Sri Lanka - 12 Days ASY Tours

Sri Lanka - 12 Days ASY Tours

Beginning in Negombo and ending in Colombo, this backpacker adventure tour of Sri Lanka will take you up into the misty mountain tops, down to the sun coated beaches and explore the national parks searching for elephants. Guided with ASY Tours guide, and a Sri Lankan cultural guide for the whole tour! With ASY Tours - Sri Lanka, you will experience a 12-day tour package taking you through the green and luscious gem of the Indian Ocean, where smells of spices, tea and traditional foods will bring your senses alive. ASY Tours - Sri Lanka includes accommodation in hotels and hostels as well as the most stunning train journey in the world, an expert guide, meals, transport and more.

Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to the pearl of the South Seas. Sri Lanka!

Stop At: Negombo, Negombo, Western Province
Arrive on day one and be greeted at the airport by your tour guide, who will load your luggage into a tuk tuk as you ride through the tree lined and sunbaked streets of Negombo to your first hotel. Today is your day, or get your base tan on the beach, for in the evening we meet as a group and hit the town for your welcome dinner and drinks.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Negombo

Day 2: Today the Adventure Really Begins

Stop At: Sigiriya, Sigiriya, Central Province
Fill up on a delicious breakfast in the hotel before we hop on a private bus/Van to start our journey to Sigiriya. On the way we will stop off to explore the magnificent Dambulla Caves, history and religion bounce off every painted wall and stone Buddha statue, leaving you with an unrivalled sense of spirituality. Then we’ll continue on to check into our stunning hotel in Sigiriya, the jewel of the Cultural Triangle. We will finish our epic day with a sunset climb to the quiet Buddhist monastery of Pidurangala, to get an open and unobstructed shot of what it is we’ll be climbing in the morning!
Duration: 10 hours

Stop At: Dambulla Cave Temple, Jaffna Hwy, Habarana 50150 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Golden Temple of Dambulla, Dambulla 21100 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Pidurangala Rock, Pidurangala,Sigiriya, Sigiriya 21120 Sri Lanka
Climb Pidurangala Rock
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Sigiriya

Day 3: Sigiriya Rock (Lion Rock)

Stop At: Sigiriya The Ancient Rock Fortress, Sigiriya 21120 Sri Lanka
An early wake up time today as we put on our hiking shoes, grab our camera and head out to climb the incredible Sigiriya Rock. Protruding produly out of the earth, ruins of a grand palace provide evidence all around the grounds of a once violent and noble Sri Lankan history. View the ancient wall paintings, the sanskript marked mirror wall and the huge stone lion paws guarding the ascent to the summit. The views from the top are unrivalled as you travel through time examining the ruins. This afternoon you have the option to go on an extra safari in Minneriya national park, where elephants patrol the land (please note, this safari is included during whale watching off season). To fill those hungry bellies, we stop by a local family for lunch who will prepare a traditional feast for us before taking a well-deserved rest on a lounger in the afternoon sun.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Sigiriya

Day 4: Let's Travel South Kandy and Cooking Class.

Stop At: Kandy, Kandy, Kandy District, Central Province
Today we say goodbye to Sigiriya and embark on our travels down south towards Sri Lanka’s second largest city, Kandy. We will stop at a spice garden on the way to learn about where our favourite spices come from and have a cooking class where we’ll learn the secret to a perfect Sri Lankan curry! Here, our local chef will teach you how to make dhal and chicken curry as well as fried cashew coconut sambal and poppadoms. Then we’ll continue our drive to Kandy, check in to our next accommodation and take in the sights and sounds of this bustling city with a Tuk Tuk tour!
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Kandy

Day 5: Temple of the Tooth and Train into the Mountains

Stop At: Nuwara Eliya, Nuwara Eliya, Central Province
Eat your breakfast overlooking the hills of Kandy before we head into town to visit the sacred Temple of the Tooth. This is a religious shrine which is said to house the tooth of Buddha himself. We then jump on the bus and travel through the mountainous region of the hill country. The hills are ablaze with small green tea plants which Sri Lanka is famous for. We stop by a functioning tea factory to learn how the tea is processed and ends up in your cup at home, whilst actually learning how 7 different types of tea are made all from the same plant!
Duration: 10 hours

Stop At: Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Sri Dalada Veediya, Kandy 20000 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Nuwara Eliya

Day 6: Free Day in Ella

Stop At: Ella, Ella, Uva Province
A trip to Sri Lanka is not complete without experiencing life on the train and the journey from Nuwara Eliya to Ella is dubbed as the best journey in the world. 180 degree views of tea plantations, waterfalls, lakes and local villages pass on by as your train traverses the tracks cut into the mountainside. Try the sweet milk tea on board, converse with friendly locals and take pictures to make you the envy of all your friends back home. After we check into our hotel, we’ll head into Ella for dinner and drinks in everyone’s favourite mountainous town.
Today is yours to do as you please. Ella plays host to some of the best Ayurveda massage parlours in Sri Lanka. A thousand year old technique which removes any aches or pains you may have, or simply as an excellent way to relax. Your tour guide will let you know what other activities you can do in the area.
Duration: 8 hours

Stop At: Nine Arch Bridge, Ella 90090 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Little Adam's Peak, Passara Road, Ella 90090 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Ella

Day 7: Safari Time!

