This Exclusive 12 day/11 night Honeymoon holiday package is tailor made for romance and explores the very Best of Sri Lanka – the perfect combination!
Day 1: Airport – Kandy
Arrive at the airport. Meet the chauffeur guide & transfer to Kandy. Arrive & check-in to an Ultra Deluxe suite at the Kandy House In the Afternoon, leave the bungalow for a visit of the city of Kandy. The historic city about 480m above sea level surrounded by mountain was known to Sri Lankan as Kanda Uda Rata, which means the hill country.Kandy was home to Sri Lanka’s last independent Kingdom, which survived two centuries of colonial incursion before finally falling to the British at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Firstly, you will visit the Temple of the Tooth which is the home to the island’s most revered relic, Buddha’s tooth, which arrived here in the sixteenth century. The main shrine of the current temple was originally constructed in the seventeenth century. Pujas (offerings) are held at 10 am, 7 am & 6 pm. The main attraction of the Pujas is the noisy drumming, which precedes and accompanies the ceremony. It is from here that the annual Perahera (Procession) taken place in July/August, when the tooth relic is taken atop a magnificent bushed elephant, who is accompanied by up to 70 beautifully illuminated and caparisoned elephants, who are in turn escorted by drummers, dancers and whip crackers etc. A truly stunning, sight! Return to the bungalow. Dinner & overnight stay in Kandy.
Day 2: Kandy – Pinnawala – Peradeniya – Kandy
Breakfast at the bungalow. Leave the bungalow for visit of the famous elephant orphanage of Pinnawala. The Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular tourist attractions. The orphanage’s population has now mushroomed to around 65, making it the world’s largest collection of captive elephants. The elephants here range in age from newborns to elderly matriarchs, and include orphaned and abandoned elephants, as well as those injured in the wild, amongst them famous residents such as the three-legged elephant, Sama and a blind elephant Raja
Return back to Kandy for visit of the Peradeniya Botanical Garden. Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, set 6km southwest of Kandy, the largest and finest gardens in Sri Lanka, which covers almost 150 acres. This was the pleasure garden of the kings of Kandy.It was transformed into a botanical garden by the British in 1821. There are around ten thousand trees in the gardens: The area around the entrance is largely given over to small scale flora, including an orchid house, a spice garden and a tiny Japanese Garden. There are five palm avenues, a huge Fines tree (Fines Benjamin) covering an area of more than 2000 square meters, Great circle around which the state guests, such as Late Czar of Russia, Queen Mary, Harold McMillan and Queen Elizabeth II have planted trees during their visits it Sri Lanka. The Orchidarium is a sight to behold! You will have a chance to stroll through the gardens for a short while. Close to the entrance of the Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya University, is one of the islands most illustrious places of higher education. The university was built by the British in 1946 and has faculties including Medicine and Engineering. About 6000 students study in this university and even residential faculties are provided for most of the students. We will drive you through the Campus.
Late in the evening you will visit a Kandyan Dancing performance and be treated a spectacular fine-walking as a final. Kandy is also famous for it’s shopping-gems and jewellery, handicrafts, batiks, silks ect. And you will have the opportunity of browsing to your heart’s content. Return back to the bungalow. Private candle lit dinner will be arranged for the couple’s last dinner in Kandy. Overnight stay in Kandy.
Day 3: Kandy – Hatton
Breakfast at the bungalow. Then take the picturesque route to Hatton, via tea plantations & the beautiful country side. Arrive & check-in to a Master Suite at the Ceylon Tea Trails. Lunch at the restaurant of the hotel. Rest of the day at leisure to make use of the activities offered at the bungalow or just sit back and enjoy the breathtaking landscape. Dinner & overnight stay in Hatton.
Day 4: Hatton – Horton Plains – Hatton
Breakfast at the bungalow. Leave the hotel for a visit of Sri Lankas largest & most famous plateau. Perched on the very edge of the hill country midway between Nuwara Eliya and Haputale,Horton Plains Natural Park covers a wild stretch of bleak, high altitude moorland bounded at its southern edge of the hill country, including the famous ‘World End”, where the escarpment falls sheer for the best part of a kilometer to the lowlands below. You will feel the cool, wet climate which has fostered the growth of a distinctive range of flora, including various rhododendrons, bamboos, tree ferns and many endemic species of plants, making the Plains an area of great biological value.
