Touch of Exotica (05 Days)
TOUCH OF EXOTICA
5 Nights/ 6 Days
All our tours are tailor made tour. We can customize this tour in Sri Lanka to suit your requirements. You can decide where do you want to go and how many days stay in Sri Lanka. As you wish, if you mention the names of the hotels you want to stay, we can reserve it for you.
Those who want to see the tamed and a semi wild elephant in close proximity the best place is the “Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage”. It is located northwest of Kegalle town along the Colombo -Kandy main road. The orphanage is in a beautiful greenish land with fruitful twenty five acre coconut land and having grasses over the underground near Maha Oya. The wide area of shallow water and the huge rocks of Maha Oya make the ideal place to these magnificent animals. Elephant Orphanage was established in 16th February 1975 by the Department of Wild Life Conservation. At the beginning of orphanage there were only five orphan baby elephants those who brought from different places of the island. From the inceptions to date, Neela, Wijaya, Kadira, Mathali and Kumari are some of babies that were brought to the facility still living in the orphanage. Since then orphan elephants brought to the orphanage from different parts of the island and brought up at the orphanage. They were fed with milk as well as array of fodder.Today the heard has grown up to 69 elephants. Among the many elephants of the orphanage there are three of them which will definitely get your attention.
On arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport, you will get your first taste of warm Sri Lankan hospitality; representative from Aliyah Tours will welcome you at the airport arrival lobby.
Transfer from Airport to Dambulla. On route you will visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
Dambulla rock temple has been built in the 1st century B.C. and it is a world heritage site. Also, it is the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples. Hewn into a 160m granite outcrop are the remarkable cave temples of Dambulla. Located at the centre of the Island and on the main route north to Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the cave temples are masterpieces of Buddhist art. Each is filled with murals depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life, and gilded statues of the Buddha in various poses. In the 1st c, BC, the Dambulla caves provided refuge to a king who fled a south Indian invasion. On reclaiming his throne, the grateful king had temples constructed in the caves that had sheltered him. These were embellished by subsequent rulers, especially during the Kandyan period in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Altogether, there are five caves. A cave 2, the Maharaja Vihara is the largest and most spectacular at over 50m long, 7m high and almost 25m deep. The spiritual energy at Dambulla is palpable and the Buddhist art on display is unparalleled in Sri Lanka. An added bonus is the majestic view from the top of the rock. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. meters of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of paintings found in the world. It contains over 150 images of the Buddha of which the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha carved out of rock and spanning 14 meters.
Nestled in lush green hills and built around a scenic lake, the Royal City of Kandy, at 500m above sea level, is the hub of any visit to the hill country. Kandy, a UNESCO World heritage Site, was the last bastion of resistance to colonial rule, surviving two centuries of colonial incursions by the Portuguese and the Dutch before falling to the British in 1815. Even today, Kandyans pride themselves on their distinctive architecture, music, dance and art.
The showpiece of the city is the Dalada maligawa or Temple of the Tooth, which hosts the Lord Buddha’s tooth relic, an item of veneraltion to all Buddhists, is an experience no tourist should miss. Said to have been snatched from the Lord Buddha’s funeral pyre and smuggled to Sri Lanka in the hair or a princess, the tooth relic is of great spiritual significance. Strolling around the lake or exploring the numerous temples that dot the hills nearby is a great way to get the feel of this historic city. Each Year, in August, the city holds the Esala Perahera (procession), a spectacular display of medieval Pageantry replete with caparisoned elephants, whirling fire dancers, and pulsating drummers.
Visit Bazaar area, Arts & crafts centre, a Gem museum and a lapidary etc.
In the evening visit Temple of the Tooth Relic. Late evening witness the Cultural Show, experiencing the pulsating drum rhythms and colorful traditional dances at a cultural show is another must.
After breakfast you will transfer to Sigiriya.
After you will transfer to Kandy & on route you will visit a Spice Garden.
Part hedonistic pleasure palace, part fortress and part sacred complex, Sigirya is one of the island’s most awe-inspiring archaeological sites and a leading tourist attraction. In fact some consider it to be one of the oldest tourist attractions in the world with early visitors recording their impressions as graffiti on a wall described as the world’s first interactive book. Located north of Dambulla, the site consists of a sheer rock that rises over 200m with the ruins of a palace on the top and a vast pleasure garden complex at the foot.
