Today’s the day when you’ll be flying to the island of Sri Lanka located in the Indian Ocean.

You will fly from your chosen airport to Sri Lanka’s international airport, Bandaranaike, with connecting flight(s) along the way.

You land at Sri Lanka’s international airport. On your arrival, you pass through immigration and pick up your luggage. Your guide/driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall, ready to give you a warm welcome. You will then be driven to your hotel in Negombo, a 30-minute drive away.

When you arrive at the hotel, you check in, and then the rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

Negombo is known for its wide, golden sandy beaches, where tall palm trees sway in the warm breeze The sea can be a bit choppy here on the west coast, but luckily the hotel has a nice swimming pool.

If you’d like to see what the area in and around Negombo have to offer, you might like to visit Negombo Lagoon south of the city, a unique wetland where you can experience the abundant wildlife. Or the 100-km-long Dutch canals that run through the city and which were originally a supply route for the Dutch administration during the colonial era. There are also many lovely temples and churches dotted around the city.

In the evening, you can go for a stroll along the beach and enjoy the beautiful sunset and the traditional fishing boats with their batik sails pulled up onto the beach.

Your driver/guide will pick you up from the hotel after breakfast and check-out and drive you to the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka, which is scenically surrounded by mountains, waterfalls, tea plantations and rivers.

Kandy was Sri Lanka’s capital from 1597–1815. The city holds a special significance in Sri Lankan history, as Kandy was the last seat of the Sinhalese kings. The Kingdom of Kandy was the part of Sri Lanka that held onto its independence from the colonial powers the longest, until it finally surrendered to the British 1815. It was also in Kandy that opposition to the British colonial power was greatest up until the country’s independence in 1948.

Kandy is known today as the cultural heart of the country, as it has managed to preserve its unique traditions and culture, which are now expressed through music and dance.

The city centre is home to many beautiful, historic colonial buildings, and this is also where the picturesque Kandy Lake is located. We highly recommend a stroll around the lake, and along the way you can sit down on a bench and enjoy the atmosphere and the view of the 26-metre-high Buddha statue above Bahirawakanda Temple.

At the northern end of the lake is the country’s most sacred Buddhist temple, the Temple of the Tooth, which is said to house one of the Buddha’s teeth. The lovely temple is actually one of the reasons Kandy was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. A temple ceremony is held three times a day – a totally unique experience that you simply mustn’t miss.

In the evening, you can explore the city’s restaurants. You almost have to try one of Sri Lanka’s most famous dishes, “kottu roti”, which consists of flatbread cut into small pieces, eggs, vegetables, a lot of delicious spices and possibly meat. The guide knows all the good restaurants, so feel free to ask his advice.

Today, you’ll be lacing up your walking boots as you’re going on a fantastic hike in the Knuckles Mountain Range. Remember to bring water and perhaps some light snacks.

Your guide/driver will fetch you from the hotel and drive you to the place where the hike starts, roughly a 2-hour drive from Kandy.

The mountain range resembles a fist with five knuckles, hence the name. It has some fantastic walks and consists of 34 mountains ranging from approx. 900 to 2,000 metres. The area is known for its amazing nature and varied flora and fauna, of which some of the species are endemic to this area. The Knuckles Mountain Range is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Over the next 2-3 hours, you’ll hike through hilly terrain through rice fields, tea plantations and coniferous forests, passing picturesque villages, cloud forests with low-hanging clouds, gushing waterfalls and clear streams. Remember to bring your swimwear and towel in case you fancy going for a dip. Along the way, you might get to see deer, buffalo, monkeys, wild boar and various species of birds.

At midday, you’ll head back to the car and be driven to a small, local restaurant, where you’ll enjoy today’s lunch.

You will then be driven back to the hotel in Kandy, and the rest of the day is yours to do whatever you please.

After breakfast and check-out, your guide/driver will be waiting to drive you to the cooler highlands and the city of Nuwara Eliya. The city is also known as “Little England” due to all its lovely English houses with their beautiful rose gardens, which date back to the former British influence in the area.

Situated at an altitude of 1,900 metres, Nuwara Eliya is picturesque, with mountains and valleys, rushing rivers and waterfalls and green tea plantations.

The climate in Nuwara Eliya is one of the coolest in Sri Lanka, making it the perfect place to grow tea. En route to Nuwara Eliya, you will therefore make a stop at a tea factory. Did you know that Sri Lanka is the world’s second largest exporter of tea?

A guided tour awaits you here during which you will experience the entire process from when the leaves are picked, until the tea sits steaming in your cup. Several of the machines used are more than 150 years old, and techniques have changed little since the 1800s – a deeply fascinating process! After the tour, you’ll have the opportunity to taste different types of Ceylon tea, and to buy some to take home with you.

After the visit, you’ll be driven to your hotel, and once you’ve checked in, you have the day to yourself. You might like to visit Victoria Park with all its flowers and birds, or Gregory Park, which is scenically located by the lake of the same name.

Armed with a packed breakfast made for you by the hotel staff, you’ll drive with your guide/driver to Horton Plains National Park, a 30-minute drive from Nuwara Eliya. The drive takes you along uneven roads and, in some places, hairpin bends.

When you arrive at Horton Plains, you’ll soon discover that the national park is a world apart from the rest of the island. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Horton Plains is located at an altitude of 2,100-2,300 metres and covers an area of around 10,000 hectares. It is one of Sri Lanka’s most beautiful national parks, much of which consists of untouched grasslands and cloud forest, and in several places you can experience waterfalls. The sources of the country’s largest rivers, Mahaweli, Kelani and Walawe, are also to be found here in the park.

