Ramayana Tours - Sri Lanka Heritage Site Tour Package - 4 Nights 5 Days

01 / THE EXPERIENCE

Discover the journey

Srilanka: Few places have as many Unesco World Heritage Sites (eight) packed into such a small area. Sri Lanka's 2000-plus years of culture can be discovered at ancient sites where legendary temples boast beautiful details. Kandy: Kandy is located at the center of Srilanka and is generally recognized as the island nation's cultural capital, and was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. It is Sri Lanka's second largest city located in the mountainous center of the island. A cooler climate and smaller size make it much more pleasant and accessible than Colombo. The city has a compact downtown area surrounded by a beautiful tropical rain forest hill country on all sides with exotic animals such as monkeys running around in the wild. The downtown area is really crowded and polluted by day, and filled with some of the world's most aggressive touts by night, but it is also a major shopping destination where all kinds of goods imaginable can be purchased at surprisingly low prices. There are also numerous bakeries, offering delicious local treats all over downtown. Overall Kandy is a great place to experience Sri Lankan culture and cuisine surrounded by a beautiful natural environment. Kandy is renowned for the great Kandy Esala Perahera, held over 10 days leading up to the Nikini poya (full moon) at the end of the month of Esala (July/August), but it has enough attractions to justify a visit at any time of year. Some of the Hill Country’s nicest boutique hotels nestle in the hills surrounding Kandy, and the city is a good base for exploring the underrated terrain of the nearby Knuckles Range. Nuwara Eliya: Nuwara Eliya is a city in the Hill Country of Sri Lanka. Its temperate climate gives the city a very different feel from other parts of the country and, along with the colonial architecture, has earned it the name 'Little England'. While most British visitors struggle to recognise modern England in Nuwara Eliya, the toy-town ambience does have a rose-tinted English country village feel to it, though it comes with a disorienting surrealist edge. Three-wheelers whiz past red telephone boxes. Water buffalo daubed in iridescent dye for the Tamil Thai Pongal festival mingle outside a pink, brick Victorian post office. A well-tended golf course morphs seamlessly into a rolling carpet of tea plantations. The dusty and bustling centre of town is a thoroughly Sri Lankan tangle, but scratch the surface a little to reveal colonial bungalows, well-tended hedgerows and pretty rose gardens. In earlier times, Nuwara Eliya (meaning ‘City of Light’) was the favoured cool-climate escape for the hard-working and hard-drinking English and Scottish pioneers of Sri Lanka’s tea industry. The town centre is small enough to walk around. A rainy-day, misty-mountain atmosphere blankets the town from November to February so don’t come expecting tropical climes. But during April’s spring release, the town is crowded with domestic holidaymakers enjoying horse racing and sports-car hill climbs, and celebrating the Sri Lankan New Year. Bentota: Bentota is a tourist attraction, with a local airport (Bentota River Airport) and a handful of world-class hotels. It is a destination for watersoprts. Bentota also delivers an ancient art of healing called Ayurveda. Bentota is famous for its toddy production, an alcoholic beverage made out of coconut nectar. It also has a turtle hatchery, located on Induruwa beach. Protected from noisy Galle Rd by the sluggish sweep of the Bentota Ganga, the ribbon of golden sand that makes up Bentota beach is a glorious holiday sun-and-fun playground. While it’s primarily dominated by big package hotels, it also has a number of smaller places catering to independent travellers. Colombo: Colombo (Sinhala: ????, Tamil: ????????) is the largest city and the financial and commercial capital of Sri Lanka.Colombo is a huge, sprawling city, which can be visited any time of year due to its tropical climate. The heat is often excruciating, and traffic and pollution intense. These combined and without careful planning Colombo can easily become a nightmarish experience for an average traveler. To avoid this, do not carry heavy luggage, do not plan to walk any significant distances and take measures to deal with the heat and/or rain, such as bringing ice water, sunglasses, plastic slippers, sunblock, umbrella etc. Although reclaiming its 19th-century moniker 'the garden city of the East' is unlikely, Colombo is rapidly emerging as a must-see stop in Sri Lanka. No longer just the sprawling city you have to endure on your way to the southern beaches, it has become a worthy destination in its own right.

