Sri Lanka
Suggested Itinerary
The following are examples Remote Lands’ recommended activities that can be incorporated into our clients’ bespoke itineraries.
Destinations include: Colombo, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Kandy, Bogawantalawa Valley, Nuwara Eliya, Tangalle & Yala National Park, Galle and Bentota.
Colombo
Stay at the Park Street Hotel, a 250-year-old colonial bungalow that has been converted into a luxurious boutique hotel with modern amenities, surrounded by landscaped grounds. Your suite, decorated in grand colonial style with antique furniture, also features its own private terrace and garden.
Take a private tour of Colombo City, Sri Lanka’s cultural and commercial capital, which has a long history as a trading port. Governed successively by the Portuguese, Dutch and British, the city has a unique multicultural spirit, unusual architecture, a diversity of religious heritage, and colorful markets to match.
Visit the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple and have a private blessing with a head monk. One of the central places of worship in Sri Lanka, Gangaramaya is a vast group of shrines dating from various periods and built in a wide range of architectural styles, which can lend the complex a quirky, patchwork feel. The grounds also contain a bodhi tree said to be grown from a cutting of the one under which the Buddha gained enlightenment, as well as a crystal lotus reputed to contain one of his bones.
While at Gangaramaya, see the Seema Malaka Temple, one of Sri Lanka’s most unusual shrines. Built in the 1970s to replace an earlier 19th-century building that was slowly sinking into Beira Lake, Seema Malaka was designed in a serene, minimalist style by renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. Several simple pavilions appear to float on the surface of the lake, connected to each other and the mainland by walkways lined with statues of the Buddha.
Continue your experience of Colombo’s religious diversity and heritage by visiting the Sri Kailawasanathar Swami Devasthanam Hindu Temple, the oldest in the city, with shrines honoring Shiva and Ganesh; the Jami Ul Alfar mosque in the Pettah neighborhood, whose garish exterior of red and white stripes, checkers, spirals and other patterns cannot be missed; and a Dutch colonial church dating to 1792.
Have lunch at a casual local restaurant, and afterwards browse the myriad stalls of Colombo’s bustling and vibrant vegetable market.
Stroll along the edge of the Indian Ocean on the Galle Face Green and arrive at the landmark Victorian Galle Face Hotel. Enjoy cocktails at its beach bar, where Somerset Maugham and Noel Coward once held court.
Return to the Park Street Hotel and dine this evening with the chairman of one of the great old trading houses, established in British colonial times and still flourishing.
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Dambulla
Helicopter from Colombo to Dambulla and check in to the extraordinary Kandalama Hotel, an eco-resort that blends so seamlessly into the environment that it can hardly be seen from the air. Designed by famed Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, the Kandalama is the first Green Globe 21-certified hotel in Asia, and the first hotel in the world to be awarded the prestigious LEED Green Building certification.
Explore the Dambulla cave temple, the largest and best preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. Built into a rock towering hundreds of feet over the surrounding plain, five caves contain ancient frescoes and sculptures of the Buddha and his life, including several massive reclining Buddhas, as well as works depicting Sri Lankan kings and various Hindu deities. Tour the caves, and learn about the history of this remarkable UNESCO World Heritage site – one of seven in Sri Lanka!
Drive 45 minutes to visit Sigiriya, the “Lion’s Rock.” Climb the massive rock formation, more than 650 feet high, which was carved into a small city fortress by a king in the 5th century, complete with palace, swimming pools and fountains. Sigiriya has the rare distinction of being both a natural and manmade wonder of the world, and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Take an early morning flight over the mountains, lakes and lotus ponds of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle in a hot air balloon. Soaring up to 2,500 feet above the landscape, your flight will offer spectacular bird’s-eye views of the ancient forests and tranquil villages of the countryside, culminating with an unparalleled aerial view of Sigiriya Rock Fortress. The journey will end back on the ground with a champagne and fruit breakfast, a pleasant end to a peaceful morning. From October to May only.
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Polonnaruwa
Embark on a day trip to the must-see ancient city of Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka’s second capital and yet another of the country’s remarkable UNESCO sites. Have a privately guided tour of its beautifully preserved monumental ruins, which evoke the splendor of the 12th-century garden-city, and include the Royal Palace, astonishing temples and a series of colossal Buddha statues carved into the side of a granite cliff.
