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A Journey Through Ceylon
Exploring the colour, history, culture and wildlife of Sri Lanka.
OverviewJust north of the equator, Sri Lanka is frequently likened to an emerald teardrop falling from the Indian subcontinent. Here we find history, culture, mountains, wildlife and a nation of happy people. Although largely a sightseeing holiday, we've included some good walking through magnificent countryside on several days. The colonial name Ceylon is still widely used.
We fly into Colombo and head north via Wattala to Anuradhapura to visit the sacred archaeological sites here and at Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya, places which developed under Buddhism in the years before Christ.
Kandy's exotic streets are full of interest, with bazaars and temples including the Temple of the Tooth, one of Buddhism's holiest sites.
We head south again to the mountain region of Nuwara Eliya: a 19th century colonial Britain transposed to Ceylon. This is the centre of tea production and we'll visit a plantation. Continuing south through the mountains we travel by train to Haputale and on to Embilipetiya for a game drive in Uda Walawa National Park. We take in local walks including a visit to one of the last regions of natural rain forest.
Finally we reach the beach resort of Beruwela from where we take day trips to Colombo, the bustling capital and Galle (pronouced Gaul) the beautiful south coast city before returning to the airport.
Please note: the walking is at grade E, one or two days will be at grade D.
Holiday Information SheetAll Holiday Information sheets are in PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader or a similar program to view these. To download Acrobat Reader visit get.adobe.com/reader.
It was an amazing experience and a great trip in Ceylon.
Ceylon ---Hotels were on the whole excellent and I was more than happy with my rooms and facilities
John has been a compulsive traveller and walks leader since high school. Having completed the Three Peaks challenge of ascending Ben Nevis, Scafell and Snowdon within 24 hours he's also clearly got an adventurous streak. These days he leads mainly in Greece and Turkey with the odd trip to other destinations which have attracted his attention.
