Day 02

Leave for the deep South after breakfast. En route travel through the 17th century Dutch Fort in Galle and stop at a few swamps for bird watching. The main road hugs the Indian Ocean from Galle to Tangalle and you will pass many little fishing ports and hamlets dotted with colorful boats. After relaxing at Hambantota rest house; picturesquely built overlooking the lovely bay over a snack and tea, visit the Bundala National Park by jeep. Bundala is an important wetland famous for sightings of migratory birds from October to April. It’s a cluster of lakes and a network of jeep tracks will take you along narrow paths, at times quite adventurously, through thorny shrub jungle separating these lakes. In the lakes and the mangrove swamps you will come across all types of aquatic birds, resident and migratory including very rare species that are considered excellent sightings. Bundala has fair number of elephants too in addition to massive estuarine crocodiles, jackal, deer, mongoose, monitors, monkey, hare and civets. You could also reach the high sand dunes that saved the park from the recent tsunami to watch the sun setting over the Indian ocean! Afterwards drive down to Yala and stay at the beautiful Yala Village Hotel; chalet type and built in the arid wilderness of Yala by the remote beach.



Day 03

Full day safari at Yala National Park; one of the best parks to spot a leopard or a sloth bear. There are over 30 leopards living in Yala block 01 alone which is the only block casual visitors are allowed.( Yala has 5 blocks that cover a huge area; almost the entire South – East corner of the Island. In addition you could watch elephants, elk(sambhur) and a variety of birds; The great Indian Black neck stork striking(Only a dozen found in Sri Lanka and all live in this park). Yala is also famous for scenic beauty with its fantastic rock formations, lakes full of blooming water lily, fresh-water holes frequented by animals and rare birds, thick virgin forests on the river bank and the lonely beach ideal for sea bathing . Dinner and overnight at Yala Village Hotel.



Day 04

Leave for Tanamalwila task camp after breakfast. Cover the Tissa, Weerawila and Debarawewa lakes in the morning for bird watching. In the afternoon visit the Uda Walawe National Park; the best park in Asia to view the Asian elephant by jeep on a safari. Sightings of leopard are very rare as there are only a dozen accounted so far and bears have become extinct here. But all other mammals are found. Very rare birds have been sighted here and the park is famous for different types of birds of prey. Elephant is the main attraction here and you could watch them feeding in the vast plains of the park at times in hundreds. The park is situated in the backdrop of the main mountain range of the Island and is ideal for nature photography! Overnight at the Task camp; a true camp erected with all basic facilities by a flowing stream in the jungles where you have your breakfast on a wooden deck built across the river with the birds chirping around you!.



Day 05

Early morning leave for bird watching on a selected trail around the camp and on any round you could spot more than 100 species. Afterwards proceed to Nuwara Eliya.
En route stop for a cup of tea at the scenic Ella rest house. Check-in to Hill Club and leave for sight seeing of salubrious Nuwara Eliya in the evening visiting the Hakgala botanical gardens, the lake and the Galway nature reserve for bird watching. If the weather is misty as you find more often than not you could watch rare and beautiful blue magpies at the park. Overnight at the Hill Club where you’ll be asked to dress for dinner following 100 years of tradition.



Day 06

Leave for Horton Plains National Park at first light and proceed on with the 4 KM hike to the “worlds end” and Baker’s falls. Sightings of leopards are not rare in this park and 20 leopards have been recorded so far. The thick foliage of these rain forests makes it difficult to spot them but all mountain birds out of which 23 are endemic to the Island can be watched feeding in flocks. Sightings of sambhur(elk) are very common in the plains and so are the majestic mountain hawk eagle. Afterwards proceed to the hotel to refresh and then leave for Kandy. En route visit a tea factory and a plantation. Upon reaching Kandy visit the Royal Botanical gardens at Peradeniya. Free to walk around the lake and visit the temple for the colorful ceremony to the tune of tom toms if the guest feels like. Overnight at the Tree of Life resort in Kandy

Day 07

Early morning bird watching session in the large garden of the hotel. Afterwards proceed to dry Mahiyangana on one of the most scenic routs in the Island driving through rich valleys and check in to Wasgamuwa safari village hotel. In the afternoon visit the Wasgamuwa National park by jeep. This National park opened to the public in 1990 hugs the longest and the widest river in Sri Lanka “The Mahaweli” home for dangerous man eating crocodiles on the East side. It boasts of the biggest elephants you’ll come across in the Island in addition to the leopard(good chance of seeing one), sloth bear and all other mammals. The spotted dear is found freely in the plains at times exceeding 200 in a herd. Rare birds like the endemic “red face Malkoha” that looks like pre-historic and the trogan are sighted regularly. The flowing river and the sand dunes adds a lot of color to this National park and some of the best wood in the world like ebony and satin wood can be seen growing in abundance in the lush virgin forests along the river bank. Overnight at Wasgamuwa safari village resort built in the woods by a lake.



Day 08

Ideal for bird watching in the morning. After breakfast leave for Habarana via Dambulla. You will drive across the famous Knuckles range at 5000 feet passing some lovely green country; sparsely inhabited farmlands and abandoned tea estates. In the afternoon leave for a safari at the Minneriya-Giritale National Park or Kaudulla National Park depending on where the elephant herds are, by jeep. In addition to elephants leopard (very rare sightings), deer and other mammals live here. Good for bird watching as well as the lake attract a lot of aquatic birds; resident and migratory. The park is the land allocated around a large, ancient lake built in 327AD by a popular King of Ceylon. Overnight at Habarana Village Hotel



Day 09

Early morning free for bird watching in the large forest garden of the hotel. Leave for Anuradhapura after breakfast and check-in to Palm Garden Village resort.; built yet again in a large forest garden. Early afternoon leave for a jeep safari at the Wilpattu(lake country) National Park; undoudtfuly one of the most beautiful and the largest in the Island. The safari covers most of the 47 fresh and brackish water lakes from medium to large in size where wild and bird life thrive. A network of jeep tracks take you on the sandy plains that hugs these beautiful lakes, home for leopard ( best sightings in the Island are recorded here), sloth bear, langur and torque monkey, jackal, different types of cats and mongoose, all for types of deer from sambhur(elk) to mouse deer, monitors and crocodiles. In addition large number of resident and migratory birds lives in this strange eco-system and extremely rare birds have been recorded in the past. One border of the park is the North Western coast where the first inhabitants of the Island who came from North India are said to have landed some two thousand five hundred years ago but the distance involved is too much to cover that area. The vegetation too is unlike any other region where at Wilpattu you’ll find the tallest and the oldest trees in the Island which is a sign that this area may have been left in the wilds for a considerable time. Overnight at Palm Garden Village Hotel


Day 10

Leave for Negombo on the scenic coastal route. En route stop at Ana- Vilundawa bird sanctuary for bird watching. In the evening free to do a brief city tour of Negombo; one of the most important Dutch influenced fishing habours on the West coast or just to relax at your beach resort enjoying the sun-set after a long tour of the Island. Dinner and overnight at the Blue Oceanic Beach Hotel.

Day 11

Leave for the Airport for the departure back to England.