From Polonnaruwa, drive to the nearby Minneriya National Park, where wildlife includes leopards, sambar deer, macaques, and more, though the main attraction is the park’s elephant population. Depending on the time of year you visit, it is possible to see upwards of 150 elephants, a truly amazing sight, grazing and gathering around the park’s central tank, or reservoir, as it recedes as the dry season (roughly May to December in this area of the country) sets in.
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Trincomalee
Helicopter to Trincomalee on the country’s northeastern coast. With the end of the civil war, Sri Lanka’s government has been working to reopen such areas in the country’s north and east that have been off-limits to travelers for decades.
Relax on Trincomalee’s pristine Nilaveli Beach and go swimming in its turquoise waters. Take a 10-minute boat ride to Pigeon Island, a few hundred yards offshore, where there is excellent snorkeling around the formation once used by the British Navy for gunnery practice. Explore the natural saltwater pools among the rocks that are the breeding site of the Blue Rock pigeon.
Go whale watching, as the waters around Trincomalee are famous for sightings of different species, including the common blue whale, the bryde’s whale and the sperm Whale.
Visit Fort Frederick, historically of strategic value to colonial powers because of Trincomalee’s natural deep-water harbor and Sri Lanka’s proximity to India. British fortifications more than a century old can be found around the grounds.
Walk to the northern tip of Fort Frederick and the cliff known as “Swami Rock,” a sheer drop of 360 feet into the Indian Ocean. Perched on the summit of the rock, the site of Thirukoneswaram Hindu Temple is believed to have been a major religious shrine dating back more than two millennia.
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Kandy
Helicopter to the ancient capital of Kandy, the cultural and religious capital of Sri Lanka dating back to the 14th century. Explore the town, visiting jewelry and artisanal craft shops and the town’s markets.
Stop by temples including the Bahirawakanda Monastery, topped by a giant white statue of the Buddha that is visible all over Kandy, where you can join the local monks at prayers and have a private tour of areas of the monastery normally off-limits to visitors, such as the kitchens and living quarters.
Check in to the boutique Kandy House, a superb historic dwelling that was once the ancestral home of a Kandyan family and was restored to its former splendor in 2005 by Channa Daswatte, protégé of Geoffrey Bawa. The two-story main house is surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens, and each of the nine guest rooms is furnished with stunning Dutch antique furniture.
Drive one hour from Kandy to visit the world's only baby elephant orphanage at Pinnewala, and help their loving mahouts, or handlers, feed and bathe them.
Visit the Temple of the Tooth, home to a genuine tooth of Buddha, which legend says was retrieved from the Buddha’s funeral pyre. The sacred city of Kandy was the last capital of Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese kings, and the Temple of the Tooth, located within the royal palace complex, helped the city receive UNESCO World Heritage designation. Visit in the evening in time for the 7:30 p.m. puja (blessing).
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Bogawantalawa Valley
Check in to Ceylon Tea Trails, where you will stay in one of four classic colonial bungalows built for British tea estate managers in the days of the Raj. These historic houses offer guests the unique experience of life on a working tea estate in the highlands (elevation here is over 4,000 feet).
Remote Lands will arrange for a private lunch on one of the plantations, where you will witness firsthand the leaf pickers at work, producing some of the world’s most renowned teas.
Relax in your bungalow’s lush garden or by the pool, and spend the afternoon hiking or biking trails through surrounding hills.
Have a gourmet dinner served to you on the grounds of your bungalow, prepared by a private chef, featuring wine from an extensive cellar, fresh tropical fruit and organic produce grown on the estate.
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Nuwara Eliya
Take a day trip to visit the Seetha Amman Temple on the outskirts of Nuwara Eliya, an important temple connected with the Hindu epic Ramayana. Have a private blessing for long life and prosperity with the temple’s chief priest, a ceremony that lasts approximately one hour and is accompanied by traditional Hindu music typically played in temples, at weddings and other cultural events.
For fantastic hiking, helicopter from the Bogawantalawa Valley to Nuwara Eliya, then drive to Horton Plains National Park and spend the day trekking in the nearly 20-square mile preserve.
The most beautiful nature park in all of Sri Lanka, Horton Plains offers breathtaking landscapes and is home to a host of indigenous Sri Lankan wildlife: leopards, the hulking Sambar deer – the male of which can weigh nearly 600 pounds – the purple-faced Langur monkey, wild boar, and many endemic species of Sri Lankan highland birds. Sights not to be missed in Horton Plains include “World’s End,” a sheer precipice that drops more than 3,000 feet, and the scenic Baker's Falls.
