6 Day Safari and Leisure Cycling Holiday in Sri Lanka

Facilities

Day 1: Colombo Airport - Wilpattu National Park Camping Site

Once you arrive at Colombo International Airport (CMB), Sri Lankan Tour Hub’s guides will pick you up from the airport. Then, you will directly be transferred to the safari camp in Wilpattu, Sri Lanka. The journey will be three hours and 28 minutes (160.3 kilometers) via Colombo Puttalam Rd/Puttalam - Colombo Rd/A3 and Puttalam - Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Hwy/A1.

On this day, the guides will show you the city and village around Wilpattu National Park. You will check-in and meet the team. There, you will enjoy local foods and Sri Lankan style cocktails. Afterward, you can visit a village, the lakeside or take a rest as you wish.

Day 2 - Wilpattu Safari - Anuradhapura Historical City

You will begin your day by enjoying a breakfast buffet, a combination of Sri Lankan and western foods changing daily. You will have an adventure safari or professional wildlife guiding at the Wilpattu National Park. You can collect your basic camera equipment and start your adventure safari.

Here, you will have the opportunity to see a lot of leopards, wild elephants, water buffalo's, alligators, bears, deer, and various kinds of birds. You will have a jungle camp experience by going on a safari with the wildlife guide and team (transportation in a 4x4 off-road Jeep).

Safari will end at 12 p.m. Go back to the hotel and you will have your lunch on your adventure camp sites.

After lunchtime, you will travel to Anuradhapura historical city for the next cycling camp and then you will move to watch other landscape, lakes, and accommodation. You will also have a chance to feel an evening sunset at the same point. You will have your dinner on the lakeside and back to your accommodation, relax.

Day 3 - Anuradhapura historical places - stay in Anuradhapura

Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast of both Sri Lankan and Western foods changing daily as you wish. This will be your day first of your cycling career, slap on the sunscreen, take your map and jump on to the bike, the cycling guide will show you the way to every place of historical city and sites.

If you need to stop cycling and take rest or visit places by car it's always available for you as well. there are mainly 14 sites to visit in Anuradhapura historical city. The team will bring you to see these places by cycling or by transportation as you wish.

• Abhayagiri Dagoba
• Aukana Buddha
• Alms Hall
• Mirisavatiya Dagoba
• Sri Maha Bodhi
• Ruvanvelisaya Dagoba
• Archaeological Museum
• Jetavanarama Dagoba
• Isurumuniya Vihara
• Thuparama Dagoba
• Kuttam Pokuna
• Moonstone
• Samadhi Buddha Statue
• Tissa Wewa (lake)

Today the team will recommend good places to take lunch between tour time. This tour will end at 7 p.m. at your accommodation.

You will have your dinner at your accommodation. Then you can have your rest and enjoy the evening.

Day 4 - Dhambulla Cave Temple - Sigiriya village tour

Wake up to a freshly prepared breakfast of both Sri Lankan and Western foods changing daily as you wish. This will be your day to see World Wonder of Sigiriya Lion Rock. The guides will be going to show you the Dhambulla Royal Golden Temple and Rock Cave Temple before you reach the Sigiriya village and accommodation.

You will have your lunchtime after visiting Dhambulla Temple and continue to Sigiriya at around 4 p.m., time to enjoy elephant bathing and village life. You can enjoy cycling and some visits. The guide will arrange and show you activities as you wish. Free time at the accommodation.

Day 5 - Sigiriya Lion Rock - Pidurangala Rock - cycling tour

You will begin your day by enjoying a breakfast buffet, a combination of Sri Lankan and Western foods changing daily. You will have a cycling tour to the Sigiriya Lion Rock. the most popular places in this wonderful country.

The Sigiriya Rock and garden is an archaeological complex composed of ruins of an ancient palace, monastery, and other buildings declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. A local guide will explain to you what you must know.

