Wildlife Tours to South India SRI LANKA
Asian Elephant © Papyrus Tours
| Tour Ref. | Days | Dates | Party Size |
Cost | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR1/12 | 19 | Monday 13th February to Thursday 2nd March 2012 | 12 plus leader | Est. £2795 (£410)* | TBA |
*Single room supplement.
Tour Destinations :
- Anuradhapura
- Sigiriya Sanctuary
- Kandy
- Nuwara Eliya
- Horton Plains NP
- Yala NP
- Bundala NP
- Uda Walawe NP
- Sinharaja & Ingirija Forests
Tour Summary
Sri Lanka
Think of an island about the size of Ireland floating in the Indian Ocean and offering the opportunity to experience a rich variety of both wildlife and cultural sites in settings that vary from jungle to dry plains and beautiful coastal areas and you have Sri Lanka. It is a land of ancient cities, cultural diversity, a bird list of over 400 species including more than 30 endemics, and National Parks that are home to Leopard, Indian Elephant, Spotted Deer, Sambar and Marsh Mugger Crocodiles.
Escaping from the British winter to the tropical heat, we will begin by visiting the main ancient cities of Sri Lanka’s golden age in the Northern Central Province region, but calling at significant bird watching sites along the way. Our journey then takes us south into the lush green hills around Kandy and high into the cooler Hill Country with hillsides clothed in tea plantations. We visit no fewer than four National Parks — Horton Plains, Yala, Bundala and Uda Walawe — in search of mammals and birds as we make our way towards the south of the island, spending two full days also in the Sinharaja World Heritage Wilderness Area.
The tour has been carefully designed to combine wildlife and cultural interests, giving tour members a comprehensive look at all of the most important aspects of this fascinating land in an 18 day visit. You will be accompanied throughout by a local naturalist and your UK leader. There will also be specialist guides at the cultural sites.
Itinerary
Day 1 : Depart from London.
Day 2 : We will arrive in Sri Lanka early in the morning, transferring to our hotel in Katunayake which is on the coast to the north of Colombo. After lunch we will visit the Muthurajawela Swamp for birding by boat, returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 3 : After breakfast we will transfer to Sinharaja visiting the Ingiriya Forest reserve en route. The afternoon will be spent bird watching in the Sinharaja area. Sinharaja is the largest lowland forest on the island and it is home to many of the island’s endemic birds. Its importance is such that three days have been allocated to visiting the site and our accommodation is in a lodge located in the forest area.
Day 4 and 5: Two full days in the Sinharaja World Heritage Wilderness Area.
Day 6 : After breakfast we will transfer to Embilipitiya and in the afternoon we take a jeep safari will be in the in Uda Walawe National Park, home to herds of Elephant, Wild Buffalo, Sambar and Leopards. There is also a wealth of bird life. Overnight Embilipitiya.
Day 7 : A drive further south takes us to Tissamaharama where we will arrive at our hotel for lunch. In the afternoon we will be bird watching on one or more of the Tissamaharama Tanks, returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 and 9 : We leave after breakfast both days for visits to Yala National Park which offers a good opportunity to view Indian Elephant, Leopard, Spotted Deer, Sloth Bears, Buffaloes, Jackals and Crocodiles. There are over 150 bird species recorded many of which will be here to escape the northern winter. We will take a picnic lunches, returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 10 : Our time will be divided between a visit to the nearby Bundala National Park and a return visit to Yala National Park. Although there are mammals present in Bundala they are relatively few in number but it does offer the best viewing of water birds on the tour. All meals will be at our hotel in Tissamaharama to which we return for dinner and overnight.
Day 11 : We transfer to Nuwara Eliya, arriving for lunch. The town has a colonial hill station feel from the time the British spent there in the Victorian era. The central Victoria Park is a wonderful haven for birds and some, due to the elevation of 1900m, will be new to the tour. We will go there after lunch for bird watching, returning to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 12 : Following an early breakfast we will depart for a full day in Horton Plains National Park, taking a picnic lunch. The plains are in fact an undulating plateau over 2000m high which come to an abrupt end at Worlds End, an escarpment falling almost 900m. It is an area of grassland and moorland habitats with occasional thick forest, rocky outcrops and lakes. Leopard and purple-faced langur are present, although rarely seen, but more common species including Sambar and Wild Boar will be present. A number of endemic bird species are to be found here. We return to our hotel in Nuwara Eliya for dinner and overnight.
Day 13 : We depart after breakfast heading through the country’s main spice growing area to Kandy, progressing into the forests of the hill country and calling en route at a tea plantation. We will take lunch at our hotel in Kandy and spend the afternoon in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradiniya. The gardens occupy a beautiful riverside location and contain over 400 species of plants, acting also as the home of numerous bird species and a colony of Indian Flying Foxes. Dinner and overnight Kandy.
Day 14 : After breakfast, we will visit the Udawattakele Sanctuary, a forested area north of Kandy Lake which hosts numerous birds and monkeys and after lunch there will be an afternoon visit to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic. The tooth is said to have been taken from the Buddha’s funeral pyre in 543BC. Dinner and overnight Kandy.
Day 15 : We transfer to Sigiriya today calling en route at Dambulla Rock Temple, a series of caves containing Buddha images and spending the afternoon bird watching in the Sigiriya area where our hotel is located.
Day 16 : After breakfast we visit the rock fortress of Sigiriya, perched on top of a 200m flat-topped rock which rises from the plains. It is one of the island’s most significant archaeological sites and is a very dramatic geological formation. There will be an opportunity for the energetic to go to the summit whilst other tour members will be able to birdwatch around the rock base. After lunch, we transfer to Anuradhapuru for dinner and overnight.
Day 17 : In the morning we will visit the ruins of Anuradhapura, a former capital of the Sinhalese kings for over 1000 years and dating from the 4th century BC. The well preserved ruins are in a parkland setting offering further birding opportunities. After lunch, we make the short journey to Mihintale where Buddhism originated in Sri Lanka and in the late afternoon we travel on to our hotel close to the airport for dinner and our overnight stay, pausing en route for bird watching in Chilaw/Puttalam.
Day 18 : There will be an opportunity for a final bird watching expedition today in the Anvilundawa area before we depart for the airport from our hotel after dinner to catch our flight back to the UK.
Day 19 : We arrive back in London in the late afternoon.