Description

Delightful Sri Lanka - 3 Nights-4 Days
(Destination covered: Colombo – Kandy – Bentota)

Day 01 – Arrival in Colombo -Kandy (110 Kms / 4 Hrs drive)

Welcome on arrival at Colombo airport arrival by S.G.Holidays representative. On arrival straight transfer to Kandy. On arrival in Kandy visit Pinnawala elephant orphanage, Temple of Tooth relic and late evening witness the cultural show. Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel - Kandy.
Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage – set amongst the verdant hills of Kegalle is a unique orphanage, where the tiny tots weigh 60 kg or more. This is the Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage, the world's first and only elephant orphanage established to feed, nurse and house young elephants lost or abandoned by their mothers. Other occupants are elephants displaced from their natural environs by development projects or those found wounded. Visitors could see the baby elephants being fed milk from gigantic feeding bottles or bathed in the river which flows nearby – an unforgettable sight! Established in 1975, by the Wildlife Department and National Zoological gardens which subsequently led to a breeding programme through which more than twenty five elephants have been born since 1984.
Kandy – a lovely exotic city, the Hill Capital and last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which retains an aura of grandeur, time has not affected. Encircled by hills, with a tranquil lake in its centre, it is the site of the renowned temple that enshrines the Tooth Relic of the Buddha and the Royal Botanical gardens – home to one of the world’s best collections of Orchids. A cultural sanctuary where many legends, traditions and folklore are still lovingly kept alive, Kandy and its satellite villages are the centre of the islands handicraft industry (items of wood, brass & silver) exquisite silver or gold jewellery and precious gems of many varieties including the world’s best blue and star sapphires. The highlight of the city’s calendar is the Esala Perahera, when a replica of the casket enclosing the Tooth is taken in procession for ten glittering nights in July/August by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and approximately 100 Elephants.

Day 02 – Kandy-Bentota (200 Km / 5 hrs drive)

Breakfast at the hotel, visit Royal botanical Garden and transfer to Bentota, leisure at the hotel Overnight stay at the hotel- Bentota Bentota – situated on the south west coast, at the confluence of the sea and the Bentota river, the sun drenched location and its golden, palm-fringed beaches which border the warm, sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean made it a natural choice for development as the first tourist resort. Today it is known in Sri Lanka’s global tourist markets as a highly attractive holiday resort with a wide and varied choice of distinctive hotels to suit every taste and purse. Bentota has a complete range of tourist facilities, great seafood and very popular water sports centres which provide boating, water skiing, jet skiing, snorkelling and wind surfing.

Day 03 – Bentota-Colombo (80 Km / 2 hrs drive)

Breakfast at the hotel, and transfer to Colombo, enroute visit Turtle hatchery and do a Madhu river boat safari. In the evening do a city shopping tour of Colombo. Overnight stay at the hotel – Colombo. Colombo – the trade and commercial capital has long been the traditional gateway to the Orient. Sri Lanka’s largest city, it is located on the west coast and draws together all the cultures, religions and influences of foreign lands into a pot-pourri of sounds, smells and a kaleidoscope of colour. The original traders and settlers - the Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and the British have left in their wake churches and monuments, names and religions, costumes and food and smatterings of their languages which have been absorbed into the speech of the Sri Lankan. Today, Colombo is a fascinating city - a happy blend of east & west, past & present, with a charm of its own. A less known but amazingly true fact is that Colombo has a superb range of high quality restaurants serving food from all over the world and some of the best shopping opportunities in Asia. The main seaport of Sri Lanka is in Colombo & adjoining it, is Pettah, a local bazaar & trading area. Other places of interest are the beautiful Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, mosques, the historic Wolfendhal church, (1749) residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent, , the Ceramic Corporation famous for its well-known brand “Noritake” and ODEL the renowned shopping centre.

Day 04– Colombo + Departure

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Colombo airport to catch flight for onwards destination along with Sweet Memories.