Sri Lanka wildlife holiday
| country: | Sri Lanka |
| departures: | This trip can be arranged at any time and can be tailored to fit your own unique requirements, interests and budget. |
| price: | From US $1955 (14 days) excluding flights. Price includes airport transfers, accommodation, H/B, a/c transport, English speaking chauffeur guide, entrance fees as per itinerary, Jeeps in National Parks and Gov. taxes. |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
The Sri Lanka wildlife holiday is designed for the wildlife enthusiast to experience and appreciate the bio diversity of Sri Lanka.
Our wildlife experience begins in the remote national park of Wasgamuwa. Wasgamuwa is one of the larger parks in Sri Lanka and is home to elephants, leopards, sloth bears, crocodiles and many other common herbivores like deer, wild boar and buffalo. Our next stop is the high altitude nature reserve of Horton Plains. Horton Plains is home to large herds of sambur and a few leopards. You could also see some very unique high altitude vegetation at this nature reserve.
Sri Lanka's only virgin rain forest Sinharaja is our next destination. This unique biosphere is a haven for birdwatchers with 22 of Sri Lankas 26 endemics being spotted here. The next stop in the wildlife holiday is the Uda Walawe national park. This park is famed for its elephant populations with herds of more than 50 a common sighting.
The final park on the itinerary is the Yala National Park. Yala National Park is largely considered as having the highest density of leopard in the world and is also considered one of the best places to view and photograph leopard.
End your holiday in the historic city of Galle where you spend 3 nights relaxing.
Highlights of the tour
Our wildlife experience begins in the remote national park of Wasgamuwa. Wasgamuwa is one of the larger parks in Sri Lanka and is home to elephants, leopards, sloth bears, crocodiles and many other common herbivores like deer, wild boar and buffalo. Our next stop is the high altitude nature reserve of Horton Plains. Horton Plains is home to large herds of sambur and a few leopards. You could also see some very unique high altitude vegetation at this nature reserve.
Sri Lanka's only virgin rain forest Sinharaja is our next destination. This unique biosphere is a haven for birdwatchers with 22 of Sri Lankas 26 endemics being spotted here. The next stop in the wildlife holiday is the Uda Walawe national park. This park is famed for its elephant populations with herds of more than 50 a common sighting.
The final park on the itinerary is the Yala National Park. Yala National Park is largely considered as having the highest density of leopard in the world and is also considered one of the best places to view and photograph leopard.
End your holiday in the historic city of Galle where you spend 3 nights relaxing.
Highlights of the tour
- Herds of elephants at Wasgamuwa
- World's End at Horton Plains
- Sinharaja Rainforest
- Elephants at Uda Walawe
- Leopards at Yala
- Bird watching at Sinharaja
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Colombo. On your arrival in Sri Lanka you will be met at the airport by your chauffeur and transferred to Colombo. During the 60 minute journey from the airport you can catch a glimpse of Sri Lankan life: throngs of street vendors, tuk-tuks weaving crazily about in traffic, 60 seater buses that always seem come right at you are all part of the sights and sounds that would greet you on your way. Upon arrival at the Galle Face Hotel, you can rest, relax and recover from jetlag. We will host you to a complimentary dinner in the evening. During this dinner we will answer all your questions regarding the tour and also familiarize you with general information. |
| Day 2: | Wasgamuwa. We depart Colombo and proceed to Wasgamuwa. The drive to Wasgamuwa is quite a long one but the surrounding scenery more than compensates for this. Passing through the Knuckles mountain range guests can truly appreciate the natural beauty of Sri Lanka. Arrive in Wasgamuwa towards afternoon. Spend the rest of the day relaxing at Wasgamuwa. |
| Day 3: | Wasgamuwa. Enter the Wasgamuwa national park early morning as this is one of the best times to see animals. Spend 4 hrs at the park observing the animals. Return to the hotel and relax for the day when the midday sun drives the animals to shelter. Visit the Park again in the evening. |
| Day 4: | Nuwara Eliya. Leave Wasgamuwa after breakfast and drive to Nuwara Eliya. Arrive in Nuwara Eliya towards late afternoon. Nuwara Eliya is a beautiful high altitude town. The town still retains most of its old colonial British architecture. Depending on your time of arrival you may explore the surroundings of the city known as little England. Spend the night in Nuwara Eliya. |
