Yala National Park

Meet the Locals

Start the day with an early morning pickup at 5 AM from your hotel and make your way to Yala National Park, home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species. Meet your private guide and climb into a sturdy 4x4 vehicle. Enjoy sunrise at the park — the ‘Golden Hours’ of the day — and explore the light forests, scrubs, grasslands, lagoons, and magnificent range of animals Following the safari, there will be a picnic lunch before the drive to Udawalawe National Park. Arriving here in the afternoon allows you to explore from 2:30 PM until sunset when the park closes at 6 PM. Search for the world’s most concentrated number of elephants, spotted deer, jackals, wild boar, wild buffalo, crocodiles, and many other animals as your knowledgeable guide and driver expertly navigates the vast area and roads.   After the closure of the park, the trip concludes with a drop-off at your hotel.

Day 1 Meet your driver and proceed to your hotel in Dambulla. See the Dambulla Golden Cave Temple along the way. Dinner and overnight stay in Dambulla. Day 2 After a leisurely breakfast, visit the Sigiriya Rock Fortress and the Polonnaruwa historical city. Dinner and overnight stay in Dambulla. Day 3 After a leisurely breakfast, leave for Kandy. Visit a spice garden along the way. After arrival in Kandy, enjoy a sightseeing tour and visit the Tooth Relic Temple and Royal Botanical Garden. Dinner and overnight stay in Kandy. Day 4 After an early morning breakfast, head to the Kandy Railway Station and board the train for Nuwara Eliya. Stop to visit a tea plantation along the way. Dinner and overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya. Day 5 After the breakfast, head for Yala. Visit a waterfall and the Sita Temple along the way. After arriving in Yala, enjoy an afternoon safari. Dinner and overnight stay in Yala. Day 6 After the breakfast, leave for Bentota. Visit Galle Fort, the Madu River estuary, and  the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre along the way. Dinner and overnight stay in Kalutara/Bentota. Day 7 After the breakfast leave for Colombo. Your driver will drop you off at your hotel or the airport after your Colombo sightseeing tour.

Get picked up by a tuk-tuk from your hotel in Yala or Tissamaharama by your local guide, then set off towards the starting point for your village tour. Start the route by riding around the beautiful lakes where you can stop at scenic locations to capture the breath-taking views. Keep your eyes peeled for monitor lizards and different bird species. Then, proceed to a local pottery where you can witness how clay pots are made. Make your own clay pot on a traditional wheel and take it back as a souvenir. Next, head over to see how curd is made in Tissamaharama. Discover how curd making is one of the main livelihoods of people here and meet a lady in her village house who will teach you the secrets of making a delicious curd pot. At the end of the demonstration, enjoy a tasting of fresh curd with honey.  Finally, be driven back to your hotel where you will be dropped off and your village tour concludes.

First, get picked up from your hotel in Yala or Tissamaharama in a tuk-tuk and be driven to the starting point of your cycling tour. When you arrive, get kitted out with a bike and helmet and listen as your very own cycling guide gives you a quick safety briefing. Then, set off together as you cycle through the village of Magampura. Pass through scenic fishing villages, around the lakes, and through wonderful countryside until you arrive in the village of Kirinda. As you explore off-the-beaten-path locations, get a real sense of what village life is like for the local people that call this beautiful rural area home.  Finally, at the end of the cycling tour, hop back into the tuk-tuk and be transferred back to your hotel where the tour concludes.