Silver Horizon organised 2 tours to Sri Lanka in 2024. The latest group of 25 participants left on 5th August for Colombo, Sri Lanka and returned safely on the morning of 14th August. The group itinerary covered the country's central and southern regions. We managed to visit temples, churches, forts and heritage sites. We stayed in upmarket beach resorts and comfortable city hotels.
The weather was a bit wet throughout but not humid most of the time. Food was served usually buffet-style. Mainly international western cuisine for breakfast supplemented by local Sri Lankan dishes which had a generous serving of vegetables! I personally found the local cuisine a bit too salty. For the last day, we indulged in a Chinese lunch and dinner before going home!
Day 2 started with a visit to a fish market in Negombe, a town known for its long sandy beaches and centuries old fishing industry. We got to see how fish was dried and sold at the market.
On the 3rd day, we proceeded to explore Dambulla where we indulged in a historical tour of the ancient capital of Polonnaruwa (a UNESCO Heritage Site) and then went on an elephant safari at Minneriya National Park. Along the way we also got to view the famed "Lion Rock" or Sigiriya Fortress (another UNESCO Heritage Site) from a viewpoint.
For Day 4, we stopped by a spice garden in Matale where we were treated to a cooking demonstration and an educational tour of the gardens. We also visited a Gem factory outlet on our way to Kandy City (a UNESCO Heritage City) and had another opportunity to view the whole city from a popular hilltop viewpoint. Today, Kandy is the centre of Buddhism, Arts, Crafts, Dancing, Music and Culture.
We departed for Nuwara Eliya on Day 5. Along the way we dropped by to climb Ambuluwawa Tower; a large winding tower resembling a stylized Buddhist stupa. We had lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the Ramboda Falls for a photo stop before visiting a Tea Plantation and Tea Factory. Nuwara Eliya is affectionately known as "Little England" of Sri Lanka because of the similar cool weather. At Nuwara Eliya, we visited the Tudor-style Post Office building and beautiful Victoria Park.
A train ride to Ella was the highlight of Day 6. We crossed the famed 9-arch bridge and also got to visit the Ravana waterfall too! We then returned to Nuwara Eliya to rest for the night.
We were in Hikkaduwa, a seaside resort town on Day 7. Known for its strong surf and beaches, we visited a turtle hatchery and rescue centre and observed stilt fishermen plying their ancient trade at the beach.
We moved south on Day 8 to Galle where we explored on foot and tuk-tuk, the 90-acre Galle Fort. It was a rare hot day on our tour but we took it in our stride!
We finally reached Colombo, our final stop on Day 9. We went on a city tour and stopped by many attractions, including the famous Lotus Tower and Independence Memorial Museum. We also indulge in some last-minute shopping before heading for the airport.
