them.

After a relaxing chat, you will ride along our enchanting lagoon before meeting the fishermen on the lagoon for a refreshing fishing experience…

Relaxation in Batticaloa

Looking for a truly authentic destination that truly showcases what life is like in Eastern Sri Lanka?

If so, look no further than the “City of Singing Fish”. Batticaloa has much to offer both first-timers and world explorers interested in the island’s vast cultural diversity.

Before you hit the road again for more adventures, we suggest you take some time out for yourself to discover the pretty Batticaloa, its historic centre and do some shopping in its authentic and colourful boutiques.

Relaxing at the beach

You have now arrived at the seaside, where you can relax, enjoy beautiful walks on the fine sandy beaches, swim in the Indian Ocean, take the time to take your time…

Snorkeling session

You are expected early in the morning at the seaside, in order to explore a beautiful reef and its underwater life.

Here you are in warm and transparent waters, privileged spectators of a colorful aquatic ballet.

Lunch on site.

Meeting and walking with a Veddha leader

The afternoon is dedicated to meeting a Veddha chief, who will introduce you to the lifestyle of his community and the tools used by his ancestors, at a time when this indigenous Sri Lankan community used to live by hunting and gathering in the thick jungles around.

With his contagious sense of humor, our Veddha chief will take you into the forest, teach you his hunting techniques and show you the caves where his ancestors used to live.

Jeep Safari in Maduru Oya National Park

The journey starts around 6am, reaching the entrance of Maduru Oya Park around 7am. A red dirt track takes you into the heart of this wild natural habitat.

For 2.5 hours, you will see different inhabitants of the forest: a herd of shy deer, many species of birds, from the wild rooster, the emblematic bird of Sri Lanka, to the powerful eagles perched silently in the trees looking for their next prey…

You may have the privilege of observing a herd of wild elephants, enjoying a breakfast of leaves. With the engine running, safety first in this wild nature…

After many other water monitors, lizards, buffaloes, woodpeckers and kingfishers competing in beauty in their brightly colored costumes, a peacock might bid you farewell by performing an elegant wheel, while you return to the park entrance for a hearty breakfast under the trees.

Visit to the archaeological site of Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa was the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993.

It includes, in addition to the Brahmanic monuments built by the Cholas, the monumental ruins of the fabulous garden city created by Parakramabahu I in the 12th century.

Climbing Pidurangala Rock

A few kilometers from the famous Lion Rock, stands the rock of Pidurangala.

The ascent is mainly done under a canopy of majestic trees.

Small caves, ancient living cells for Buddhist monks, are visible near the summit.

After a rocky passage, an epic view of the surroundings is offered to you, villages, lakes and green forests in the middle of which dominates the impressive fortress of Sigiriya.

Visit to Dambulla Temple

A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, Dambulla Temple is a cave monastery with five shrines.

It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka.

Of particular importance are the Buddhist murals, as well as its 157 statues.

Visit to Dambulla Market

Dambulla Market is the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Sri Lanka.

It gathers the harvest from all over the island and sells it to distributors who transport their purchases to all corners of the country.

A lively place to watch the 24-hour traffic circle and an unmatched variety of produce.

Transfer to the airport

Depending on your departure time, your chauffeur guide adapts the program of the day and drops you off at the airport 3 hours before your plane takes off.

There would be so many other beautiful places to discover though…

We wish you a good flight back home, and hope to see you again next time for new Sri Lankan adventures!

Thank you for travelling with us!