Day 1:
Upon arriving in Sri Lanka, transfer to Villa Talangama,
a secluded and luxurious private villa located in the suburbs
of the city of Colombo and an hours drive from the airport.
This is an ideal haven for acclimatizing to Sri Lanka’s
tropical climes and relaxing after the long flight.
Accommodation profile: Set on
a quiet lakeside where sights and sounds of nature reign supreme,
it’s hard to imagine that Villa Talangama is located within
a suburb of Colombo, just a 20 minute drive to the heart of
the city. The property is an ideal first stop on your holiday
itinerary, a place where you can relax and unwind. The setting
is best described as a `village in the city’ surrounded
by paddy fields, lotus filled lakes and birds. It is a luxurious
Sri Lankan home meticulously laid out from its architecture
and furnishings to the caring service of its staff. Villa Talangama
is typical of Sri Lankan architecture infused with contemporary
touches: columns and verandas that skirt around the villa, large
doors and windows opening out to the swimming pool, the gardens
and the wetlands beyond, cooling cement floors, timber ceilings
and clay tiled roofs.
Day 2 & 3:
Your next destination is the Sabaragamuwa Province
also known as the wetzone. Located in the western foothills
of the central highlands, this is an area with tropical rainforests,
winding rivers and an undulating terrain. The area is also famous
for its precious gemstones. Some of Sabaragamuwa’s popular
destinations include Kitulgala, a hotspot for whitewater rafting
and kayaking, the Sinharaja Rainforest and Ratnapura, also known
as the `city of gems’. You will be staying for two nights
at the Blue Magpie Lodge close to the Sinharaja. This tropical
rainforest, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site and an International
Biosphere Reserve, is a biological treasure trove, which provides
diverse habitats for numerous species of endemic fauna and flora
not found anywhere else in the world. The reserve covers an
area of about 11,000 hectares of lowland rainforest and is a
valuable storehouse of scientific knowledge. Trekking through
this magnificent jungle, the last surviving stretch of virgin
rainforest on the island, is a magical experience.
Accommodation profile: As velvet white
mist rolls in to a chorus on of bird song, the words breathtaking
and beautiful appear inadequate. The Blue Magpie Lodge is a
basic property, but one blessed with a truly stunning natural
location. Surrounded by lush forest, Blue Magpie, a short drive
to the Sinharaja park entrance, has 12 simple rooms with en
suite bathrooms, all with hot water but no modern frills –
this is a place for nature lovers not cable TV addicts. The
property has a friendly management team and the food is simple
and delicious.
Day 4 & 5:
Travel on to the foothills of Buttala in the southeastern
corner of Sri Lanka, a dry zone area famous for its savanna-like
plains and home to some of the best national parks in the country
including Yala and Uda Walalwe. To the north the area is dominated
by the green foothills of the central highlands and to the south
the land is flat and dry, filled with dry zone forest, thorny
scrub jungle, open plains for paddy farming and gigantic sugar
cane fields fed from large ancient reservoirs. Check into the
Centauria Hotel in Embilipitiya, located at the edge of a serene
lake close to the Uda Walawe National Park. Covering an area
of 31,000 hectares of protected wilderness, Uda Walawe is home
to over 500 Asian elephants that often roam in herds of up to
100. Leopards, buffalo, deer and sloth bears keep them company
along with mongooses, bandicoots, foxes, water monitor lizards
and crocodiles. The Elephant Transit Camp at Uda Walawe run
by Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department provides protection
to about 22 young elephants, mostly babies that have been orphaned
or recovering from injuries prior to releasing them back to
the wild.
Accommodation profile: The Centauria
Hotel lies on the edge of a fine lake, close to the small rural
town of Embilipitiya, and just south of the famous Uda Walawe
national park. A reliable 2/3-star lakeside hotel, of old-fashioned
style, most valuable for its proximity to Uda Walawe National
Park. Its 51 rooms offer basic comforts. For those on shoestring
budgets looking to explore beautiful Uda Walawe, they need not
look further than Centauria.
Day 6 & 7:
Leave first thing in the morning for Yala, the national park
at Sri Lanka's southeast tip. |
En route visit Buduruvagala
to see Sri Lanka's tallest rock-cut Buddha statue (51 ft. in
height) and other Mahayana Buddhist statues that dates back
to the 8th-century AD. Check into Yala Village for the next
two nights. Yala, a nature reserve and national park with a
total protected area of 126,768 hectares, consists of scrub
plains, lagoons, and rocky sections and is home to a variety
of animals including Leopard, elephants, sloth bears, sambar
deer, spotted deer, wild boar, crocodiles, monkeys and buffalos.
