Sri Lanka: Culture and Landscape
January 09th - 24th, 2019
Trip leaders:
Jeremy Woodhouse and Abhishek Hajela
Price: On Request
Highlights
• Highlights of the cultural triangle, Kandy, a Tea plantation, Galle, southern beach areas/fishing villages, markets, craft villages, iconic homes, and special photo shoots like the early AM fishing boats coming in with their catch, to name just a few
• Fly to Jaffna which is experiencing a tourism boom after isolation during the 26 year civil war
• Explore Anuradhapura, where Buddhist shrines date to the 3rd century BC, colonial Nuwara Eliya, and the Buddhist cave temples of Dambulla
• Driving is kept at a minimum, where ever possible
• Ride on a train through breathtaking scenery
• Hotels – a nice mix of smaller properties, and some larger hotels. Some of the smaller hotels offer a limited number of rooms, therefore, where we could not find one that would fit your needs, then we offer a larger hotel
• Transport in a 33-seat air-conditioned coach with room for luggage
• Meals – Breakfasts and dinners are included (lunch will be on your own unless where shown on the itinerary)
• Total of 15 days (15 nights)
Itinerary at a Glance
Day 1 Arrive Colombo O/N Jetwing Blue, Negombo
Day 2 Negombo/Colombo, O/N Jetwing Blue, Negombo
Day 3 Fly to Jaffna. O/N Jetwing Jaffna
Day 4 Jaffna. O/N Jetwing Jaffna
Day 5 Drive to Anuradapura. O/N Hotel Palm Garden
Day 6 Anuradapura. Afternoon Safari to Wilpattu National Park. O/N Hotel Palm Garden
Day 7 Drive to Habarana. Sunset shoot from Piturangula. O/N Sungreen Resort
Day 8 Visit Lion Rock. Drive to Kandy via Dambulla. O/N Mahaweli Reach Hotel
Day 9 Kandy. O/N Mahaweli Reach Hotel
Day 10 Drive to Newark Eliya. Visit Tea Factory, Lunch Mlesna Castle. O/N Grand Hotel
Day 11 Walk to World’s End, Horton Plains. High tea at Heritance. O/N Grand Hotel
Day 12 Train to Ella. Tea Plantation shoot. O/N 98 Acres
Day 13 Drive to Udawalawa. Evening Safari. O/N Hotel Grand Udawalawe Safari
Day 14 Morning Safari. Drive to Galle. Stilt Fishermen. O/N Hotel Fortaleza
Day 15 Galle. O/N Hotel Fortaleza
Day 16 Departure (those travelling early morning of Day 16 will transfer evening of Day 15)
Arrival & Departure
Arrival & Meeting Place
Jetwing Blue Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Date: Day 1
Suggested arrival time: by 3:00 pm
Suggested Arrival Airport
Colombo (Bandaranaike) Airport (airport code CMB)
A complimentary transfer is provided from the Colombo (Bandaranaike) Airport to the Jetwing Sea Beach Resort. A Epic/Pixelchrome Phototours representative will meet you outside the customs area and will be holding a Epic/Pixelchrome Phototours sign with your name on it.
A Welcome Dinner and orientation meeting will take place in the evening of Day 1.
If you have booked extra services for early arrival, a voucher for your transfer and extra hotel nights will be sent with your final documents.
Please Note: Many flights arrive in Colombo in the morning between 1:00AM to 6:00AM. Early check-in is available (at an additional cost as check in is only available from 2:00PM) and your room will be ready for check-in no matter what time you arrive on Day 1.
Departure
Hotel Fortaleza, Galle, Sri Lanka
Date: Day 16
Suggested departure time: anytime
Suggested Airport for Departure
Colombo (Bandaranaike) Airport, Sri Lanka (airport code CMB)
On Day 15 Epic/Pixelchrome Phototours will provide a complimentary departure transfer from the
group hotel in Galle to the Colombo airport. This transfer can take three hours.
Weather
Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with high humidity, tempered by sea breezes on the coast. The average temperature is about 81°F. In the highlands in places like Nuwara Eliya, it is in the 60s during the day and can get very cold at night, with lows in the 40s, so you’ll need a sweater.
Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons. The southwest part of the island gets a monsoon between
May and July while the northeast monsoon is December and January. Humidity is high year round and you can expect some rain showers most days.