02 / WHY GO

The memorable moments

Highlights

03 / YOUR ROUTE

Journey at a glance

Day 1: Airport - Munneswaram - Kandy — Arrival in Sri Lanka. You will be transferred to Munneswaram Temple, Chilaw. (40 km distance; approximately 90 minute drive) Munneswaram Temple, Chilaw* After his victorious battle, Lord Rama left for Ayodhya in one of King Ravana’s vimanas (carriages). He felt he was being followed by bramhaasthi dosham as he had killed King Ravana who was a Brahmin. Legend has it that when he came to this place he felt bramhaasthi dosham was still following him and he stopped the vimana and asked Lord Shiva for a remedy. Lord Shiva blessed Lord Rama and advised him to install four lingams there and pray to get rid of the dosham. Since then many Hindu devotees flock to the temple. Thereafter proceed to Manavari Temple. (Approximately 20 minute drive) Manawari Temple* Manavari is the first lingam installed and prayed to by Lord Rama and this lingam is also called Ramalinga Shivan. After the tour, proceed to Kandy (3 hrs. drive). Upon arrival, check-in to hotel in Kandy. Dinner and overnight stay at Kandy.Meals: Dinner Day 2: Kandy — After breakfast go for a city tour of Kandy, including Upper Lake Drive, Market Square and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. * Kandy - The hill capital and venue of the annual Perahera, Kandy was the last stronghold of the Sinhala Kings which was finally ceded to the British in 1815. Kandy is an example of Buddhism’s influence in Sri Lanka today. Temple shrines and monasteries keeping Buddhist traditions alive are everywhere. * Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Entrance fee applies) - Ever since 4th century A.D, when the Buddha’s tooth was brought to Sri Lanka, hidden from sacrilegious hands. Since then, the relic has grown in repute and holiness in Sri Lanka and throughout the Buddhist world. It is considered Sri Lanka’s most prized possession. Dinner and overnight stay at Kandy.Meals: Breakfast & Dinner Day 3: Kandy - Nuwara Eliya — After breakfast proceed to Nuwara Eliya. En route visit the Sri Baktha Hanuman temple.(0900 hrs.) – (Approximately 1 ½ hrs drive). Sri Baktha Hanuman Temple, RambodaOn these hills of Ramboda where Hanuman was searching for Sita, the Chinmaya mission of Sri Lanka built a temple with Hanuman as the presiding deity. On every full moon day, special poojas are conducted and witnessed by thousands of devotees.After the tour visit Seetha Amman Temple. Seetha Amman Temple, Seetha Eliya. – (Approximately 20 minute drive)The stream that runs from the hill catered to the needs of Sita during her stay at Ashoka Vatika. She is said to have bathed in this stream. Now there is a temple erected for Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman by the side of this stream. It is interesting to note that foot prints similar to Lord Hanuman’s are found by this river.Check in at the hotel.In the evening visit the Gayathri Pe(e)dam in Nuwara Eliya. Gayathri PedamIt is believed to be the place from where King Ravana’s son Meghanath propitiated Lord Shiva with penance and prayers and was in turn granted super natural powers by Lord Shiva. Dinner and overnight stay at Nuwara Eliya. Meals: Breakfast & Dinner Day 4: Nuwara Eliya to Colombo — After breakfast at the hotel proceed to Colombo. Upon arrival, check in to hotel. After a short rest proceed for your city tour. Panchamuga Anjaneyar Temple* A temple dedicated to Anjaneyar in Sri Lanka.* This is the only temple in the world to have a chariot of Anjaneyar.Thereafter commence a tour of Colombo, which includes time to do the shopping. * Colombo - A drive through the city takes you to the busy commercial areas as well as the tree-lined residential, Cinnamon Gardens. Visit the former British administrative center and military garrison, Sea Street - the goldsmith's quarters in the heart of Pettah, the Bazaar area, where there is a Hindu temple with elaborate stone carvings, and the Dutch Church of Wolfendhal dating back to 1749 AD. The historic Dawatagaha Mosque and the former Eye Hospital are two buildings in Cinnamon Gardens worth looking at. Also visit the BMICH, see the replica of Avukana Buddha and the Independence Square. Dinner and overnight stay at ColomboMeals: Breakfast & Dinner Day 5: Colombo to Airport — After breakfast at hotel, transfer to the airport for the departure flight.Meals: Breakfast

YOUR DAY-BY-DAY ROUTE

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1Airport - Munneswaram - Kandy — Arrival in Sri Lanka. You will be transferred to Munneswaram Temple, Chilaw. (40 km distance; approximately 90 minute drive)+