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Walking & Wildlife in Sri Lanka
Explore Sri Lanka's scenic landscapes and key wildlife attractions on this easy-paced, two-week walking holiday.
Walking & Wildlife
Duration: 14 Days
Combine your itinerary with your preferred hotels or other accommodation. Take a look at the Accommodation section for ideas and inspiration.
| Days 1 - 2 | On arriving in Colombo you will be met and driven to your delightful hotel at Waikkal. The hotel is surrounded by waterways and mangroves so is a great habitat for birds and wildlife including monitor lizards. A guided nature walk introduces you to the flora and fauna. |
| Day 3 | You drive east today, to Sigiriya, stopping en route to visit the unusual shrine-filled cave temples at Dambulla. You then continue to your comfortable hotel. |
| Day 4 | Today you will visit Minneriya National Park. This small park has a number of habitats and is renowned for its large herds of elephants. July to August is the peak time to see them as they migrate through Minneriya in vast numbers, en route to other reserves. The lake (or tank) at Minneriya is a magnet for many exotic birds and you may also see deer and monkeys whilst on your jeep drives. |
| Day 5 | It's an early start today to climb to the top of Sigiriya Rock so that you can explore the remains of the remarkable ancient citadel before the heat of the day rises. In the afternoon you drive to Kandy and make an evening visit to the vibrant Temple of the Tooth. |
| Day 6 | This morning you catch a train from Nanu Oya rail station and make the scenic journey to Nuwara Eliya – in the heart of Sri Lanka’s tea growing country. Here, in the cooler air, you tour a tea factory and take a walk through manicured tea plantations and lush countryside. You'll spend the night at a hotel in town. |
| Day 7 | If you want to make the ascent of sacred Adam's Peak, you can do so today. You'll need to make a very early start in order to climb the 5,500 steps to the top in time for sunrise. Alternativly you can just spend a day at leisure in Nuwara Eliya. |
| Day 8 | Today you will enjoy a good, circular walk that encompasses the main views and incredibly rich biodiversity of the Horton Plains National Park. Your highlights will be the viewpoint at World's End where the plateau dramatically falls away in a sheer drop of some 1,000m to the plains below. You'll also enjoy the views at Baker Falls - a picture perfect waterfall plunging steeply into a gorge. You return to Nuwara Eliya for another night. |
| Day 9 | This morning you drive to Uda Walawe via the scenic viewpoint at Ella Gap. Then you have an afternoon game drive in Uda Walawe National Park – one of Sri Lanka’s premier wildlife havens renowned for its large elephant population. Buffaloes, monkeys, crocodiles and deer are also commonly seen, but the park's leopards, sloth bears and porcupines are much rarer to find. Your hotel for the night is in nearby Tissamharama. |
| Day 10 | Another wildlife treat today as your visit Yala National Park. Yala is Sri Lanka's most popular parks as it is considered one of the best places in the world to see leopards in their natural habitat. Two game drives give you a good chance of spotting one of these majestic cats, but even if they remain elusive there will be no end of other birds and wildlife to look out for. |
| Day 11 | You drive west along the coast today to the historic, fortified town of Galle. You have the afternoon to explore its atmospheric streets and historic ramparts. You spend the night at the nearby beach resort of Unawatuna, just across the bay from Galle. |
| Day 12 | Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the best destinations in the world to see blue whales and, if you are visiting between November and April, you can spend the day searching for these immense creatures in the waters off the island's southern coast. Dondra Head or Mirissa are the two places from where excursions depart. Alternatively you can enjoy a day relaxing on the beach at your hotel. |
| Days 13 - 14 | You can grab a few more hours on the beach before you return to Colombo for your final night. You will then be transferred to the airport for your flight home. |
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