Tour 3 - 9 Nights / 10 days
Culture / East Coast / Safari / South Coast
Day 1 : Airport – Sigiriya
Arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport and met by "Key2Ceylon" representatives. Transfer to Sigiriya.
Afternoon at leisure
Evening leave for Sigiriya,a 650 feet high rock fortress in the sky, a masterpiece of construction, artistry & irrigation. A world Heritage Site (5 th Century AD). The world famous fresco paintings of Heavenly maidens are housed in a cave.
Option of take a jeep safari through the Kaudulla National Park, looking for elephants, deer, peacocks, boars, and many kinds of birds (depend on the time)
Dinner and overnight at Habarana
Day 2: Dambulla / Trincomalee
After breakfast leave for Trincomalee. En-route visit the Golden Rock Cave of Dambulla. Like Sigiriya, this is a vast isolated rock mass where King Valagambhahu took refuge in the 01st century B.C. He later turned the caves into a rock temple. The temple consists of a series of 5 caves containing many statues and paintings including a 47 ft. long statue of the Buddha.
Evening city tour of Trinco
Arrive at hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Trinco
Trincomalee is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.
At Leisure on half board basis
(Options: Depending on the season we can arrange Whale and Dolphin watching tours / snorkelling / diving / boat rides).
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One of the oldest cities in Asia, it has served as a major maritime seaport in the international trading history of the island with South East Asia. In the ancient world, it was successively the capital of eastern kingdoms of the Vanni country, developing under the Pallava Dynasty, Chola Dynasty, Pandyan Dynasty, the Vannimai chieftaincies and the Jaffna kingdom through the Koneswaram shrine's revenue. Trincomalee's urbanization continued when made into a fortified port town following the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom, changing hands between the Danish in 1620, the Dutch, the French following a battle of the American Revolutionary War and the British in 1795, being absorbed into the British Ceylon state in 1815. The city's architecture shows some of the best examples of interaction between native and European styles. Attacked by the Japanese as part of the Indian Ocean raid during World War II in 1942, the city and district were affected after Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, when the political relationship between Tamil and Sinhalese people deteriorated, erupting into civil war. It is home to major naval and air force bases at the Trincomalee Garrison. The city also has the largest Dutch fort on the island.
Day 4: Trinco / Passikuda
Pronounced Paasikkudah, Historic Sinhala Translation (???? ????? ,Pasi thuduwa,Pasi-moss Thuduwa-Cape) Tamil translation (Green-Algae-Bay) is a coastal resort town located about 35 kilometers northwest of Batticaloa, Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka. It used to be a popular tourist destination, however due to 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Sri Lankan Civil War tourist numbers have declined. Pasikudah and Kalkudah are located few km apart.
After breakfast leave to Passikuda
At leisure
Dinner and overnight stay in Passikuda
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Since the end of the civil war in 2009 and the completion of Tsunami rehabilitation projects, Pasikudah has become a popular tourist destination amongst locals and foreigners alike. This is because Pasikudah is known to have one of the longest stretches of shallow coastline in the world. In other words, people walk kilometers into the sea because the water is only a few inches deep and the current is relatively weak compared to the rest of Sri Lanka's coasts.
Pasikudah is easily accessible from Trincomalee and Batticaloa, both of which cities have star class accommodation. Pasikudah is fast becoming an investors hub as foreign and local investors have shown interest in developing tourism along the beach. The Sri Lankan government's strict environmental policies have prevented certain plans for mass development, however at the same time the government's strong economic policies have promoted development to a certain extent.
Day 5: Passikuda / Yala
Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park(block 1) and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province.After breakfast, Leave for Yala
Arrive in yala for Dinner & overnight stay
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The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds.
There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Among the largest is Lunugamvehera National Park. The park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is received mainly during the northeast monsoon. Yala hosts a variety of ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka. Yala harbours 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka. The number of mammals that has been recorded from the park is 44, and it has one of the highest leopard densities in the world.
The area around Yala has hosted several ancient civilisations. Two important pilgrim sites, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Vihara, are situated within the park. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused severe damage on the Yala National Park and 250 people died in its vicinity. The number of visitors has been on the rise since 2009 after the security situation in the park improved.
Day 6: Yala / Galle
Early morning along with a packed breakfast leave to Yala National Park for a safari by private jeep. Yala is approximately 1259 Kms in extent and is located in the south eastern corner of the Island. The terrain is varied, flat plains alternating with rocky outcrops. The vegetation ranges from open parkland to dense jungle a must for any wildlife enthusiast with the specialty being the large number of Leopards, Elephants, Deer’s, Wild Boar and Sambhur.
Early evening arrive in Galle for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 7: Galle
At leisure on half boards basis
After breakfast visit Galle fort, which was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century.
Then visit a turtle hatchery in the southern cost. These sea turtle hatcheries are for the survival of sea turtles for the next generation.
In the afternoon, relax at your beach resort. Dinner and overnight stay on the beach resort.
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Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the administrative capital of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the district capital of Galle District. Galle is the fourth largest city in Sri Lanka after the capital Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna.
Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali[1]) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.
Day 8: Galle / Bentota
After breakfast leave to Bentota to experience some of best water sports
Day 9: Bentota
Bentota is a tourist attraction, with a local airport (Bentota River Airport) and a handful and world-class hotels. It is a destination for watersports. Bentota also delivers an ancient art of healing called Ayurveda. Bentota is famous for its toddy production, an alcoholic beverage made out of coconut nectar. It also has a turtle hatchery, located on Induruwa beach.
At leisure on half board basis.
Day 10: Bentota - Airport
Leave to airport for departure (Option: Depend on the flight time we could arrange lunch & city tour of Colombo)