For just two decades in the 5th c.AD, Sigiriya rose to prominence following a power struggle between two brothers, and an act of patricide that saw the then king walled-up alive by his son, Kasyapa. Fearful that his defeated brother would return from exile to extract vengeance, Kasyapa shifted the capital to Sigiriya.
The Megalomaniac yet spiritual Kasyapa clearly had an eye for beauty. The Pleasure gardens include a series of symmetric pools, channels and fountains that still spurt water after 1500 years. Partway up the rock are the famous Sigiriya Frescoes, featuring 21 bare-breasted damsels that may represent celestial nymphs, but were surely modeled on Kasyapa’s own consorts. Halfway you’ll encounter a pair of giant Lion’s Paws, part of the original entrance, which required visitors to pass through the open mount of the lion. The summit yields a dramatic vista of the surrounding jungle and contains the foundations of the palace complex, replete with bathing pool. But all this was to be in vain. Kasyapa descended from his palace in the clouds to face his brother astride an elephant, eventually taking his own life when facing certain defeat.
Visit a spice garden in Matale to see different spices for which Sri Lanka is famous for. Clients will be able to see different spices and how some of these spices are grown and processed. Learn about the local plants and their culinary and medicinal uses from your guide as you go. . Witness a Cookery demonstration that puts the plants to good use and eat lunch. This culinary tour is an ideal way by which the discerning traveler can immerse himself or herself in the history and the ethos of Sri Lanka, its people and their customs and of course most importantly their food. You can learn about Sri Lankan spices and various Sri Lankan cookery methods.
Nuwara Eliya is located at the heart of the hill country 6182 feet above from the sea level. At the heart of the southern hill county is Nuwara-Eliya, Sri lanka’s highest town and a favorite hill station during British colonial times. It is still very much like an old English town with styled Bungalows and buildings. The cool calm climate, gorges rolling tea plantation which makes the best “Ceylon tea” and the breathtaking beautiful waterfalls makes Nuwara Eliya one of the most beautiful town in the world. The town is still touted as ‘Little England’, an illusion maintained by the presence of the finest 18 whole golf courses in South Asia, a racecourse, the Victoria Park and excellent trout fishing in nearby lakes and rivers. The temperature can drop to close to freezing at nights and it is common to se smoke rising from the chimneys of many Tudor-style manors. Adding to the town’s atmosphere is the spectacle of its townsfolk wrapped up in winter jackets and woolly hats, carting great bundles of turnips, leeks, marrows and cabbages to and from the markets. Nuwara Eliya is a great base to explore the surrounding countryside and there are many walks on offer, including hiking around the lower slopes of the thickly forested Mount Pidurutalaga, at 2,555m the island’s highest peak.
You can visit the Golf Club, Strawberry Farms. You can take a nice evening walk around the Gregory Lake. We can arrange horse ride, boat ride and Cycling.
Seetha Amman Temple is located 5 kilometres from Nuwara Eliya. This is considered a prime location in the Ramayana Trail. The temple is situated in the village of Seetha Eliya. According to the Hindu Legend Ramayana, Seetha Amman temple is a unique temple it has been made at the place where Sita was held captive by king Ravana, and where she prayed daily for Rama to come and save her aprox 5000 years ago. It is treated with enduring devotion by Hindus as it is considered to be the only such temple in the world.
Legend has it that Sita, the spouse of King Rama, was locked up in the Ashoka forests of the region. According to the trustees believe that this is no myth and that Sita’s imprisonment at this spot is a historical fact. However offered the following as facts that Sita once stayed in these parts: the concentration of Ashoka trees – various versions of the Ramayana that Sita’s home in Lanka was inside a thick Ashoka forest and the finding about a century ago of three idols, one of which was that of Sita.
After breakfast you will leave enjoy the beauty of Ramboda Falls. On route visit a Tea Factory.
