www.vassaholidays.com

Best of Sri Lanka & Maldives

03 Nights / 04 Days

Kandy * Nuwara Eliya * Colombo *

Highlights:

Columbo – 1 Night: Half day city tour including Old Parliament, Residential Areas, Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall and Fort. Half day Elephant Orphanage, Ceramics Corporation Showrooms & Majestic City Shopping complex.

Kandy – 1 Night: Half day city tour including Kandy Bazaar, Gem Museum, Botanical Garden, the Temple of the Tooth Relic & Cultural Show.

Nuware Eliya – 1 Night: Half day Waterfalls at St. Clare’s & Devon, finest 18 – hole golf courses in Asia & Kitulgala where the film ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ was made.

Day 01  Colombo – Pinnawala – Kandy

On arrival we transfer you to Pinnawala, “The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage”, established in 1975, commenced with seven orphans. Today some of these orphans enjoy the fortune of seeing their grandchildren born in the same location. The original objective of establishing the orphanage inclined more towards tourism, but is soon became a conservation and educational centre. With the help of local and foreign elephant experts, Pinnawela started a scientific captive-breeding programme for elephants. The free movement of the herd enhanced the chances for respective individuals of both sexes to get together and mate. The nearby river played a dominant role in this regard, and in 1984, the first baby of Pinnawela was born. The success story of Pinnawela has drawn the attention of scientists from all over the world. A considerable number of books and research articles on Pinnawela have been published in several languages. The members of the Pinnawela herd have been filmed, videoed and photographed thousands of times by professionals; transfer from Pinnawala to Kandy.Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site. The name “Kandy” conjures visions of splendour and magnificence. Many of the legends, traditions and folklore are still lovingly kept alive. Drive around the Kandy lake built by the last Sinhala king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1798. Visit the Kandy town and bazaar, the arts and crafts centre, a gem museum and a lapidary. Also visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy. Thereafter witness a cultural show. Overnight stay at Earl’s Regency Hotel.

Day 02  Kandy – Peradeniya – Tea Plantation (Nuwara Eliya)

Breakfast at Earl’s Regency Hotel. Transfer from Kandy to Peradeniya.  Peradeniya botanical  garden  was first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and was expanded by the British. It is 147 acres in extent and provides an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. Transfer from Peradeniya to Tea Plantation. Visit a tea plantation and a tea factory, where the best tea in the world is produced. Here you could observe all about the process of manufacturing tea. You can also see how tea is graded. Taste a cup of pure Ceylon tea in the factory. Transfer from Tea Plantation to Nuwara Eliya. Visit Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya, because of its invigorating mountain climate and scenery, is Sri Lankas most popular hill resort. Nuwara Eliya is also the heart of Sri Lankas tea country producing a significant share of the world s best tea. Sri Lanka s highest mountain Pidurutalagala (8282 feet) is located here. Nuwara Eliya also has one of the finest 18 hole golf courses in South Asia. Overnight stay at Tea Factory Hotel.

Day 03 Nuwara Eliya – Kitulgala – Colombo

Breakfast at Tea Factory Hotel. Transfer from Kandapola to Kitulgala. The Kelani River (the broadest river in Sri Lanka) flowing through Kitulgala was the main location where the Oscar winning movie Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed. On the hill above this town, a prehistoric cave was recently discovered containing large middens of shells from some unknown civilization. Transfer from Kitulgala to Colombo. Do a city tour of Colombo. Colombo like many capital cities in developing countries is fast changing its face. Almost overnight, skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood. Yet in some parts, the old world charm is retained. For example, there is a 100-year-old clock tower and several British built colonial buildings. Other places of interest are the Pettah bazaar – where one can shop for bargain, a Hindu and a Buddhist temple, residential areas where you find the stately homes of the affluent, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH)- an outright gift to Sri Lanka from the People’s Republic of China. Dinner and overnight stay at Taj Samudra.

Day 04  Colombo

After breakfast proceed to Airport for your flight home

It’s time to say good bye to all new friends you have made and take back warm memories of your trip.

Or  Extend your holiday to the’ Maldives’