On arrival at the airport, transfer to the hotel in Negombo, a beach town near the international airport. Evening at leisure.

Check out of the hotel and drive to the ‘Millennium Elephant Foundation’ in Rambukkana, a certified, non-profit organization working with captive elephants in Sri Lanka. During your visit you would get to bathe elephants in the nearby brook and to experience an exhilarating drenching shower as the jumbo shoots water at you (advised to bring a change of clothes).

Visit the unique paper factory where paper is produced out of elephant droppings. Or, at an extra cost, set out on the famous ‘walk with the elephant’ where you walk by an elephant while it freely roams through the woods in its natural space.

Continue on to your hotel in Dambulla or Sigiriya.

After an early breakfast climb the Sigiriya Rock, the most visited tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. Half way up you will see the fascinating ancient frescoes ‘The damsels of Sigiriya’ and the giant paws of a huge carved lion. The mirror wall displays the world’s earliest known graffiti. At the summit of the rock you will see the ruins of the monarch’s palace from the 5th century AD.

Later on, we take a delightful village tour in a rural village. This excursion is one of the best ways to experience the traditional Sri Lankan way of life. Hop in a tuk-tuk for a thrilling ride through the village and take a boat ride on Habarana Lake. Visit a village house to experience the local hospitality. At the end, enjoy a traditional lunch with a local family.

In the afternoon, enjoy a thrilling jeep safari in the Minneriya National Park. The annual dry period here spans from around July to September and especially around August visitors get to witness a famous natural phenomenon called The Elephant Gathering of Minneriya, the world’s largest concentration of wild elephants, at times numbering up to 400. The Park is home to spotted deer, sambar, leopard, sloth bear, saltwater crocodiles, pythons and monitor lizards as well. It is known for being an Important Bird Area too.

Check out of the hotel. Visit the Golden Cave Temple of Dambulla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Climbing up the steps toward the top of the Rock, you will see the 2000-year old cave temple carved in the enormous isolated rock mass. Visiting inside the caves you will be amazed as you would not find a single empty space on the rock wall or the ceiling which is not picturesquely covered by amazing mural painting, with each of them narrating a story.

Later on, transfer to the city of Kandy, which is another UNESCO world heritage site. En route, we visit the spice garden in Matale. Gain an insight into how spices that you have used to flavour your food at home and many other tropical herbs that you have known or heard of, are grown.

Check in to the hotel in Kandy. In the evening enjoy a cultural dance performance which showcases traditional dances, drums and colorful costumes, followed by a firewalking display.

In the morning visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic which houses the most revered Buddhist relic on the island – a tooth of the Lord Buddha. After that, set out on a city tour of Kandy, the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It still dearly holds many of the legends, traditions and folklore. Stroll around Kandy Lake, built by the last Sinhalese king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1807. Visit the bustling Kandy town, the crafts center, a gem museum and a lapidary.

In the afternoon visit the Peradeniya botanical gardens, located on the banks of the Mahaweli River, a few kilometers from the city of Kandy. The garden is home to more than 4,000 species of plants, including a rare collection of orchids.

In the morning, visit a Tea plantation and a tea factory. At the factory, experience the finest process of manufacturing the world class Ceylon tea.

After that proceed to Bentota, a beautiful beach town in the southwest coast of the island. Evening at leisure.

After breakfast head on to Galle, a southern coastal town. Explore the Dutch Fort of Galle (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Engage in an interesting walking tour with Shanjei, an expert on the Dutch Fort. At the site of the present Fort, back in 1588 the Portuguese colonizers built a modest fort using palm trees and mud. Later the Dutch invaders fortified it extensively when they took over in 1640. Among the historic landmarks are the 300-year-old Dutch Reformed Church, the 400-year-old National Maritime Museum, the 200-year-old Clock Tower, the 1939 Lighthouse as well as the reputedly oldest breadfruit tree in the island. As you stroll through the colonial streets, enjoy listening to interesting stories.

Later on visit a Turtle Hatchery in Kosgoda. Beaches of Sri Lanka are the nesting grounds for five species of marine turtles. Turtle are known to lay eggs instinctively in the same area where they were born. The Hatchery administration at Kosgoda carries out constant night-watch along the coast to find laid eggs or purchases them from the fishermen, incubate them for a specific period, then feed and keep the hatchlings up to 3 days at the farm before releasing to the ocean at night.

After breakfast transfer to Colombo. In the afternoon enjoy a brief visit in Colombo city, a mixture of colonial and modern architecture. As you drive through, learn the interesting stories of the Colonial history of Sri Lanka, in which Colombo and its port played a significant role. Visit Colombo Fort area, which was originally built by the Portuguese in 16th century, old parliament, Galle Face, Dutch Hospital, Town Hall and Independence Square.

Transfer to the airport for departure. Reach 3 hours before the flight.