COLOMBO / KANDY

Meet and greet by Serendipity tours representative and leave for Kandy, En-route visit,

Kandy

A ruled in Kandy up to 1815 although the rest of the island was under the British regime. Finally, it was ceded to them by the Chieftains of Kandy who were disappointed over the king’s cruel deeds. Today Kandy is one of the most important cities owing to the presence of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha.

Visit Temple of Tooth Relic in Kandy enjoy a typical Sri Lankan Cultural Show of Drumming Dancing music and fire walking.

PINNAWALA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the foster – home of elephants of different age and size feeding, bathing, playing together and even mating. These have been found injured or left abandoned in the wilderness. There are even little baby calves born in captivity.

TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH RELIC

Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sinhala) or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a world heritage site partly due to the temple.

ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Botanical Garden of Peradeniya was a pleasure garden of a Kandyan King of the 16th Century and later made into a Botanical Garden during the British regime. This gardens: one of the best in Asia is a place of beauty and site for bird watchers.

CITY AND SHOPPING TOUR

Kandy and Nuwara Eliya tour will also include places of Tourist interest such as,

Kataragama devala, Hindu temple, Gem Museum, Kandyan cultural show.

Shopping at

Batik Factory, Handicraft center, Silk Garden

Spend Overnight in Kandy

Accommodation

Oakray regency hotel

Meals

Dinner included at hotel

NUWARA ELIYA / COLOMBO

After a leisurely breakfast leave for Colombo via Kitulgala.

KITULGALA

Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. It is in the wet zone rainforest, which gets two monsoons each year, and is one of the wettest places in the country. Nevertheless, it comes alive in the first three months of the year, especially in February, the driest month. The Academy Award-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge (and, supposedly, the submerged train cars that plunged into the river in the climactic scene). Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometers upstream.

Colombo

Colombo had been a well-known city in the region among the Arabian, Chinese, Indian, Persian, and Roman traders as early as the pre-Christian era. Sri Lanka is located in the East-West Sea route and visited by traders in order to exchange their goods with the local traders.

Even though Colombo was a well-known city among the ancient traders 2,000 years ago, the capital city of the country had been Anuradhapura. There was an Arabian settlement in the city of Colombo at the mouth of the Kelani River. Arab traders were exporting the goods from the port of Colombo. Goods such as cinnamon, ivory, gems, and elephants were exported by the king of Kotte with the help of Arabs. With the beginning of the British colonial period, Colombo city received the prominent place as the capital of Ceylon. Colombo was the capital of the island from 1815 to 1978 until the administrative capital was moved to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte.

GALLE FACE

This had been a well-known racecourse during the British colonial period in the country. This racecourse, which is located bordering the Indian Ocean, had to be abandoned later on due to the sea crabs, which are making holes in the track. Afterwards, it was developed as a promenade for the city dwellers and named Galle Face Green. Today Galle Face Green contains an open theater and spacious open space for a picnic, sports and walking.

BUDDHIST TEMPLE KELANIYA

It is considered to be one of the most sacred places in the country. Temple is one of the three places where Buddha visited in the 6th century B.C. The well-known Kelaniya Dagoba is located on the border of the temple. The Kalyani River, which flows next to the temple, adds more value to the scenic beauty of the temple. This temple holds a reputation for its attractive wall, which is considered to be the best painting of the Modern Era.

VIHARAMAHADEVI PARK

Viharamahadevi is located in the Colombo 7, or Cinnamon Gardens. It is the largest and most popular park in the city. It is believed that there had been a twenty-square-kilometer cinnamon plantation in the area. Today most of the palaces of wealthy people can be seen in the area, and Colombo 7 is the most picturesque part of the city.

WOLFENDAAL CHURCH

The Wolvendaal church is located in Fort and walking distance from the center of the city. It has a large collection of tombstones of important Dutch personalities. The church is built in the doric style of the period. In the form of a Greek cross, with five-foot-thick walls and the gables raised over. The transepts are roofed with brick barrel arches and a center dome.

AUKANA BUDDHA STATUE, INDEPENDENCE HALL, PETTAH AND BMICH

Facing the Bandaranayke Memorial International Conference Hall stands a beautifully executed statue of the Buddha in the standing posture. The statue is 36 feet tall and is the largest Buddha statue in the city of Colombo. It is a replica of the Avukana statue on the banks of the Kalawewa Anuradhapura. 

CITY & SHOPPING

The city tour will also include places of tourist interest such as,

Old parliament, Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Buddhist Hindu Temple and Town Hall, Devatagaha mosque, Pettah area, Galle Face Green, Cinnamon Garden, Colombo Museum, Beira Lake.

Shopping at

Odel, House of Fashion, Handicraft Center, Gem Museum

No Accommodation