Sri Lanka Travel & Tours - Colombo

HALF DAY COLOMBO CITY TOUR - Tour No. CP-01

Pick-up clients from Pier and do a city tour of Colombo, visiting the BMICH, New Parliament, Fort & Pettah areas, a Residential area, Museum, Buddhist & a Hindu Temples and the War Memorial in Colombo. Return back to ship.

HALF-DAY NEGOMBO CITY TOUR

After lunch visit the ancient Buddhist temple at Kelaniya believed to have been visited by Buddha about 20 km south of the town is a major attraction. A religious cultural pageantry is held in January at the temple. Completely re-built recently, fine wall paintings done in mid 1900s are an attraction.

Proceed to Negombo situated by the shores of a lagoon by the same name once has been a trading port for Portuguese and Dutch and is an ideal place for those who want quick access to and from the airport. Attractions in the city are the Old Dutch fort gate built in 1672 now a part of the prison, the Dutch Canal that was then a supply route to the Dutch administration, old churches and fishing villagers. The 100 km long canal running through the town is still being used and is an attraction for those who want to see the country from a different perspective. Dinner at Browns Beach Hotel - Barbecue at the Beach.

HALF DAY SHOPPING TOUR & MT. LAVINIA

Pick-up clients from Pier and proceed to Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela. The Zoo has a fine collection of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish from Sri Lanka and the Indian sub continents. Densely foliated and well landscaped, this 11-acre site is among one of the first to introduce an “Open Habitat Concept”. The most popular attraction is the daily elephants acrobatics maneuvers. After the Zoological Gardens we proceed to Mt. Lavinia Hotel for snacks & tea and then on to Colombo for shopping, including visits to the Noritake Ceramic shop. Return back to ship.

FULL DAY - PINNAWELA

Pick-up clients from Pier and proceed to Pinnawela to visit the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Colombo Kandy Road, a riverside sanctuary which cares for elephants displaced from wild habitats. The orphanage is home to hundreds of abandoned or injured elephants who are looked after with warmth, love and affection. The highlight is to see the baby elephants being fed with bottles of milk during feeding times. The elephants at the Pinnawela elephant orphanage are bathed daily in a river located nearby. Lunch at Elephant Bay Restaurant. Thereafter return to Colombo in time to board ship.

FULL DAY KANDY EXCURSION

Leave for the city of Senkadagalapura, today known as KANDY and is a world Heritage city lies in a triangular valley surrounded by mountain, Green velvet tea plantations covering the hills, and the river Mahaweli, the longest river in the country. Now the city has been turned into a modern commercialized city as the capital of the central province with many monuments of the past, Kandy is now a thrilling mixture of the old and the new. Most of the old structures either have been rehabilitated or are still in its original state, such as the ancient religious monument, which continue as living monuments. En-route stop at PINNAWELA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE.

Arrive at 09:15 hrs on time to see the baby elephants being fed with milk, at 10.00 am the entire herd is taken to the river for a bath. Continue journey to Kandy.

Visit the temple of Tooth (11.30 am). The main attraction of the city and also the most sacred Buddhist establishment in Sri Lanka is where one of Buddha’s tooth is being kept. Built in the 16th century but improvements and additions have been done to this structure until the fall of the Kandy kingdom.

A golden canopy was added recently. Daily rituals are being carried out at various offering times to the shrine. A dress code applies for entering the temple. The octagonal pavilion has enhanced the magnificence. Lunch at Senani Rest House (12.15 pm). Visit PERADENIYA ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS (1.00 pm) a 147-acre garden with more than 5,000 species of trees and plants, beautiful orchid house and spice section. See also the many species of birds found in the park. At 2.00 pm leave Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens and proceed to Colombo.

DAY TRIP TO YAPAHUWA

An ancient fortress and capital in the year 1301. Situated in the Kurunegala District about 90 miles from Colombo, Yapahuwa is, like the better known Sigiriya, a rock rising abruptly from its surroundings, to a height of about 300 ft. Yapahuwa is surrounded by moats and ramparts. Many traces of other ancient battle defense may still be seen, while an ornamental stairway remains its biggest showpiece.

Accessible: By Road 90 miles north east of Colombo via A class and main roads.

The prominent rock at Yapahuwa and its accompanying ruins are of interest because of the brief part they played in the long drama of the sacred Tooth Relic. After the death of King Prakramabahu II, Sri Lanka fell into chaos again with various factions vying with each other for power. In 1272 Bhauvanekabahu I became king and moved his capital from Polonnaruwa to Yapahuwa taking the Tooth Relic with him. Yapahuwa had been the stronghold of a general called Subha and Bhauvanekabahu set about strengthening it and making it suitable as a royal residence. But the king had been reduced to little more than a regional lord and by any standard Yapahuwa is a very modest place. However he was in possession of the Tooth and for as long as he had it the people would look to him as their ruler.