The cool, wet climate of the national park has promoted the growth of the endemic flora and fauna. 24 species of mammals are said to live here, from sambar deer and langur monkeys to rare and timid leopards. The birdlife is also absolutely fantastic, and 87 different species have been spotted here – so don’t forget your camera and binoculars!

The hike takes you through hilly terrain, and the route is approx. 10 km long. It can be slippery and muddy in several places, so we recommend wearing good walking boots and possibly bringing hiking sticks with you. And don’t forget to bring water and snacks.

The highlights of the park are Chimney’s Pool, the 22-metre-high waterfall Baker’s Falls and the World’s End. The latter is the absolute highlight and probably one of the best viewpoints in Sri Lanka. The national park comes to an abrupt here at a large cliff, and when the mist clears, you can enjoy the fantastic view of the green mountains and look 870 metres down into the valley.

After the hike, you’ll be driven back to the hotel in Nuwara Eliya.

Today, you’ll be leaving the highlands and heading to southern Sri Lanka.

After breakfast and check-out, your guide/driver will drive you to Tissamaharama. Along the way, you visit the 25-metre Ravana Falls, named after legendary Sri Lankan King Ravana. He was said to have kept Princess Sitha hidden in the caves behind the waterfall, which are now known as Ravana Cave.

From here, you continue to the Buduruwagala Temple, which is renowned for its impressive and well-preserved rock carvings that date back to the 9th or 10th centuries. At the middle of the rock face is a 16-metre-tall Buddha statue, surrounded by six smaller statues showing the Buddha in different meditative poses. The level of detail and artistic precision is simply incredible!

After a fantastic visit, you are driven to the hotel, where you can enjoy the hotel’s facilities.

After breakfast, you check out and your guide/driver is ready to drive you to Bundala National Park, where you’ll be going on an exciting safari in the unknown, 62 km² park, located a 30-minute drive from Tissamaharama.

Bundala was declared a national park in 1993, and in 2005 the park was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.

A safari in Bundala National Park is a very different experience from the larger and better known national parks Yala and Udawalawe in that you pretty much have Bundala to yourself.

You’ll drive through the park’s open landscapes and wetland in a 4WD safari car with an experienced ranger, who knows the park inside out. He knows where the animals go, and he’s an expert in finding their tracks in the open landscape.

Bundala is known especially for its high concentration of birds. No fewer than 197 species of birds have been registered here, 139 of which are sedentary and 58 are migratory. One of the highlights is the flamingo, which lives in large flocks.

You may also see mammals such as elephants, buffalo, jackals, mongooses and macaques, as well as reptiles such as crocodiles, star tortoises, snakes and lizards. So don’t forget your binoculars and camera!

After the safari, you’ll be driven to your hotel in the Sinharaja rainforest – it will be an amazing experience!

You’ll be woken early by the birds chirping and the monkeys howling.

After breakfast, you’ll be heading to explore the untouched rainforest, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Sinhajara means “lion king”, and legend has it that the people from the area are descended from the meeting of a princess and a lion king who lived in the forest. Whether or not that’s true, we cannot possibly say, but one thing’s for certain – there are no lions living here!

Accompanied by a nature guide, you’ll walk along narrow paths among giant ferns, vines and ancient moss-covered trees, past rivers and beautiful waterfalls and across gentle streams. A mist of heavy rain clouds hangs over the tree tops, and that is the reason why the rainforest is so lush. Along the way, the guide will tell you all about the forest’s abundant flora and fauna, much of which is endemic to the Sinhajara rainforest.

Keep a close eye out for the forest’s brightly coloured birds and noisy macaques in the tree tops. You might also be lucky enough to spot deer, snakes, frogs and lizards or maybe even one of the elusive, rare leopards.

After breakfast and check-out, you’ll be picked up from the hotel and driven to the charming city of Galle, located on the south coast of Sri Lanka. Galle is home to many different cultures and traditions and is a colourful city full of contrasts. The city is divided into a new part and an old part. In the bustling new part, you’ll find the city’s electronics shops and markets, while the old part, where Galle Fort is located, has narrow streets, colonial buildings and cosy restaurants inside the thick, old walls. Unlike in other cities in Sri Lanka, the two parts merge in the most marvellous way.

On your arrival, you check in at the hotel, and then the rest of the day is yours to do as you please.

You have the day to yourself to explore Galle at your own pace

An absolute must-see is the city’s ancient fort, which is one of the oldest in Asia. In the 14th century, Galle was an important port for seafarers sailing between Asia and Europe. When the Portuguese occupied Galle in 1588, they built the fort to protect the city against enemies. This apparently failed in 1649, when the Dutch managed to conquer Galle. The Dutch continued to expand the fort, which in 1988 became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Galle Fort is today the city’s old town, and it buzzes with life inside the solid, old walls. At the fort, you will immediately be struck by the special atmosphere and feel a real sense of history. Stroll past the classic colonial buildings and up to the iconic, white lighthouse which guided the merchant ships safely into Galle Harbour. Continue around the ramparts and experience the different bastions before venturing into the narrow cobbled streets with their nice speciality shops, museums, art galleries, restaurants and cafés.

In the evening, you can go for a walk on the old city walls and enjoy the view of the glistening sea before taking a seat at one of the cosy restaurants. Many of the restaurants serve Italian and local dishes, but you will also find delicious fish and seafood dishes.

Today, your Sri Lankan adventure comes to an end. Your guide/driver will pick you up from the hotel and drive you to the airport in Colombo, where your journey home begins.

You land at your chosen airport after a lovely holiday, many adventures the richer.