culture and heritage tour sri lanka, cultural exploration tours sri lanka

Day 01 - Arrive in Sri Lanka for a vacation in paradise and be greeted and met by our warm and courteous crew and then be transferred to Kandalama en route visiting the famous Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage to see abandoned baby elephants being fed, bathed, trained and take care of. This is a fascinating detour where you can see orphaned elephants and their foster parents parading to the river for a bath. After spending some time with the elephants proceed to "close to nature" Kandalama Hotel an eco-friendly gateway for an overnight stay, where the visitors will enjoy a wide array of activities.

Day 02 - After breakfast proceeds to Anuradhapura, the first capital, one of the biggest archeological sites in the world and the city of 113 kings was never forgotten to the people of Sri Lanka. Still the memory of the Kings of ancient Sri Lanka is kept alive in legend and folk history. The Sacred Bodhi Tree, under which the Buddha himself attained enlightenment, is still alive, tended by its hereditary guardians and worshipped by millions of Buddhists, who walk around with clasped hands to show gratitude. Today, Anuradhapura boasts of the remnants of 113 Kingdoms. Do a city tour of Anuradhapura, visiting Ruvanveliseya (92 M), the Abhayagiriya Dagabe (113 M), the Jetawana Stupa (122 M), the guard stones, the moon stones (depicting the life cycle of man), stone bridges, pleasure gardens, and also the colossal man-made reservoirs. On completion proceed to the Kandalama Hotel to spend an evening of leisure and overnight stay at the Kandalama Hotel.

Day 03 - After breakfast proceed to visit the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, an ancient capital of immense historical value. Visible ruins of buildings indicate that a very advanced civilization thrived in Polonnaruwa. The tour of the ruined city will tell us a story of great history that is written behind the ruins of polonnaruwa. Also, visit the ruins of the Council Hall, the palace, the temple of Shiva, the watadage (a circular image house), the sathmahal prasadhaya (a seven storied edifice), the rock inscription of Nissankamalla and the Gal Vihare where three sculptured statues of Lord Buddha are found. Furthermore, many other interesting sites such as the Polonnaruwa Statue, the Ocean of Parakrama Lake, the ruins of the library will also be visited. Polonnaruwa boasts of tanks and waterways, some of which to this day are in use, were constructed to cater to the public need, like the picturesque Minneriya tank built in the fourth century by King Mahasena. On completion proceed to Sigiriya and explore the rock fortress of Kashyapa, which dates back to the 5th century AD. See the ruins of Kashyapa's palace on the summit of the gigantic rock Sigiriya, a collection of ancient frescoes, the pleasure gardens and also explore the fortress. Proceed to the enchanting Kandalama Hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 04 - After breakfast, proceed to Kandy visiting en route the historic Dambulla caves, which dates back to the 1st century BC. The walls of this cave are covered with ancient frescoes and some of the oldest statues of Buddha are also found here. The next stop would be at a spice garden to see and sample wide variety of spices and aromatics such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, citronella which grow abundantly in the wet zone low lands and hills. Also en route visit a batik factory and learn the art of batik painting and reach Kandy. Kandy, the last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings, was finally handed over to the British after resisting the Portuguese and the Dutch for many centuries. It is surrounded by hills and offers a very pleasant cooling climate. Check-in at the Earl's Regency hotel for an afternoon of leisure. In the evening visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic and also witness a cultural show. Return to Earl's Regency Hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 05 - After breakfast do a further city tour of Kandy visiting the Kandy Bazaar, the Kandy lake, drop in to a handicraft center to see kandyan antiques, an array of beautiful and intricately designed statues, silver jewellery, masks, copper pots, pottery, curios and of course; furniture, a gem house/lapidary and also the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens which was originally the pleasure gardens of the royalty. Many varieties of trees, both tropical and temperate grow here and from March to May. Numerous flowering trees such as the fiery regia, white mesua ferrea, pink tabebuia rosea and many exquisite orchids such as the rare endemic species, the pink-mauve vesak, primroses, daffodils and many more local and foreign species and nearly 4000 species of plants are found, covering an area of about 150 acres. Spend the afternoon at leisure and stay overnight at the Earl's Regency Hotel and experience the up-country life with a feel of the aromatic tea estates in a backdrop of a mountain range.