| Day 5: | Horton Plains & Kitulgala. The next morning we travel to Horton Plains accompanied by our horticulturalist Lal. This high altitude nature reserve is home to large herds of Sambur and some unique fauna and flora. The highlight of the Horton Plains nature reserve is the world’s end. It is a cliff face 700m in height with some spectacular views. On a clear day you can see the Indian Ocean over 50km away. Upon returning to Nuwara Eliya bid farewell to Lal and travel a few hours to Kitulgala. Kitulgala is a sleepy town Enroute to Sinharaja and the location for the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai". Spend the night in log cabins overlooking the Kelani River. This ecolodge is a birders paradise with many endemics visiting the premises. You may also optionally whitewater raft or explore the forest on the other side of the river. The river is crossed by dugout (canoe). |
| Day 6: | Sinharaja. Travel to Sinharaja after breakfast. Arrive at the Forestry base camp around noon and transfer to Martins Lodge only a few meters from the forest entrance. You can explore around the boundary of the forest. During the evenings it is a very good time to spot the nocturnal birds including the Serendib Scops Owl. |
| Day 7: | Sinharaja. Enter the Sinharaja Rain forest with packed lunches to explore the forest for the entire day. Depending on your fitness levels you may trek upto 16 km inside the forest. Return to the eco lodge to rest and relax. |
| Day 8: | Uda Walawe. After breakfast of bread and fresh fruit travel to Uda Walawe. The drive to Uda Walawe is relatively short and un-eventful. Arrive in Uda Walawe towards evening and relax for the rest of the day. |
| Day 9: | Uda Walawe and Yala. Enter the Uda Walawe national park after an early breakfast for an early morning safari. Return to the entrance of the park and visit the Elephant Transit camp. The elephant transit camp is a highly successful conservation project where orphaned elephants are cared for until there are 6 feet or 6 years old and then released back to the wild. You may only observe the babies from a distance as human interaction would significantly lower their chances of survival in adult life. Travel onwards to Yala arriving towards afternoon at the hotel. Rest and relax at the hotel for the rest of the day. |
| Day 10: | Yala. The Yala or Ruhuna National park is Sri Lankas’ most famous wildlife parks and this is probably due to its population of Leopard. The park while being home to many animals including Deer, Wild boars, Buffalos, Elephants, Crocodiles and Bear is widely considered to have the highest density of Leopard in the World. Current estimates put the population of Leopard at 35. Although this may seem a high number of Leopards it takes a good eye to see one of these majestic cats. Enter the park at dawn which is one of the best times to see the animal. After about 3 or 4 hrs in the park return to the hotel and relax. Return to the park in the afternoon to explore further. If you didn’t see the Leopard in the morning you may instruct the tracker to look only for the Leopard and this should hopefully catch you a glimpse of the animal. Return to the hotel and relax under the stars. |
| Day 11-13: | Galle. Leave Yala after breakfast and travel along the coast to the historic city of Galle. Enroute depending on the season you can visit the stilt fisherman of Weligama. Upon arrival in Galle visit the 18th Century Dutch Fort in Galle. The area within the Fort is like a period preserved in nature an some of the houses posses the old colonial charm. After visiting the fort check into the hotel for the next three nights. |
| Day 14: | Airport. Transfer to the Airport for your flight out of Sri Lanka. |
travellers' tales
Our trip to Sri Lanka was excellent - all we had hoped for and more... our driver was very capable, friendly, and knowledgeable, and the visits to the national parks and other wilderness areas were fascinating. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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The current environment in Sri Lanka as a result of some unfortunate events has dropped arrivals considerably. This means that the monthly revenues are only sufficient to meet our running expenses. Therefore we are now concentrating on sustaining the individuals and the industry at large.
Our primary responsibility is to our chauffeurs and here we ensure that we pay them 5% above the going rate for mileage. Although this amount is not significant it helps maintain morale when the going is tough. We are also trying our utmost to look after the wellbeing of secondary workers in the industry like guides and craftsman by using their services for our tours. As always 93% of all your money stays in Sri Lanka. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |