Amazing Island

Colombo derived from Sinhalese name Kola-amba-thota which means “mango harbour”, altered by the Portuguese to honor Christopher Columbus, population 737,396 Colombo, is the largest city and commercial center of Sri Lanka. Colombo was probably known to Roman, Arab, and Chinese traders more than 2,000 years ago. Muslims settled there in the 8th century and controlled much of the trade between Sinhalese kingdoms and the outside world. The Portuguese arrived in the 16th century and built a fort to protect their spice trade. The Dutch captured the city in the 17th century. The British made the city the capital of their crown colony of Ceylon in 1802.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress is popular for its amazing architecture and the skill and genius that went into building it. As it was the residence of the king, there are many entertainment units as well. The Sigiriya Maidens paintings are widely talked about and praised. It is believed that the massive mural once must have held paintings of around 500 maidens, although only twenty-one paintings have survived to this day. The maidens are painted from the waist up with naked torsos. The torsos meet paintings of clouds, giving way to speculation that these paintings are of goddesses. However, some believe that these maidens were King Kasyapa’s ladies.

Polonnaruwa is 218 kilometers from Colombo, yet another well planned medieval city defended by enclosing walls, graced by palaces, shrines, monasteries, pavilions, parks, ponds and irrigation lakes which bears witness to a glorious past. A dominant feature of the city, is the vast irrigation lake of 5940 acres aptly named “Parakrama Samudraya” or the sea of Parakrama after its royal builder King Parakramabahu depicting an example of the advanced engineering and construction skills prevailent during the ancient times. This gigantic reservoir was built to collect rainwater, which did not permit a drop of water to go waste.

Minneriya National Park – Located in the north central province of Sri Lanka, Minneriya National Park attracts a large number of visitors because of wild elephants gathering on the grass fields. In the dry months from August to October, more than 400 wild elephants gather on the shores of the reservoir. This gathering is the highlight of the National Park and is one the largest in the wild anywhere in the world.The park is also home to two endemic monkeys; the purple-faced Langur and Toque Macaque. The purple-faced Langur and Toque Macaque are some of the most endangered primates in the world. It is entertaining to watch them in their habitat as these lively monkeys always swing on branches and chase each other around the trees. Bird watching is another activity you can indulge in while at the park. The Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot, Grey Hornbill and Jungle Fowl are some of the birds you should try to spot.

Dambulla The Great Cave Temple of Dam bulla is 100 to 150 meters above the road in the southern part of the village of Dambulla. The gigantic rock towering more than 160 m above the surrounding area is 1.5 km. These caves were the refuge of King Walagamba when he was exiled for 14 years. On his return to the throne in the 1st century BC, King Walagamba had a magnificent rock temple built in Dambulla. Dambulla too has been designated as a World Heritage site. The caves feature a mixture of religious and worldly paintings and sculptures. Several reclining Buddha statues and a 15 m long sculpture of the dying Buddha. The famous Dambulla frescoes on the walls and ceiling dates back to the 15th-18th Centuries.

Spice & Herbal Garden – Enjoy the Sri Lanka’s world renowned spices at their source. Visit a spice garden, where smells of cinnamons, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg and mace overwhelm the senses and the visitors are provided an insight into an age old industry of spice production, which attracted many a European and Asian merchants to the ports of ancient Sri Lanka.

Batik Factory where you can see the manufacture of beautiful Batik prints. The shop contains a wide variety of Batik items.

Kandy is an ancient hill capital and the last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings before the island was finally ceded to the British in 1815. It bears strong influence of the influence of Buddhism in the country and is revered by Buddhists as a sacred city because of the ‘Dalada Maligawa” Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. Kandy is the venue of the annual glittering pageant each August where the Buddha’s Tooth Relic in a golden casket is paraded on a majestic elephant accompanied by over 100 elephants, fire dancers, and ceremonial whip crackers, dancers and drummers.

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic – Commonly known as the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Glorious Tooth Temple), is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ever since 4th Century A.D, when the Buddha’s Tooth was brought to Sri Lanka hidden from sacrilegious hands in an ‘Orissan princess’ hair, the Relic has grown in repute and holiness in Sri Lanka and throughout the Buddhist world. It is considered Sri Lanka’s most prized possession.

Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya is 06 kms from Kandy, the magnificent river girdled 57 hectares laid out in 1832 are among the finest in the world. Its treasures of tropical flora include fine collections of orchids, aromatic spices, medicinal herbs, palms and rare endangered plant species. These gardens were the naturally camouflaged operations headquarters of SEAC Supreme Allied Commander, Lord Louis Mountbatten during the 2nd World War.

Tea Plantation & Factory – Proceed to a tea plantation and factory in the mountains where you will have the unusual opportunity of joining tea pluckers in picking the signature ‘two leaves and a bud’ which are later processed as tea for export around the world. This is a fine art and you will have the chance to learn it from the experts as they pluck these tender buds with precision and speed. Make your way to the factory where you will observe the process that transforms the raw green leaf in to the familiar brown particles of made tea. After experiencing tea production participate in a tea tasting session to sample some of the various grades of tea produced at the estate’s factory.

Ramboda falls (Puna Ella) double fall is unique in the ‘Y’ form where two waterfalls with two water sources merge in to one at the bottom. The water in the fall on the left is from the Puna Oya, A canal which comes through the forest reserve above. The fall on the right-hand side is made up from water from Pundalu Oya which flows through cultivated land above. Most of the year the fall flowing through the Pandalu Oya carry more volume but during periods of long drought the role is reversed. The water on flowing on the left fall remains more or less the same while the water on the other fall reduces significantly.

Nuwara Eliya – “The City of Light” was the favorite hill station of the British, a scenic town 2500 m above sea level surrounded by misty mountain ranges, pine forests and tea cultivations. Nuwara Eliya has a much cooler climate, which is in stark contrast to the tropical climate experienced in other parts of the island. This is probably why Nuwara Eliya is also known as ‘Little England’. The areas around Nuwara Eliya also provide the main output of tea in Sri Lanka. A trip to the highlands of Sri Lanka is never complete without witnessing the age-old traditional tea plucking and sipping a cup of “Ceylon Tea”. Nuwara Eliya has a fair assortment of British Country style houses and an 18-hole Golf Course, which is a real beauty with its scenic location considered to be one of the finest in Asia and a picturesque Race Course where horse races are held.

Proceed to Colombo or beach hotel. En route visit Devon & Saint Clair waterfalls

Devon Falls known as the ‘Veil of the Valley’, is a waterfall in Sri Lanka, situated 6 km (3.7 mile) west of Talawakele, Nuwara Eliya District on the A7 highway. The falls is named after a pioneer English coffee planter called Devon, whose plantation was situated nearby the falls. The waterfall is 97 m (318 ft) high and is the 19th highest in the country. The falls are formed by a tributary of Kothmale Oya, which is a tributary of Mahaweli River. The elevation of Devon Falls is 1,140 m (3,740 ft) above sea level.

Saint Clair falls – St. Clair’s Falls is one of the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka and is commonly known as the “Little Niagara of Sri Lanka”. The falls are located along the Kotmale Oya, a tributary of the Mahaweli River, as it cascades over three rock outcrops into a large pool running through a tea estate, from which the falls derive their name from. The waterfalls consist of two falls called “Maha Ella” (Sinhalese “The Greater Fall”), which is 80 metres (260 ft) high and 50 metres (160 ft) wide and “Kuda Ella”, (Sinhalese “The Lesser Fall”), which is 50 metres (160 ft) high and located immediately downstream of the main fall. St Clair’s falls are the 20th highest waterfall in Sri Lanka