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| Day 01 |
AIRPORT / COLOMBO |
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AM |
Arrival in Colombo. Welcome and assistance on arrival at the airport and transfer to the Hotel. |
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PM |
Dinner & overnight stay. |
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| Day 02 |
COLOMBO/SINHARAJA |
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AM |
After breakfast leave for Sinharaja for two nights. En route visit Bodhinagala Forest Reserve, a lowland rainforest for Sri Lanka Hanging Parrots and other endemic species. |
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PM |
Dinner & overnight stay. |
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| Day 03 |
SINHARAJA |
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AM |
After breakfast visit Sinharaja Rainforest (A UNESCO World Heritage) which covers an area of 11,185 hectares of primary and secondary forests. Sinharaja is the best location to see mixed species bird flocks. According to a study carried out on the mixed species bird flocks, 40 individual birds are found in the flocks on average, which makes this the world’s largest mixed species bird flock. The mixed species bird flock study of Sinharaja forest has been continuing since 1981 and is considered the World’s longest running bird flock study. On a birding trip to Sinharaja a birdwatcher can see close to 18 of the 27 endemic bird species although the actual number of endemic birds recorded at Sinharaja is more. The birding highlights would include Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Coucal, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Black-naped Monarch, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Sri Lanka Spur fowl, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Myna, Legge’s Flowerpecker, Brown-backed Needle tail, Green Imperial Pigeon, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Scaly Thrush, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Black-throated Munia, Dark-fronted Babbler and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. As dusk falls we look for the sub-continental endemic species the Sri Lanka Frogmouth. |
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PM |
LeisureDinner & overnight stay. |
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| Day 04 |
SINHARAJA/HAMBANTOTA |
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AM |
Leave for Hambantota for one day. En route visit Udawalawe National Park for dry-zone birds. The birding highlights would be Blue Face Malkoha and Malabar Pied Hornbill. On a visit to Udawalawe National Park, Elephants sightings are guaranteed. |
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PM |
Evening – Leisure |
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| Day 05 |
HAMBANTOTA/YALA |
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AM |
Morning, leave to Yala for two nights. En route visit Bundala National Park in safari Jeeps to see shore birds. En-route, bird watching at Tissamaharamaya, Debarawewa, Weerawila and Pannagamuwa. |
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PM |
Late afternoon visit Palatupana saltpans for another look at shore birds. |
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| Day 06 |
YALA |
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AM |
Morning visit to Yala National Park with the focus on dry-zone birds, Leopards, Elephants and Sloth Bears. Afternoon visit to Situlpahuwa for bird watching. |
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PM |
Dinner and overnight at Hotel. |
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| Day 7 |
YALA/NUWARA ELIYA |
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AM |
Morning, bird watching along the hotel’s nature trail which has an excellent diversity of birds. Thereafter leave for Nuwara Eliya for two nights. |
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PM |
Afternoon, visit Victoria Park for Himalayan migrants. En route visit a tea plantation. |
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| Day 08 |
NUWARA ELIYA |
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AM |
Morning Visit to Horton Plains National Park, which includes the endemic Rhino-horned Lizard. Afternoon – do a city tour of Nuwara Eliya. |
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PM |
At leisure.Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel. |
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| Day 09 |
NUWARA ELIYA/KANDY |
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AM |
Visiting the city of Kandy and return to the Hotel. Kandy is the beautiful historical city in the citadel of the country. |
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PM |
Visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic – the creation of the last king Sri Wickramarajasinghe. It is not only known for its great kings who ruled the city for almost 225 years independently until the British took over in 1815. It is also the place where the Sacred Tooth of Lord Buddha is kept in a magnificent Temple. Visit a gem museum and view a show on gems and gem mining, view a Kandyan cultural dance in the evening.Return to the Hotel.Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel. |
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| Day 10 |
KANDY/NEGOMBO |
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AM/PM |
After breakfast visit the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya which was established in 1821 and now covers 140 acres, snuggled in a loop in the Mahaweli River, the longest river in Sri Lanka. Its primary purpose was the testing and acclimatizing of plants for commercial use in Sri Lanka.Today the garden has one of the largest collections of flora from sub- tropical climates around the world. Proceed to Negombo. |
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| Day 11 |
NEGOMBO/AIRPORT |
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AM |
After breakfast, proceed to the Airport. |