Play golf on one of Asia's best courses, the 117-year-old Nuwara Eliya Golf Club course, right in the heart of town. Then, unwind with a perfectly served British afternoon tea.
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Tangalle & Yala National Park
Leave on a half-day trip (one-hour drive each way) to visit Mulgirigala, an ancient and historically very important monastery atop a rock that, like Sigiriya, rises nearly 700 feet above the surrounding forest. Here, a key archaeological discovery was made in the 19th century, when tea-leaf scripts found in a cave atop the rock proved to be a “Rosetta Stone,” enabling the translation of Sri Lanka’s oldest texts.
Drive back towards Amanwella, stopping at Wewurukannala Buddhist Temple in Dikwella, whose 160-foot high seated Buddha statue dates to the late 18th century. Wewurukannala is a working temple with resident monks, some of whom you will be able to meet and talk with about their spiritual practice.
Stop also at the Kudawella “blowhole” on the edge of the ocean, a unique natural formation where pressure from the crashing surf forcefully shoots water out of a crevice in a seaside cliff.
Helicopter to Yala National Park. Your flight will take you over Adam's Peak, one of Sri Lanka's highest mountains and a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims alike. Venture out to spend the day among Yala’s wildlife on an elephant safari.
Check into the spectacular Amanwella in nearby Tangalle. Situated in the midst of a coconut grove on a secluded bay with a perfect crescent of white-sand beach, Amanwella is one of the world’s most exclusive oceanfront retreats.
In the evening, dine at Amanwella’s restaurant, which uses its location next to the ocean to cook up fresh Asian- and Mediterranean-style seafood. Alternatively, the resort’s Pool Terrace serves meals in a more laid-back setting.
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Galle
Check in to the old Portuguese officers’ mess, now meticulously converted into Amangalla, a magnificent five-star Amanresort, complete with a palm-tree-lined swimming pool, spa, and room views of the Dutch fort or the property’s gardens.
Take a walking tour of the port of Galle, a charming UNESCO World Heritage site previously colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Spend time taking in the Dutch fort and the old ramparts overlooking the turquoise sea.
Visit the temples of Yatagala and Rhumasala. At the top of the 120 steps, the 1,200- year-old Yatagala Temple, carved directly into the rock of a hillside, is one of the oldest in the region, and is set in a beautiful valley lined with rice terraces. On a lovely headland across from Galle fort, Rhumasala is a brand new temple, built as a gift from Japan, and has wonderful views across the water towards Galle. If you are there on a poya day (full moon), join the locals in their late-afternoon puja offering of fresh flowers and incense.
Drive 30 minutes to the north of Galle to visit the beautiful, untouched Hiyare rainforest, which surrounds a 51-acre lake. A perfect breakfast picnic will be arranged for you on its banks. After, a wildlife guide from the reserve will accompany you and illuminate the many interesting species of animals and plants that are found there. Hiyare has established its own tree nursery, and it is possible to plant a tree as part of their carbon-offset program.
Drive to the port town of Koggala, a fantastic spot for bird watching along the lake and river. Take a cruise down the Koggala River and its estuaries with a naturalist who will tell you about the various types of bird and wildlife that make Koggala their home.
Spend the day on a boat trip out of Mirissa Harbor, a 40-minute drive to the south of Galle. The harbor is home to the Spirit of Dondra, an Indonesian fishing trawler that has been restored for leisure cruising in Weligama Bay. Go swimming and snorkeling from the boat, and try fishing with a hand line.
Have lunch in a secluded, coconut-fringed grove on the bay. After, re-embark for an afternoon of whale watching, as sightings of blue whales, sperm whales and dolphins are almost guaranteed in this area.
If you are interested in game fishing, your boat will take you eight miles off the coast, where the continental shelf drops off and such fish as tuna, sailfish, marlin, and wahoo are common.
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Bentota
Enjoy a private tour led by a prominent scholar of the works of Geoffrey Bawa – Sri Lanka’s most influential and prolific architect, renowned for his pioneering work melding buildings with their natural environment. The tour of Bentota, where the heart of his work is located, includes hotels, private houses and the Lunaganga estate, a laboratory for his ideas over the decades and his most striking achievement.
Visit the Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery and witness how the newborn turtles are being cared for until they are ready to be released back to the ocean. The wide sandy beaches that exist around the island of Sri Lanka are utilized by several of the marine turtles for laying their eggs.
Stop at a toddy tapper's house and watch him walking on ropes between palm trees, gathering sap to ferment into sweet palm wine (toddy) or to distill into a more potent drink called arrack.
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