January 24 ARRIVE COLOMBO
Tuesday
Welcome to Sri Lanka! Upon arrival at Katunayake International Airport, receive a warm greeting and assistance to the hotel in Colombo. Those arriving early have time to relax in the afternoon.

Overnight at Galle Face Hotel
Regent Wing

January 25 COLOMBO
Wednesday ANURADHAPURA
A brief stop at the National Museum, a splendid early British colonial building, will give one an excellent introduction to three thousand years of the island’s history with artefacts, sculpture, bronzes, water colors well displayed.

Leave for Anuradhapura, the island’s oldest capital city. Pass through villages and fields of rice, coconut and rubber. On the way we’ll visit an organic coconut plantation (contingent on owner’s permission), and then continue to an important Hindu shrine, a major pilgrimage centre, reputedly connected with the Ramayana legend. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Tissawewa Grand

January 26 ANURADHAPURA
Thursday DAMBULLA
In Anuradhapura, we see monuments that cover thousands of years of the island’s history: massive brick dagobas, the Brazen Palace, Sacred Bo- Tree, the image of the Samadhi Buddha, Isurumuniya temple and Twin Ponds. The reservoirs, the pleasure gardens, palaces and exquisite sculptures show a high level of development. Time permitting, visit Mihintale, and then drive on to Dambulla. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Heritance Kandalama

January 27 POLONNARUWA
Friday
We have an early departure for Polonnaruwa, to visit the mediaeval capital with its unique mixture of Chola and Sinhala architecture and sculpture. On the way back to Dambulla in the late afternoon, visit Minneriya National Park to watch for herds of wild elephant. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Heritance Kandalama

January 28 DAMBULLA
Saturday SIGIRIYA–KANDY
At the World Heritage Site in Sigiriya, early morning bird watchers can watch for falcon and swifts around the rock as they climb the rock fortress. View the famous frescoes painted in a rock pocket; they are reminiscent of those found in the Ajanta Caves in India. See the landscaped gardens some of the oldest surviving in the world, and the “Mirror Wall”. The new museum is small and well worth a visit, useful for those who cannot climb the 600 foot rock. Drive on to Kandy via Matale, the spice growing country to see cardamom, cloves, and also coffee and cocoa plantations. On the way you might watch craftsmen at work in batik, wood carving, perhaps metal (silver). The evening is at leisure in Kandy. In the late evening, visit the most important Buddhist pilgrimage site, Dalada Maligawa, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, to witness the night-time rituals. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Earls Regency

January 29 KANDY
Sunday
Kandy still houses crafts and skills associated with the last indigenous kingdom. Villages scattered about the hills nurse traditional skills and handwork – embroidery and metalwork, weaving, as well as dancing and drumming. Visits to some of these ateliers allow us watch people at work, and to perhaps eat with them in their homes. Or try your hand at weaving or repousse (metalwork hammered into relief from the reverse side). You may wish to join the children at their dancing class. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Earls Regency

January 30 PINNAWELA
Monday ELEPHANT
ORPHANAGE
After breakfast we make an excursion to Pinnawela to see the Elephant Orphanage that was originally established for abandoned and injured elephants. Today it is also a breeding center. Watch the feeding of baby elephants (some by bottle). What a delight to see them frolic in the nearby river during their daily bath. On our way back we’ll see the UNESCO cited 14th century wood carvings at Embekke Temple, stone carving at Gadaladeniya and exquisite paintings in the Lankatilleke Temple, each with their three fascinatingly different styles. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Earls Regency

January 31 KANDY
Tuesday NUWARA ELIYA
Move on to the high hills – where we’ll see a different skill – women picking the leaves that make your cup of high quality tea! Watch it being processed when you stop at a factory en route as we ascend into the hills, climbing from 1800 feet to over 5000 feet in 55 miles to Nuwara Eliya. Overnight in an authentic “planters’ club”, where one “dresses for dinner” by candle night with billiard tables, and where club staff still wear traditional sarong and jacket. Nuwara Eliya retains much of its 19th century colonial architecture, its park, race course and the Botanical Gardens (the highest of three, and once an experimental agricultural station). The island’s highest mountains surround you – ranging from 7000 - 8000 ft. (next day you wind down to the lush natural vegetation of the mid-country and lower montane regions.) (B-L-D)

Overnight at Hill Club

February 1 YALA
Wednesday RUHUNA NATIONAL PARK
On into the dry zone, to Yala. We’ve added the eco-getaway, the Elephant Reach Hotel in Yala, where you'll stay in a chalet. Delight in a game drive to Yala (Ruhuna National Park), one of the best-preserved and protected Wildlife Sanctuaries in Sri Lanka. Visitors have the rare opportunity to see Mother Nature's great creation of reality. Elephants, sloth, bears, leopards, spotted deer, wild Boar, sambhur, hare, crocodiles, snakes, iguana and birds by the thousands may be spotted from one's vehicle. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Hotel Elephant Reach, Yala

February 2 BENTOTA
Thursday
Drive to the coastal town of Bentota, relax at one of the many resorts here in the oldest of the Island’s holiday towns.

You will thoroughly enjoy Geoffrey Bawa's Club Villa, where you can settle in for a 3 night stay. Once famous for its oysters, today Bentota is a base from which to visit Galle. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Club Villa

February 3 BENTOTA
Friday
We’ll be ready for a day of leisure in a sublime setting, perhaps enjoying the beach. You may want to take a launch cruise on the river. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Club Villa

February 4 GALLE
Saturday BENTOTA
We make a full day excursion a short distance down the coastal highway to Galle. This is another major handicraft centre, where we can see lace, silver and ebony craftsmen at work. En route visit the renowned Geoffrey Bawa’s country home, his beloved Lunuganga. Geoffrey Bawa is Sri Lanka’s best-known architect, and his work is seen in many resort hotels throughout Southeast Asia. At Lunuganga, we walk in a garden dotted with cottages, that was landscaped by Bawa himself in his inimitable style. Galle is one of Sri Lanka’s oldest ports, and it has a good maritime museum set in the massive ramparts of the fort. The fort has now a sophisticated community of locals and expats, with boutique hotels and even a Literary Festival in January. (B-L-D)

Overnight at Club Villa

February 5 BENTOTA
Sunday COLOMBO Departure
Time for departure, but first have a drive through Colombo for some last minute shopping. Departure for the airport. (B)

Or perhaps you’ll stay on for a few more days of relaxation.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

This tour may be combined with South India - Experience the Extraordinary tour and Mumbai Extension, January 9 - 24, 2012. Call for a full brochure.