Ultra Deluxe Sri Lanka Tour 2023

After your arrival at Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport, you will be met by your personal Chauffeur Guide. Negombo, a well-developed west coast beach town, is a 30-minute drive from The Wallawwa. A vibrant center of Sri Lanka’s fishing trade, Negombo has more than its fair share of Gothic churches and its predominantly Catholic residents are a testament to the town’s nickname, Little Rome. The town’s beach is a long, wide stretch of sand flanked by restaurants & hotels, while the lagoon and Muthurajawela Wetlands form an important wildlife reserve.  Overnight at Suriya Resort - Negombo, Deluxe Room 

NEGOMBO SIGHTSEEING TOUR. In the middle of NEGOMBO stands the stately pink landmark of St Mary’s Church is one of the many large Roman Catholic churches that dot Negombo and the coast north of Colombo. Portuguese missionaries were particularly active in the area, converting many of the local Karava fishermen. Their devotion to Roman Catholicism can still be seen, not only in the churches but also in the dozens of beautiful little wayside shrines along the main roads around town. A detour towards the sea runs past the harbor and the main fish market. Negombo Lagoon is the source of some of the island’s most highly prized seafood, especially its large and juicy prawns. Daily fish auctions are held early in the morning (around 7 am) where crowds of locals can be seen haggling animatedly over huge piles of tuna, seer, mullet, crabs, and other forms of marine bounty. Negombo Beach itself is a working beach, the preserve of fishermen mending their nets, making reed baskets, or working on their vessels in preparation for the night’s fishing. MUTHURAJAWELA WETLANDS – Canal and Lagoon Boat Trip The saltwater wetlands and lagoons are home to abundant birdlife as well as to toque macaque monkeys, water monitors, and the occasional crocodile. The boat putters down the Hamilton Canal before reaching the southern end of the Negombo Lagoon, a breezy expanse of water running around patches of tangled mangrove swamp with egrets, herons, and kingfishers perched in the branches. About 7000 years old; Muthurajawela was declared a sanctuary in 1996 in recognition of its immense bio-diversity. This trip is pure romance around sunset time. Overnight at Suriya Resort - Negombo, Deluxe Room 

ANURADHAPURA SIGHTSEEING Sri Lanka’s first capital, ANURADHAPURA was founded by King Pandukhabaya in 380 BC and remained far and away the biggest and most important city on the island for nearly 1,400 years until the capital moved finally eastwards to Polonnaruwa. Anuradhapura’s 113 kings (and four queens) oversaw a great flowering of the arts, producing magnificent palaces, intricate sculptures, ornate pleasure gardens, and a sequence of vast stupas built to protect the most sacred relics of Buddhism. Perhaps the most impressive achievement was in irrigation, with reservoirs constructed to preserve the monsoon rains and a system of sluices put in place to keep the rice paddies productive. The Sanctuary at Tissawewa, set in what was formerly part of the Royal Pleasure Gardens, is a good place to start the exploration of the ruins on foot or rentals bicycles. A short drive to the north, you can see the Sri Maha Bodhi, the Sacred Bo Tree the oldest historically documented tree in the world. The tree grew from a sapling of the original bo tree of Bodhgaya in India, under which the Buddha gained enlightenment. It was brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka, in the 3rd century BC. Encircled by a gold-plated railing, it stands amid younger trees. Most of the island’s bo trees have been nurtured from the Sri Maha Bodhi’s seeds. Buddhists consider watering the bo tree an act of devotion, so you might see pilgrims, pots of water in hand, helping to nourish the plant. Within walking distance of the bo tree is the Brazen Palace (Loha Pasada), which once had a bronze roof, nine floors, and housed 1,000 monks. Only about 1,600 stone pillars now remain of its former splendors. Overnight at Kumbukgaha Villa - Sigiriya, Private Villa