Sri Lanka Cultural Tour

After breakfast, drive to Habarana. En-route visit Dambulla Cave Temples. The Dambulla rock temple was built by King Walagambahu in the 1st century B.C., and it is a World Heritage Site.  It is the most impressive of Sri Lanka's cave temples. The complex of five caves with over 2000 sq. meters of painted walls and ceilings is the largest area of paintings found in the world.  It contains over 150 images of the Buddha of which the largest is the colossal figure of the Buddha carved out of rock and spanning 14 meters. Later drive to Habarana, Check in at hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel & proceed to Polonnaruwa.

Polonnaruwa - is the 2nd capital of Sri Lanka. Built in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D and is a world heritage site.    Here you can see the ruins of the Royal Palace, the Gal Viharaya (3 splendid statues of the Buddha in upright, sedentary and recumbent postures carved out of rock). The audience hall, the lotus bath, the Polonnaruwa statue (12th century) and the Parikrama Sam udra tank (lake) built by king Parakramabahu the great.  There are also ruins of famous places of worship such as the Shiva temple, the Lankatileka, the Watadage, the Galpotha, the Kiri Vihara Dag oba and the remains of a former temple of the tooth. Visit the rock fortress in Sigiriya.

Sigiriya sometimes also referred to as the eighth wonder of the world dates back from over 7,000 years ago, through Prehistoric to Protohistoric to Early Historic times, then as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 3rd century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the sangha. The garden city and the palace were built by Kasyapa 477 - 495 AD.

Breakfast at the hotel.  Proceed towards Kandy. En route visit a spice garden to see the different spices that Sri Lanka is famous for. You will be introduced to different spices and shown how some of these spices are grown and processed.

Kandy, founded in the 14th century, is the southern tip of Sri Lanka's 'Cultural Triangle'. The city became the capital of the kingdom in 1592, during a troubled time when many of the islanders were fleeing to the interior, away from the coastal areas the European powers were fighting over. It remains the religious capital of Buddhism and a sacred city for millions of believers. Enshrined in the Dalada Maligawa is the relic of the tooth of Buddha which has long been greatly venerated.

Breakfast at hotel and proceed to Nuwara Eliya. En route visit a Tea factory in Nuwara Eliya.
Tea Plantation - visit a tea plantation and a tea factory where one the best tea in the world is produced. You will be told all about the process of manufacturing tea and also see how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea in the factory. Upon arrival in Nuawara Eliya check-in to the hotel. Do a city and sightseeing tour in Nuwara Eliya.
Nuwara Eliya - is Sri Lanka's premier hill resort with a fine bracing mountain climate. Nuwara Eliya is also the heart of Sri Lanka's tea country producing 50% of the world’s best tea. Sri Lanka's highest mountain Pidurutalagala (8282 ft) is located here. Nuwara Eliya is the location for one of the finest 18 hole golf courses in Asia.

After early breakfast at hotel proceed to Colombo.
Evening does a City tour in Colombo. Colombo - like many capital cities in developing countries Colombo is fast changing its face.  A 100-year-old c lock tower and several British built, colonial buildings are still to be seen in the city.  The Pettah bazaar – where one can shop for bargains, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent, the Colombo museum, the Bandaranaike memorial international conference hall – an outright gift to Sri Lanka from the people’s republic of China, the new parliament in Sri Jayewardenepura and the folk art center are some of the places of interest that one can visit.