The Tooth Relic's brief period of respite in Yapahuwa came to an end soon after Bhauvanekabahu’s death in 1284. The Pandyas of south India invaded the island yet again and this time actually succeeded in capturing the sacred relic. News of this catastrophe threw the Sinhalese into despair and quickly spread throughout the Buddhist world. As soon as the emperor of China, Kublai Khan, heard of this he sent an envoy to India with an offer to exchange the Tooth for a fabulous treasure. Before they could arrive though Parakramabahu III became king and aware that his legitimacy to rule would be in doubt as long as he was not in possession of the precious relic he actually went in person to the Pandyan court, hat in hand, to negotiate for its return. Exactly what concessions or payment the Pandyans demanded for the Tooth we do not know but Parakramabahu returned to Sri Lanka with it to widespread relief and rejoicing. It was enshrined in a specially built temple in the new capital at Kurunegala.

The walls of Yapahuwa form a rough semicircle the ends of which join the foot of the high steep-sided rock. The outer fortifications consist of an earthen rampart about 20 feet high and half a mile long on which a brick wall once stood. A moat with three causeways across it to the three gates ran around this rampart. The inner fortification consists of a stonewall averaging 12 feet in height and about 500 yards long with a moat outside it and with two gates. The homes of the ordinary people would have been between the outer and inner walls while king’s palace, administrative buildings and of course the Temple of the Tooth were within the inner wall.

Crossing the moat and entering the south gate of the inner wall the pilgrim will see the various buildings of the modern monastery and a little beyond them the great stairway. This magnificent structure climbs the lower southern slopes of the rock to a natural terrace where the Temple of the Tooth once stood. The stairway originally comprised of three flights of stone stairs, one above the other, however the lower one has disappeared and been replaced by cement ones. As you climb you will notice that the walls on either side of the stairs form pavilions in each of which is a graceful female figure. Above these are two wide-eyed lions crouched and ready to spring and the balustrades above these lions take the form of elephants with their trunks extended. Finally at the top of the stairway the pilgrim will reach the impressive and harmoniously conceived doorway that once led into the Temple of the Tooth. Passing through the door the pilgrim will see directly in front of him or the foundations of the temple. The rough path to the top of the rock is to the left. It is a steep climb but well worth the effort. The caves on the top show that ascetic monks inhabited Yapahuwa for centuries before it became the capital.

Having seen the great stairway go to the monastery and ask for the key to the new museum, which contains a modest collection of antiquities, found in and around Yapahuwa. Amongst the more interesting of these is a hoard of Chinese coins and a Sung period glazed cup showing that Bhuvanaikabahu must have had diplomatic and trade contact with China.

TOUR TO KITULGALA

Adventure, comfort and affordability is the concept behind the new 'Kitulgala holiday packages'.

Three hours drive away from Colombo, the Kitulgala Rest House, overlooking the picturesque waters of the Kelani river forms the base for this holiday experience, which offers plenty of thrills and spills for the water sports enthusiasts.

The film locality for David Lean's seven Academy Awards winning film, 'Bridge on the River Kwai' in the mid nineteen fifties, Kitulgala's, scenic upriver location, is now basking in its full glory with the revival of water sports especially white water rafting in Sri Lanka.

"The Kitulgala area is also not just for the adventurous, since its strategic location (which forms the meeting point for three rivers) has resulted in a 'warm water base,' in the Liyan Oya area with therapeutic benefits for many an ill."

That's not all, the Belilena Caves; with 32,000-year-old fossils is another place of interest in the area.

2 NIGHTS, 3 DAYS TOUR TO KANDY & NUWARA ELIYA

Leave for the city of Senkadagalapura, today known as KANDY and is a world Heritage city lies in a triangular valley surrounded by mountain, Green velvet tea plantations covering the hills, and the river Mahaweli, the longest river in the country. Now the city has been turned into a modern commercialized city as the capital of the central province with many monuments of the past, Kandy is now a thrilling mixture of the old and the new. Most of the old structures either have been rehabilitated or are still in its original state, such as the ancient religious monument, which continue as living monuments. En-route stop at PINNAWELA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE.

Arrive at 09:15 hrs on time to see the baby elephants being fed with milk and at 10.00 hrs the entire herd is taken to the river for a bath. Continue journey to Kandy.

Visit the temple of Tooth (11.30 am). The main attraction of the city and also the most sacred Buddhist establishment in Sri Lanka is where one of Buddha’s tooth is being kept. Built in the 16th century but improvements and additions have been done to this structure until the fall of the Kandy kingdom.

A golden canopy was added recently. Daily rituals are being carried out at various offering times to the shrine. A dress code applies for entering the temple. The octagonal pavilion has enhanced the magnificence. Lunch at Senani Rest House (12.15 pm). Visit PERADENIYA ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS (1.00 pm) a 147-acre garden with more than 5,000 species of trees and plants, beautiful orchid house and spice section. See also the many species of birds found in the park.

At 1400 Hrs leave Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens. Dinner & Overnight stay at Earl’s Regency Hotel.

After breakfast leave for Nuwara Eliya known as Little England. A journey through narrow passes, beside deep ravines & over gushing streams to the hill country of Sri Lanka is a very enjoyable one. City tour view town, which is decorated with English style buildings, parks, trout streams & with an 18-hole golf course. Visit a Tea Factory. See the process of tea being manufactured & buy an unblended high grown tea here. Lunch at restaurant.

Visit the Golf course, where Golfers consider this course to be one of the finest and certainly among the most picturesque in Asia. The Victoria Park is also worth visiting. Drive around Lake Gregory. Dinner & Overnight at Hill Club Hotel. Proceed to Colombo Port or to Air Port via Kittulgala.