RONDE TOURS SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is an enchanting island and its beauty and importance can be viewed and appreciated only by launching on a sightseeing tour around the island while reaping the full benefits of a wonderfully relaxing vacation. We are ready to take you on 10-day, 14-day and 21-day tours covering the entire island so that our guests may enjoy and make a thorough study of the most beautiful and the most important sites of our paradise island. Our chauffers are well experienced, courteous and reliable guides. Hotel accommodation and luxury vehicles will be provided for the tourists at very affordable rates. Out guests will be treated with the renowned friendly Sri Lankan hospitality, care and respect. The remarkable aspect of the round-tours we organize is that our guests will be taken to the most beautiful sites in a methodical way so as not to miss anything that is worth seeing. During the 14-day round-tour you will be able to view all the famous and most important tourist attractions of Sri Lanka. We shall take you from one starting point , then go through the centre of the island and return to the termination from the other direction of the country.
The guests will commence the round – tour from Bandaranaika International Airport at Katunayake and proceed to the city of Negombo where they will be taken on a round trip of the city to view the Hamilton Canal constructed by the Dutch several centuries ago which includes a boat tour along the canal. During the boat ride you will see the huge green trees and rare species of animals and birds on either side of the canal. Our guests will also be shown the ancient Buddhist Temple, the ancient fortress built by the Portuguese during the colonial times, several Hindu Kovils (temples) the ancient Methodist Church and the Clock Tower situated between the fortress and the Negombo lagoon. St. Mary’s Church standing in the mid-town is a sight worth seeing with colorful Catholic paintings of Virgin Mary and saints covering the whole ceiling and glazed windows. The guests my see some other special places of Negombo including the fish market and fishing. In the evening you may have a delicious sea food dinner on the Negombo beach while enjoying the cool sea breeze and watching the catamarans and sail boats gone fishing is the distant sea.
The destination for the next day of the round-tour will be Anuradhapura. Passing the “Ma-Oya” river the guests will be able to see roof-tile factories that manufacture tiles standing on either side of the road. You may also see Dankotuwa from where the clay for tile manufacture is supplied. Next we shall be passing Wennappuwa town. 95% of the population of Wennappuwa are employed in Italy, Germany and other European countries.
You will notice that most of the palacious luxury houses in Wennappuwa are constructed copying the structural designs of Europe. The next town after passing Wennappuwa is Puttalam. The special landmark of Puttalam is the lagoon which is the largest in Sri Lanka. The said Dutch Hamilton Canal finally flows in the Puttalam lagoon. Here you may see the ruins of the harbour as well as the Methodist Church constructed during the Dutch era. To the west of Puttalam lagoon is situated the town of Kalpitiya. This little town is a special place for tourists as it is a well known site to watch dolphins and whales. The beach is a place for sea bathing, swimming and snorkeling to view the glamorous corals and ornamental fish.
After passing Puttalm on the round-tour, we come to Wilpattu National Park the largest of the game sanctuaries of Sri Lanka, 3340 hectares in extent. The jungle is infested with rarely seen leopards, bear, sambur, herds of elephants, spotted deer and wild boar, flocks of peacocks, monkeys, crocodiles, tortoise and other mammals and reptiles. This is home to many varieties of rare birds too.
From Wilpattu you will proceed to the ancient city of Anuradhapura. As you approach the city you will catch the sight of Ruwanmelisaya and Abhayagiriya Dagabas (Stupas) The chauffer will take to directly to your hotel for you to have a respite as you would have been traveling for 04 to 05 hours. In the evening the guests will be taken to see the ‘Atamastana” (the eight places of worship). As the evenings are cooler you will be able to view all the ruins of this ancient capital together with the places of worship as well as the oldest “Bo-Tree’ in the world, all within 03 hours. The guests will be accommodated for the night and the following morning, the round-tour will resume to the next destination on the waywhich is Mihintale. Climb the rock and on the top is the stupa and the ‘Black Water Pond’ on the right are the meditation caves. It is a breathtakingly beautiful sight from the top, the view surrounded by a range of distant hills and mountains. You may also see the hospital built by King Kashyapa during the ancient days. Anuradhapura derives it name as it was the kingdom of ninety kings to whom it was the capital of Sri Lanka.
The chauffeur will then head towards Trincomalee, the next stop. If you plan to spend 02 or 03 nights in Trincomalee you will surely have the opportunity to visit the Pigeon Island where in the shallow waters you will see a huge variety of ornamental fishes among the rocky bottom.
The Pigeon Island is surrounded by rocks and silvery sand. If it is your desire to go into the deep see you will be able to watch dolphins and whales. The ‘Koneshwaram Kovil’ of the Hindus is a highlight of Trincomalee and is visited by many Hindu and Buddhist devotees everyday to fulfill vows and for veneration. According to the books it is believed that this temple was created more than 10000 years before the Rawana era. The kovil is perched on a little hill and if you climb here about 5 a.m. you will see the panoramic view of the rising sun against the brightly lit red sky. Don’t miss to take a look at the “Lovers’ Leap”. Remarkably this place of veneration is located within an ancient Dutch fortress. The houses and offices of the Dutch were in this fortress and today these buildings are used by the Armed Forces of Sri Lanka. On the northern direction of the kovil is a guardroom of the Dutch, but can be hardly seen today as it is very old and decayed. Standing in Koneshwaram Kovil you will catch the sight of Trincomalee harbour on the South and the fisheries harbour on the North. Trincomalee harbour is the only natural harbour in Sri Lanka. Another location with visiting is the ‘Hot Wells’ of Trincomalee. There are 07 live hot springs believed to be there even during Rawana times.
From there the chauffer will drive you toward Habarna passing Kantale Tank from where you will be passing through thick jungle. Sometimes you may come cross wild elephants crossing the road or loitering on the roadside. You will pass the Eco Park on your way back from Trincomalee on your right, the Kaudulla National Park (Game Sanctuary) and the Kaudulla Tank. In the close proximity is situated the Minneriya National Park with the Minneriya Tank. In June, July and August this area is infested with elephants, sometimes 400-600 elephants in a herd, grazing, bathing and playing in Minneriya Tank. If you yearn for an elephant-ride you will have that opportunity at Habarana.