If time permits, we also recommend a visit to the jungle shrine
of Kataragama, an ancient sacred pilgrimage site that is venerated
by people of all faiths - Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians.
It is believed that King Dutugemunu the warrior king and Sinhala
folk hero built this jungle shrine for the worship of the Kataragama
God in the 2nd century BC. There is also a first century BC
Buddhist Dagoba - `Kirivenhera’ at this site. The `Mahadewala’,
the main Hindu shrine of God Skanda, the Hindu war God, and
several other adjoining Hindu shrines conducts daily religious
rituals (poojas).
Accommodation profile: Yala Village
opened in 2003 as a much-needed deluxe accommodation addition
to the sprinkling of hotels serving visitors to Sri Lanka’s
finest game park. It blends subtly into shrub forest, close
to the Yala game park, overlooking the historic Yala lighthouse.
Forty well-appointed chalets, which come in three different
sizes (single, twin and quad) enjoy a scenic location, stretching
from a lagoon to the border of Palatupana-Kirinda beach, which
boasts some of Sri Lanka’s finest unspoilt sand dunes.
Animals may wander through the Village unhindered.
Day 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13:
After an adventurous seven days of the wilderness, you journey
along the south coast where endless sunsets and the turquoise
blue waters of the Indian Ocean provides an idyllic setting
for a perfect beach holiday. You will stay at Talalla Retreat
near Matara, situated at the edge of a secluded stretch of beach.
The south coast offers an attractive mix of beaches, history,
wildlife and adventure. The jagged geography of the coastline,
which includes several coral-protected bays and headlands, provides
for a great diversity of activities. The Mirissa Watersports
Centre, a charitable organisation helping to generate employment
for the youth from the tsunami affected coastal areas, offers
activities such as sailing, fishing, coastal cruises, river
trips, sea kayaking, snorkeling and boating. Visit the Marine
Turtle conservation project at Rakawa, a small coastal village
Located 10 km east of Tangalle. This is an interesting project
that aims at preserving this endangered species without interfering
with its natural breeding habits.
Accommodation profile: Talalla
Retreat is an exciting new small hotel on one of the most beautiful
bays on the south coast, located a few miles south of Matara.
Red Dot loves the quiet beaches of the Deep South – and
we were particularly excited by the concept of Talalla Retreat.
It has a placid, almost ethereal feel and is a tribute to boutique
minimalism - tasteful as much for what it lacks as what it possesses.
The feeling is that if a thing is not refined, it is not worth
bothering with. The 32-bedroom property, themed as a retreat
centre offering yoga, tai chi, spa and Ayurveda escapes, will
delight the arty sun-worshippers among you.
Day 14: Travel along the coast to the
capital city of Colombo for your final night. En route, we recommend
a visit to Galle’s historic 17th century Dutch Fort, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Fort covers 36 hectares and
includes many well preserved buildings from the Dutch period,
ramparts overlooking the cricket stadium and the lighthouse.
There are several newly renovated interesting boutique hotels
with excellent cafes and restaurants within the Fort where you
can stop for a meal.
Accommodation profile: The Galle
Face Hotel, hailed as a masterpiece of Victorian architecture,
retains the dignified and polite atmosphere that gave it such
fame in the colonial age. Sympathetic renovations and refurbishments
are helping to protect its historic status in more demanding
times. Rooms have polished wooden floors and paneling and antique
furniture, and few fripperies. Established in 1864, it possesses
an unrivalled location in the capital, Colombo, on the edge
of the Indian Ocean and at the foot of Galle Face Green. Offering
an appealing, colonial-style alternative from standard five-star
business hotels, the Galle Face has charm and character unmatched.
The Seaspray restaurant, specializing in fish, is blessed by
an ocean frontage. There is nowhere better to watch a Colombo
sunset than from its immaculate terrace and gardens.
Day 15: Depart in good time for your flight
home. |
The island of Sri Lanka is a treasure trove of nature and
wildlife. This tour provides a glimpse of the numerous species
of fauna and flora – some of which is endemic to the
island. An adventurous safari through the wilderness ends
with a week of rejuvenation on the beautiful south coast
beaches of Matara. Accommodation ranges from a private villa
in Colombo, to rustic but comfortable eco retreats in the
jungles.