Free time to enjoy your day as you wish. The team has organized a cycling tour to visit Pidurangala Rock and the temple.

You will also have a chance to see an evening sunset at the same point. Come back by bike. You will have your dinner at the river edge restaurant. Enjoy your night then come back to your accommodation and relax.

Day 6 - Sigiriya - Matale Spice Garden - Kandy City - tour ends

After breakfast, you will depart, accompanied by the guides to the Kandy City, The guides will be going to show you the spice garden in Matale village there you can explore about Sri Lankan spices and natural trees.

You will have your lunchtime after visiting the spice garden and move forward to Kandy will be around 3.00 p.m. Then, it's time to enjoy the lakeside, city life, you can enjoy activities as you wish. End of tour.

About the cycling tour

The city of Anuradhapura has a dry and hot climate. There are different kinds of terrain you will meet on the ride like carpeted roads, primitive roads, and village roads. Mostly it will be flat terrain though occasionally you will ride in unpaved or hills. On day 3, you will cycle approximately 10 kilometers, day 4 cycling distance is 5 kilometers, and day 5 is 10 kilometers.

• Wilpattu safari
• Anuradhapura historical sites cycling
• Dhambulla Royal Cave Temple
• Sigiriya Lion Rock hiking and cycling
• Pidurangala hiking and cycling
• Matale Spicy Garden education tour
• Kandy city tour

Wilpattu Safari & Camp Site

Wilpattu or the “land of lakes” is the largest national park in Sri Lanka with a land area of nearly 131,000 hectares. The park consists of lakes, large grass plains, thick forest and open white sand patches that make it one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country. The thick forest cover allows visitors a very comfortable drive even during mid-day.

Wilpattu is once again staking a claim as one of the best places in the world to have unhindered and undisturbed leopard sightings. Your best chance of seeing the elusive sloth bear in Sri Lanka is also at Wilpattu particularly during the wet season and fruiting season.

“The Land of the lakes” is a birders paradise with many species of resident and migrant birds, many species of deer and large herds of elephants during the dry season. The park is also host to Crocodiles, Buffalo and many smaller species that will make your safari an enriching and interesting experience.

Distance from Colombo Airport is approximately three hours 38 minutes (160.3 kilometers) via Colombo Puttalam Rd/Puttalam - Colombo Rd/A3 and Puttalam - Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Hwy/A12.

Anuradhapura historical city

The ruins of Anuradhapura are one of South Asia’s most evocative sights. The sprawling complex contains a rich collection of archaeological and architectural wonders: enormous dagobas (brick stupas), ancient pools and crumbling temples, built during Anuradhapura’s thousand years of rule over Sri Lanka.

Today, several of the sites remain in use as holy places and temples; frequent ceremonies give Anuradhapura a vibrancy that’s a sharp contrast to the museum-like ambiance at Polonnaruwa.

Current-day Anuradhapura is a pleasant albeit sprawling city; a small town that feels more like a large village. There's loads of good budget accommodation, easy bike hire, and a relaxed pace, making it a good place to spend an extra day.

Distance from Wilpattu is 38 minutes (30.7 kilometers) via Puttalam - Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Hwy.

Sigiriya Lion Rock

Sigiriya is one of the most valuable historical monuments of Sri Lanka. Referred by locals as the Eighth Wonder of the World this ancient palace and fortress complex has significant archaeological importance and attracts thousands of tourists every year. It is probably the most visited tourist destination in Sri Lanka.

The palace is located in the heart of the island between the towns of Dambulla and Habarane on a massive rocky plateau 370 meters above the sea level. Sigiriya rock plateau, formed from magma of an extinct volcano, is 200 meters higher than the surrounding jungles. Its view astonishes the visitors with the unique harmony between nature and human imagination.

The fortress complex includes remnants of a ruined palace, surrounded by an extensive network of fortifications, vast gardens, ponds, canals, alleys and fountains.