Stop At: Udawalawa, Udawalawa, Sabaragamuwa Province
Today we will rise early to explore some of the hidden gems of Ella, such as the 9 Arch Bridge and Little Adam’s Peak. Afterwards we will continue our way down South and check into our epic campsite, just 45 minutes away from the stunning Udawalawe National Park! Our hosts will greet us with welcome drinks and a delicious Sri Lankan buffet lunch. After we’ve eaten we jump into jeeps and go on safari, searching the wilderness for herds of elephants, buffalo, crocodiles, monkeys, eagles, hawks, peacocks, mongoose and if you’re lucky, leopards. Truly a once in a lifetime experience, your day in the national park will be a tough one to beat. After driving round the park, we’ll head back to camp where our hosts will have a BBQ dinner waiting for us, the best way to end an amazing day.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Udawalawa

Day 8: It's Time for the Beach!

Stop At: Mirissa, Mirissa, Southern Province
Take the morning to chill out by our campsite pool and just enjoy your surroundings – monkeys, elephants and peacocks roam the fields around the campsite, so be sure to be on the lookout. After breakfast we’ll drive to the South West Coast, arriving at the stunning beach side town of Mirissa. A place where the world class waves hit the sand, where turtles inhabit the water, and where the beer is ice cold. After a week in the hill country, this is exactly what you need.
Duration: 8 hours

Stop At: Mirissa Beach, Mirissa 81740 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Mirissa

Day 9: Whale Watching (Seasonal Activity)

Stop At: Hikkaduwa, Hikkaduwa, Galle District, Southern Province
Today we wake up early and head to the beautiful golden sand beach. We jump on board one of THE best boats in the area to view the largest animals in the world. Watch as blue whales, jump, swim and dive around you and be blown away by their size. After an hour or two on the boat, we head back to relax for a while before heading to our second spectacular beach destination; Hikkaduwa. (Please note: during whale watching off-season, we will include an extra safari on day 3 instead)
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Galle

Day 10: Bike Through Rice Paddies and Villages

Stop At: Galle, Galle, Galle District, Southern Province
After breakfast by the beach, we start our bike ride through some beautiful local villages and rice fields, stopping to drink a fresh king coconut in a secluded tropical garden & even to a dog care clinic to those that would like to visit. Afterwards, we’ll give you some time to take photos of the area or to buy souvenirs from one of the many boutique and unique stores. The perfect place to write a postcard and send it home with tales of your incredible time over the past 11 days. Then we’ll drive down to the stunning Galle Fort, a city encased in walls, where Dutch, Portugese and British Colonial buildings still stand proud. The cobbled streets lead to the sea, where crazy Sri Lankan locals swan dive into the ocean.
Duration: 8 hours

Stop At: Galle Fort, Church Street, Galle 80000 Sri Lanka
Visit this place.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Galle

Day 11: Turtle Sanctuary and Colombo

Stop At: Colombo, Colombo, Western Province
After your breakfast, we will pack up our things for the 2 hour drive along the coast to the bustling capital city of Colombo. On the way we stop off at small turtle sanctuary, where baby turtles learn to take that first swim and injured adults are rehabilitated back into the wild. Across the road we’ll view the humbling 2004 Tsunami Memorial, where you can listen to survival tales and view pictures of the event. We then arrive into Colombo and check into our boutique hostel, you’ll have some free time to visit the national museum or art gallery close by, or take a tuk tuk and run around the manic streets of the Pattah Markets for some final souvenir shopping. We’ll then meet together in the evening for a final dinner together before saying our goodbye!
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Colombo

Day 12: Time to Say Goodbye!

Stop At: Colombo, Colombo, Western Province
Time to say our final goodbyes with the friends you have just made over the course of an incredible 12 days. Whatever your next destination may be, we hope we have educated you on a country that provides so much, that possess incredible variation in exploration and we hope we have inspired you to explore more. Hope see you next time for vist North Sri Lanka.
We can drop you - at your hotel, Airport or your next city.
Duration: 2 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.