Among the most iconic vistas of hill country are the rolling tea estates that carpet vast swathes of estates that carpet vast swathes of terrain in an emerald sea. Women draped in colorful saris resemble butterflies as they work their way deftly along the tea bushes, picking just two leaves and a bud from each branch and tossing them into the baskets slung on their backs. Introduced to the island in the late 19th century by the British, tea remains of vital importance to the economy.
Some of the finest teas in the world are produced in the hill country and a visit a Tea Factory during a trip to plucked tea is dried, crushed fermented and fired using machinery that has remained largely unchanged since Victorian times. Sri Lanka is world famous for Ceylon Tea. Clients will be shown a tea plantation & a factory. You will be able to witness the processing of Tea and also taste a cup of nice & hot Ceylon Tea. You can buy various different Tea products from the Tea shop.
Sri Lanka is blessed with over one hundred waterfalls. Ramboda Ella is the 11th highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and 729th highest waterfall in the world. The fall is height about 109m and height from Sea Level: 945m.This gigantic water fall consists of three sections.
This unique and beautiful sight can be seen at the Pussellawa area of Nuwara Eliya, at the Ramboda Pass. The Ramboda Falls or Ramboda Ella or Puna Ella as these falls are called is created from Puna Oya, a branch of Kothmale Oya. It makes a twin with Dunsinane Falls which is created by Pundalu Oya, also a branch of Kothmale River, and combines at the base to form a Y shape.
During normal periods of the year Dunsinane Falls which falls on the right receives more volume of water than Ramboda falls. However during periods of drought the role is reversed as Dunsinane Falls, whose branch passes through farming lands before falling, has less water coming through compared to Ramboda Falls whose branch passes through a forest reserve. In this case, instead of Ramboda Falls having more water it is more due to Dunsinane receiving less water while Ramboda remains the same.
Rivers, as they flow over uneven ground or down mountains, often split into branches or form waterfalls. Sometimes two branches of the same river may form twin waterfalls very close to each other as the water spills down cliffs and rocks. However, it is quite uncommon for the branches to combine after forming the waterfalls making a Y shape.
In the afternoon, do city tour of Colombo. Colombo is the commercial and business center of Sri Lanka located on west coast. The city blends together with old colonial type building, high-rise commercial buildings and hotels. It is filled with shopping malls. Some of the finest structures built during the colonial times still preserved in one part of the City. For example, there is a 100-year-old clock tower, and the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) which was a gift to Sri Lanka from the People’s Republic of China.
After breakfast you will leave to thrilling with White Water Rafting.
In the west of the hill country is the scenic village of Kitulgala. The landscape here is particularly dramatic with vertiginous forest-clad cliffs plummeting down to the wild waters of the kelani River. This is also the site of some of the best whitewater rafting in Sri lanka with grade three rapids some 5km upstream. Kitulgala’s other claim to fame is that it was the site for the filming of the 1957 Oscar Academy Award winning film, The Bridge on the River Kawai. On a clear day, you may even dive to see the remains of the actual bridge and the carriages used for the film (only for experienced divers with proper equipment).
This thrilling adventure on the white water section of the Kelani River is suitable for amateurs as well as professionals alike. During the run, you will experience the thrill of shooting rapids and euphoria of making it through. The river”s clear water is born in the heart of the peak wilderness reserve and tumbles through a rocky george just above Kithulgala.Good place to jump in for a refreshing swim.
Welcome the guests at the Airport by a Representative of Aliyah Tours
All Local Transfers and Sightseeing by an air-conditioned vehicle throughout the tour
Entrance Fees for Sights Visited
Visit according to the program
One litter water bottle per day
Highway Tolls
All Local Taxes
Air tickets and insurance
Immunizations / Medical
Meals and accommodation
Video camera permits
Vehicle use for night life activities
Porter rage & Tips
Cost of beverage throughout the tour
Expenses of a personal nature
Any other services not specified above
Client should pay 50% of tour amount at the arrival and the rest can be paid during the tour or at the Airport where you’re ready for the departure.
You should provide accommodation and meals for the driver.
Cancellations within 01 to 06 days of the arrival date – 100% of the value of the booking
Cancellations within 07 to 13 days of the arrival date – 50% of the value of the booking
Cancellations within 14 to 28 days of the arrival date – 25% of the value of the booking
Cancellations beyond 30 days of the arrival date – not charge