The surrounding territories of Sigiriya were inhibited for several thousand years. Since the 3rd century BC the rocky plateau of Sigiriya served as a monastery. In the second half of the 5th-century king Kasyapa decided to construct a royal residence here. After his death, Sigiriya again became a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century, when it was abandoned.

Distance from Anuradhapura is one hour 30 minutes (76.3 kilometers) via Kandy Rd and Kandy Rd/Kandy - Jaffna Hwy/A9.

Pidurangala Rock

Pidurangala is an enormous rock located 20 minutes (4.8 kilometers) via Sigiriya Rd north of Sigiriya. The two rocks have an interlinked history: whilst King Kasyapa was building Sigiriya Rock Fortress in the 5th century, he moved monks living around Sigiriya to a new monastery on Pidurangala Rock.

An ancient cave temple still houses objects from various vintages that reflect Buddhist, Hindu and western beliefs, and the stupa to the left of the temple entrance is believed to mark the spot where King Kasyapa was cremated. Pidurangala is a more challenging climb than Sigiriya, so it should not be attempted by those with poor physical fitness. There is no clear path to the top: steep, uneven steps give way to an expanse of boulders and crevices that climbers must navigate in order to reach the summit. From the top, there are glorious vistas of the surrounding landscape and an incredible view of the majestic Sigiriya Rock.

Dhambulla Cave Temple

Located at an elevation of 1118 feet from the sea level, rises a massive rock from the surrounding plains of Dhambulla of 600 feet high and over 2000 feet in length. It is home to the world's most acclaimed cave complex of magnificent Buddha images and rock paintings of vivid colors and shapes constructed and painted from around 2nd Century BC (Anuradhapura era) and continued up to the Kandyan era of the 18th Century.

Sinhalese people call it 'Dambulu Gala' ( Dambulla Rock) and the temple is called the 'Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya' (Golden Rock Dambulla Temple).

Distance from Sigiriya Lion Rock - 30 minutes (18.1 km) via Inamaluwa - Sigiriya Rd/B162

Matale Spicy Garden

The A9 Hwy between Matale and Dambulla is famous for its spice gardens, with over 30 dotted along the road. All offer free tours of their gardens with an English-speaking guide who can explain the merits and health properties of herbs, spices and plants including cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, coffee, nutmeg, pepper, cardamom, aloe vera, iriweriya (tulsi) and the henna plant.

Most visitors enjoy the tours and find them educational, but at some point, you will be guided towards the gift shop, where some of the prices asked for products can be eye-watering; be prepared for a medium to hard sell and accept it as the price of your free tour.

Kandy City

Kandy is a large city in central Sri Lanka. It's set on a plateau surrounded by mountains, which are home to tea plantations and biodiverse rain forests. The city's heart is scenic Kandy Lake (Bogambara Lake), which is popular for strolling. Kandy is famed for sacred Buddhist sites, including the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) shrine, celebrated with the grand Esala Perahera annual procession.

• Elevation: 500 m
• Weather: 22°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 98% Humidity

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On this safari and cycling camp, you will be served with daily breakfast included in the price. For the rest of the meals, you can have the best local food experience as well as the western and Sri Lankan foods in the local restaurants.

• Airport pickup
• Wilpattu safari and transportation in a 4x4 Jeep
• Anuradhapura sites visits
• Dhambulla Royal Cave Temple excursion
• Sigiriya Lion Rock hiking tour
• Pidurangala hiking tour
• Matale Spicy Garden education tour
• Kandy city tour
• Cycling tours
• 5 nights accommodation
• Daily breakfast
• Entrance tickets to all the places
• 6 days of free transport
• 6 days free guiding
• Ultimate knowledge about historical places
• Daily tea and King Coconuts
• Village and culture tours

• Airport transfers to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
• Flights to and from Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
• Lunch and dinner for 6 days
• Massage and spa treatments
• Optional activities

Recommended Airports

• A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.