The Journey

Elephants, tea gardens, temples and the tide.

Six days, four regions, one island that packs an outsized range into a small map. You'll bottle-feed elephants in Kegalle, walk the grounds of a UNESCO temple in Kandy, breathe mountain air in tea country, and end it all barefoot on a Bentota beach.

This is your day-by-day journey. 

• Colombo-Kandy

• Kandy

• Nuwara Eliya

• Bentota

• Colombo

• Departure

Day 01

Colombo - Kandy

First Stop, the Orphanage

• Arrival and transfer to Kandy

• En route, visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

• Evening relaxes at the hotel

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - set amongst the verdant hills of Kegalle, this is the world's first and only elephant orphanage established to feed, nurse and house young elephants lost or abandoned by their mothers. Visitors can see the baby elephants fed milk from gigantic feeding bottles, or bathed in the river that flows nearby - an unforgettable sight.

Day 02

Kandy

The Hill Capital

• After breakfast, visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic & Peradeniya Botanical Garden, plus a city tour

• In the evening, witness the cultural dance show

Royal Botanical Gardens - first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and expanded by the British, this 147-acre garden holds an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers.

Kandy - a lovely exotic city, the Hill Capital and last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that retains an aura of grandeur time has not affected. 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 03

Kandy - Nuwara Eliya

Into Tea Country

• After breakfast, proceed to Nuwara Eliya, en route visiting Ramboda Hanuman Temple & Ramboda Waterfall

• Evening Nuwara Eliya city tour, including a tea factory and tea plantation

Tea Plantation - visit a tea plantation and factory where some of the best tea in the world is produced. Learn the manufacturing process, see how tea is graded, and taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea straight from the factory.

Nuwara Eliya - Sri Lanka's premier hill resort, with a fine bracing mountain climate and the heart of the country's tea industry. The mountain slopes and valleys are a carpet of velvety green tea plantations, interspersed with streams and waterfalls. Red or green roofed plantation bungalows, English country-style homes, an 18-hole golf course and a racecourse give Nuwara Eliya a decidedly British character.

Day 04

Nuwara Eliya - Bentota

Back Down to the Coast

• After breakfast, proceed to Bentota, en route visiting Turtle Hatchery Farm in Kosgoda

• Madu River boat ride

• Optional - water sports

• Evening relaxes at the beach

Bentota - situated on the south-west coast at the confluence of the sea and the Bentota River, its sun-drenched location and golden, palm-fringed beaches border the warm, sparkling waters of the Indian Ocean. A complete range of tourist facilities, great seafood, and popular water sports centres offering boating, water-skiing, jet-skiing, snorkelling and wind-surfing.

Madu River - flowing across Balapitiya, roughly 80km south of Colombo, this is one of the rarely visited and unspoiled attractions any nature lover can find in Sri Lanka - a placid, memorable landscape. Forewarned: it's also a known den for crocodiles.

Day 05

Bentota - Colombo

The City, and a Little Shopping

• After breakfast, proceed to Colombo and do a city tour

• Shopping tour

Colombo - like many capital cities in developing countries, Colombo is fast changing its face. A 100-year-old clock tower and several British-built colonial buildings still stand in the city. The Pettah Bazaar - where you can shop for bargains - the famous Gangaramaya Temple, and Vihara Mahadevi Park are some of the places worth a visit.

Day 06

Departure

End Tour

After breakfast, proceed to the airport for departure.

Inclusions & Exclusions

Included

• Accommodation

• Meals - breakfast & dinner, as per itinerary

• Sightseeing and excursions

• Airport transfers

• Local transportation

• All taxes and service charges

• Free SIM card

Not Included

• Airfare / train fare

• Travel insurance

• Personal expenses

• Entry fees not mentioned in inclusions

• Anything not listed under "Inclusions"

• Lunch on all days

• Early check-in or late checkout charges

• Tips to guides / chauffeurs

• Camera or video permits