Natural Wonders of Sri Lanka
Overview
Highlights
- Search for abundant wildlife on a Yala National Park expedition, which boasts Asia’s largest concentration of leopards, along with Asian elephants, spotted deer, and over 200 species of birds.
- A hallmark of any Sri Lanka tour, discover the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Sigiriya, an ancient palace and fortress built atop a huge granite monolith; the monumental ruins in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka’s medieval capital; and the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, a significant site of pilgrimage for Buddhists.
- Enjoy whale-watching cruises off the southern coast, one of the best places in the world to view blue whales.
- Explore Sinharaja, a vast tropical rain forest that is home to over half of Sri Lanka’s endemic species of flora and fauna.
- Stay in a variety of superb accommodations throughout your Sri Lanka adventure travels—from beach-side resorts and colonial-era mansions to world-class game lodges offering splendid vistas of the surrounding wilderness.
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Trip includes
- All accommodations
- Group meals, including selected beverages with lunch and dinner
- Group transfers
- All gratuities
- Guided excursions as stated in the itinerary
- Entrance fees for parks, reserves, etc.
- Medical expense coverage and emergency evacuation insurance
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Itinerary
Board your independent flight to Sri Lanka.
Accommodation: Gateway Airport Garden Hotel
Arrive Colombo in the very early morning and transfer to The Gateway Airport Garden Hotel, your home for two nights. After a welcome lunch and briefing, spend the afternoon searching for indigenous fauna and flora in the woodlands and wetlands near the hotel.
Accommodation: Gateway Airport Garden Hotel
This morning visit the fascinating fish and street markets of Negombo. In the afternoon explore nearby wetlands by boat to search for pheasant-tailed jacanas, blue-tailed bee-eaters, and stork-billed kingfishers.
Accommodation: Sigiriya Village Hotel
After breakfast, depart overland to the heart of Sri Lanka’s “cultural triangle.” Here visit Sigiriya, or Lion Rock, a huge granite monolith rising out of the jungle. This stunning World Heritage Site features the ruins of ...
Accommodation: Sigiriya Village Hotel
Today drive to the magnificent ruined city of Polonnaruwa for a full day tour. A former Buddhist kingdom, Polonnaruwa is famous for its intricately carved stonework, including a stunningly beautiful reclining Buddha. As you wander the archaeological sites watch for troops of endemic toque macaques and, with luck, Sri Lanka gray hornbills.
Accommodation: Earl's Regency Hotel
After breakfast, depart for the highlands, stopping en route to visit a spice garden and batik factory. After lunch in Kandy, spend the afternoon in the Peradeniya Botanic Gardens before checking in to Earl’s Regency Hotel for dinner.
Accommodation: Earl's Regency Hotel
This morning visit Udawattakele Sanctuary to search for the endemic Layard’s parakeet, yellow-fronted barbet, and brown-capped babbler, among other species. Return to the hotel for lunch. This afternoon tour the Temple of the...
Accommodation: St. Andrew's Hotel
We then climb higher into Sri Lanka’s “Hill Country” to learn about the crop that has become almost synonymous with the island—tea. Verdant plantations stretch out in every direction and you will have the opportunity to investi...
Accommodation: St. Andrew's Hotel
Depart before dawn to appreciate the beauty of early morning at Horton Plains, a grassy highland plateau studded with rhododendrons and surrounded by cool, mossy forests. Wildlife found here includes sambar deer, grizzled giant...
Accommodation: Sinharaja Rainforest Edge Resort
A scenic drive with lunch along the way brings you to the fabled Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve. Sri Lanka’s single most important conservation area, Sinharaja protects the largest remaining area of tropical forest o...
Accommodation: Sinharaja Rainforest Edge Resort
A full day walking tour of this scenic park may reveal such spectacular creatures as Sri Lanka junglefowl (the national bird), yellow-fronted barbet, bizarre red-faced malkoha, and the exquisite Sri Lanka blue magpie.
Accommodation: Cinnamon Wild Yala Hotel
Today, head east, descending into the lowlands of Yala, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated national park, with lunch en route. Arrive at Yala in the late afternoon, with time for a short nature walk, and check in to the Cinnamon Wild Yala Hotel, your base for three nights.
Accommodation: Cinnamon Wild Yala Hotel
Take morning and afternoon safaris into Yala; with over 100,000 hectares of thorn scrub and coastal wetlands, this park boasts the highest density of leopards in Asia. It is also home to healthy populations of wild water buffalo, Asian elephants, and spotted deer.
Accommodation: Cinnamon Wild Yala Hotel
Enjoy your last safari in Yala, before an afternoon visit to the wetlands of Tissa to seek out colorful wetland birds including storks, egrets, herons, and kingfishers.
Accommodation: Mirissa Mandara Resort
After breakfast drive to nearby Bundala National Park, famous for its concentrations of shorebirds and waterbirds. Resident painted storks and gray-headed fish eagles are joined by migrant shorebirds, terns, and ospreys, wh...
Accommodation: Mirissa Mandara Resort
Southern Sri Lanka is one of the very best places in the world to encounter blue whales. Enjoy a morning cruise to view these leviathans, along with the spinner dolphins that are often sighted here.
Accommodation: Gateway Airport Garden Hotel
This morning enjoy a second whale-watching cruise. In the early afternoon drive to Colombo and check in to The Gateway Airport Garden Hotel for dinner and a chance to relax. Board your late evening flight, arriving in the USA the next day.
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The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.
Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.
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Quality staff and good itineraries. Also have many voyages with no single supplement. They actually welcome solo travelers - much more welcoming than many other comp...
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