The Plains’ wildlife attraction are relatively modest. Leopards still visit the park, but one has to be incredibly luckily to see one. The parks most visible residents are its herds of deer and bear-faced monkeys. The plains are also one of the best places in the island for bird watching and an excellent places to see Montana endemics such as the dull-blue flycatcher; bush warbler, whistling thrush, yellow-eared bulbul, as well as orange minarets. Return back to the hotel or proceed on an optional excursion of the second tallest water fall of Sri Lanka – Dunhinda (210 Feet) The Dunhinda Falls are located 5 km north of Badulla on the Badulla – Taldena Road. From the main road, with its fine views of the Badulu Oya valley, there is a 1- 2 kilometre path to the waterfall. This path in fact follows the course of the Badulu Oya, which flows at the bottom of the valley through dense forest. Dinner & overnight stat in Hatton.
Day 5: Hatton
Breakfast at the bungalow. Rest of the day at leisure making use of the many activities on offer at the tea trails. Optional – A picnic lunch can be organized at a romantic & private location in the picturesque landscape surrounding the bungalow Private candle lit dinner at a romantic location with a butler to treat you to all of your needs. Overnight stay in Hatton.
Day 6: Hatton – Kalawana
Early breakfast at the bungalow. Transfer to Sinharaja Forest for a visit of Sri Lanka’s largest rain forest. Recently declared as a world heritage site. Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country’s last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka’s endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well As many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.
Sri Lanka’s tropical rain forest, the Sinharaja is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. One of the few virgin forests left in the world. Visitors are required to obtain permits from the Wildlife Department in order to visit this sanctuary. Streams, springs, rivers, waterfalls, leopard, monkeys, butterflies and moths, rare trees, valuable shrubs and medicinal herbs are all found within its green canopy. A trek along prescribed paths would provide nature lovers with a never to be forgotten experience of sights and sounds. Arrive & check-in to the Hornfelt suite at The Boulder Garden. A special 7 course, candle lit dinner will be offered to the couple at the restaurant of the hotel. Overnight stay in Kalawana.
Day 7: Kalawana – Tangalle
Breakfast at the hotel. Proceed to the south of the island to Tangalle, your beach destination. Arrive & check-in to a standard suite at the Amanwella Rest of the day at leisure relaxing on the sandy beach of Tangalle.
Day 8: Tangalle
At leisure unwinding on the beach.
Day 9: Tangalle
At leisure unwinding on the beach. Special candle lit dinner organized at a romantic location on the last night at the hotel.
Day 10: Tangalle – Colombo
Transfer from Tangalle to Colombo. En route visit the famous Dutch fort at Galle. The old part of the city within the Dutch Fort built in the 17th century has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.A walk on the ramparts from Point Utrecht bastion to Flag Rock bastion will give you an excellent view of the ancient harbor which was know as Tar shish in the Bible. We will pass the District Court and the original entrance to the Fort enroute to the Dutch Reformed Church built in the 17th century. Galle has also become famous in the recent past for the quality of the boutique hotels which have sprung up within their Fort as well as on the beach areas south of it.
A perfect example is the renovation of the New Oriental Hotel built in 1863, which has now been converted into the stunning Amangalle (operated by Aman Resorts). There even is a proposal to convert the existing jail into a hotel!! The New Town to the north of the Fort was badly affected by the tsunami in 2004 and is the home of the famous International cricket stadium which is being re-built. Arrive & check-in to an oceanic spa suite at The Regency Dinner & overnight stay in Colombo.
Day 11: Colombo
Breakfast at the hotel. Rest of the day at leisure to explore the city of Colombo. As history tells it, this city started of as a minor fishing village, but despite the proximity of both Kelaniya and Kotte, its fortunes began to rise only after their arrival of the Portuguese in 1501. After being temporarily expelled BY Muslims from Calicut in South India, the Portuguese returned in 1518, constructing the fort which subsequently formed the nucleus of modern Colombo. In 1957 they conquered and destroyed both Kotte and Kelaniya, swinging the pendulum of regional power decisively in Colombo’s favour. Portuguese control of the city only survived until 1656, however, when the Dutch captured the fort after seven-month siege.
The Dutch remained for almost 150 years, rebuilding the fort, reclaiming land from the swampy delta using the system of canals which survive to this day, and creating new and spacious tree-lined suburbs. In 1976, Colombo fell to the British, following Dutch capitulation to the French in the Napoleonic Wars. Colombo was made capital of Ceylan, transforming the city into a bustling mercantile centre, while an important new road link with Kandy further enhanced its prosperity. With the construction of the new harbor, Colombo overtook Galle as the island’s main port, becoming one. Return to the hotel for a private dinner at a romantic location overlooking the Indian Ocean at the Sea food restaurant of the Galle Face Hotel. Overnight stay in Colombo.
Day 12: Colombo – Airport
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for the departure. Arrive at the Colombo Airport & assistance at the departure. End of tour.
