Gem City

RATHNAPURA

Rathnapura as its name implies had been centre of a long -established industry of precious rubies and sapphire even back in the first century AC.Whith lush plantations of tea and rubber and water falls governing the sights the district is also popular tourist destination.Sinharaja forest reserve , abiodiversity  biosphere reserve and UNESCO world heritage site borders  the Rathnapura district while udawalawa national wildlife park is the most accessible elephant habitat form capital Colombo.

ACTIVITIES

Moning -leave for Ratnapura “city of Gems” visit  a gem pit and a Gem Museum enroute. Proceed to udawalawe National park famous for elephants. Overnight uda walawe.

NUWARAELIYA

It’s a land of peace, and silence. The nostalgia of the empire builders is reflected in Nuwara Eliya. The town is decorated with buildings ranging in style from Georgian to Queen Anne. Parks, trout streams, an 18 hole golf course complete with gorse, the post office with clock spire , the Anglican church with a lych-gate, and the hill club, with its huntingprints, stuffed fish and polished oak.

ACTIVITIES

Morning – leave for Nuwara Eliya, tea carpeted hills and cloud mountains. Lunch en route. Sightseeing in Nuwara Eliya including the hakgala Botanic Gardens. Overnight Nuwara Eliya.

KANDY

Kandy is a large city in central sri Lanka. It is set on a plateau surrounded by mountains which are name to tea plantations  and biodiverse rainforest. The city’s heart is scenic kandy lake which is popular for strolling . kandy is famed for sacred Buddhist sites. Including the temple of the temple of the tooth C sri daladamaligawa) shrine celebrated with the grand Esala perahera annual procession .

 Morning leave for kandy, hill cradled highland citadel. Visit Peradeniya Botanical Gardens en route. Shopping and sightseeing. Evening visit the Dalada Maligawa,the golden roofed Temple of the the sacred Tooth Relic of The Buddha. Overnight  kandy.

DAMBULLA

Like  sigiriya, Dambulla is a vast isolated rock mass and it was here king valagam bahu took refuge in the 1c.B.c He later turned the caves into a rock temple. Its rock ceiling is one large sweep of colourful painting which depict Buddhist mythology and tales of the Buddh’s previous births. Some of them are over is the collection of the largest number of  Buddha statues in one place . there is also a recumbent Buddha carved out of the living rock ,some 14m long.

 Morning – leave for Habarana, visiting the 5^th c. sigiriya Rock Fortress and Dambulla cave Temple en route. Lunch at sigiriya. Proceed to Habarana. Overnight Habarana.

COLOMBO

Colombo the capital of sri lanka , has a long history as a port on ancient east west trade routes, ruled successively by the Portuguese, Dutch  and British, that heritage is reflected in its architecture mixing colonial buildings with hish-rises and shopping malls. The imposing Colombo national museum, dedicated to sri lankan history borders sprawling viharamahadevi park and its giant.

ACTIVITIES

 Morning at leisure. Afternoon return to Colombo.