Culture and Ancient Srilanka

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Culture & Ancient Sri Lanka

Package: Culture $ Ancient Sri Lanka (4 Nights / 5 days)

The tour provides you an insight into the ancient civilization of the country dating back to 5th century B.C. The unique culture and architecture are well depicted in the monuments, monasteries and the irrigation systems which is still the main supply of water for agriculture. You will marvel at the frescoes of heavenly maidens and pleasure gardens at the 200m high Sigiriya Rock fortress which is a wonder in Asia. Experience the most notable aspects of Sri Lankan Art by visiting the Dambulla cave temple and the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the cultural city of the island.

Day 01Airport / Kandy

- Arrival at the Bandaranayke international airport.
- Meet with our representative who will page you and welcome you at the airport.
- Proceed to Kandy.
- Arrive in Kandy, Check in at your hotel & relax.
- Visit the Peradeniya botanical gardens in the evening.

ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS – This Botanical Garden was first built as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala king and was expanded by the British. It is 147 acres in extent and provides an amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers.

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- Do some shopping in Kandy & evening witness a beautiful Cultural show.

- Return to your hotel & relax.

Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Kandy

Day 02KANDY/ SIGIRIYA

After breakfast attend to the morning puja of the temple of the sacred tooth relic.

Do a sightseeing tour of Kandy including a visit to the upper lake drive and market square.

KANDY – The last capital of the Sri Lankan kings is a World Heritage Site. The name “Kandy” conjures visions of splendor and magnificence. Many of the legends, traditions and folklore are still lovingly kept alive. Drive around the Kandy Lake built by the last Sinhala king, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe in 1798. Visit the Kandy town and Bazaar, the arts and crafts center, a gem museum and a lapidary.

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Proceed to Sigiriya, Lunch en-route.

- Check in at your hotel and relax.

- Evening, visit the rock fortress.

SIGIRIYA - A massive monolith of red stone rises 600 feet from the green scrub jungle to accentuate the lucid blue of the sky. How overpowering this rock fortress of Sigiriya must have been when a palace crowned it 15 centuries ago. At the brief height of its glory, a flowering of only 18 years in the late 5th Century, it was one of the loveliest royal cities that ever graced the earth. And today, it is perhaps the single most remarkable memory for visitors to Sri Lanka. Beautiful bare-breasted maidens still smile from incredible fresco paintings. Surrounding the foot of the rock, extending for several hundred meters, are Asia’s oldest surviving landscape gardens, incorporating lovely ponds around Sigiriya’s plinth of fallen boulders.

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Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Sigiriya

Day 03ANURADHAPURA / MIHINTALE

After breakfast leave for Anuradhapura Visit the ruins of the ancient kingdom.

ANURADHAPURA – The largest and oldest of Sri Lanka’s ancient cities, Anuradhapura is a fitting climax to any tour of the Cultural Triangle. Arguably, it takes a bit more effort to imagine it as it was 2000 years ago, with palaces and huge dagobas standing up to nine floors high, a main processional avenue 24km (16 miles) long and the richly decorated, ostentatious mansions of Sinhalese nobles and wealthy foreign merchants. Founded by King Pandukhabaya in 437 BC, by the mid-3rd century BC Anuradhapura’s fame had spread as far as the Roman-Hellenistic world of the Mediterranean and by the 1st century AD it had established trade and diplomatic links with China. The Jetavana treasures unearthed over the past 20 years (some are now displayed in the partially completed Jetavanarama Museum on site) show evidence of these links to the east and west. Anuradhapura was the royal seat of more than 250 Buddhist and Hindu kings recorded in the royal genealogies, and the preeminent city on the island for some 1400 years. If time permits, also visit Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

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- Lunch en – route

- Return back to your hotel & relax.

Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Sigiriya.

Day 04DAMBULLA / HABARANA

After breakfast, Leave for Dambulla & visit the cave temples.

DAMBULLA -This World Heritage Site is one of the foremost centers of Buddhist pilgrimage as well as one of the largest cave temple complexes in South Asia. It is a major attraction for tourists and locals, who flock to see the dazzling and numerous rocks and wall paintings of Lord Buddha. The monastery was discovered in the 3rd century B.C. Of the numerous chambers found in the shelter, only five are in use today, the best known of which is the Maharaja Vihara.

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MINNERIYA NATIONAL PARK - Minneriya National Park is a national park in North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The area was designated as a national park on 12 August 1997, having been originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1938. The reason for declaring the area as protected is to protect the catchment of Minneriya tank and the wildlife of the surrounding area. The tank is of historical importance, having been built by King Mahasen in third century AD. The park is a dry season feeding ground for the elephant population dwelling in forests of Matale, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee districts. The park earned revenue of Rs. 10.7 millions in the six months ending in August 2009. Along with Kaudulla and Girithale, Minneriya forms one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Sri Lanka. The park is situated 182 kilometres (113 mi) from Colombo.