"Southern Culture Tour"
Detailed
ItineraryLeave for Kandy visiting the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage en-route. This orphanage for baby elephants was established to feed, nurse & house young elephants found abandoned by their mothers. The feeding and bathing times are the highlight of the day. Proceed to Kandy, the hill capital of Sri Lanka. Kandy is situated in a valley 1600 feet above sea level, and is one of the most beautiful cities in Sri Lanka. The temple of the tooth, one of the most venerated Buddhist temples in the world is located here. Dinner and overnight will be at a hotel in Kandy.
Leave
for Nuwara Eliya the ruggedly picturesque location almost 6200 feet in
elevation with its soft cool climate. Visit a tea plantation and factory.
Proceed to Bandarawela, and visit the Dowa Rock Temple which houses murals
and inscriptions dating back to the 1st century B.C. An unfinished, colossal,
rock-cut standing Buddha carved on a cliff-face is one of its main attractions.
Proceed to Ella in the afternoon. A small town with some views where
you seem to be standing at the edge of the world, and everything around
you seems to disappear at your feet. Overnight will be at Ella/ Bandarawela.
Today you will be visiting the hardly visited remote southern ruins of Buduruwagala, Dambegoda & Maligawila. Buduruwagala consists of a group of Seven (7) colossal standing rock-cut Mahayana Buddhist figures. Carved in high relief, on a cliff-face, in thick jungle, the figures show traces of their original plaster and paint and are dated between 8th to 10th century A.D. The colossal standing Buddha at Maligawila near Okkampitiya towers 34ft. and is l0ft. in width. Dating from around the 7th century A.D., the Maligawila image, carved from crystalline limestone, is part of an ancient complex of terraces, gateways and a pillared council chamber, surrounded by jungle. In close proximity at Dambegoda is another striking colossus, 25 ft. in height, of Avalokiteswara, a future Buddha. Proceed to Kataragama/ Tissa for dinner and overnight.
Kataragama,
situated in the Deep South, is a great national pilgrim shrine, dedicated
to God Skanda, venerated by Buddhists and Hindus and also visited by
pilgrims of other faiths. The beginnings of Kataragama are shrouded in
legend and go back into pre-history. You will be taken on an excursion
to Tissa in the afternoon, where you can visit the Tissa Dagaba, Statue
of Queen Vihara Maha Devi, Sandagiri Vihara & Yatala Vihara. Dinner and overnight will be at a hotel in Kataragama/ Tissa.
Proceed to Galle after a leisurely breakfast. Visit Waurukannala Vihara at Dickwella a small town before Matara. Proceed to Weligama where you can visit Kustarajagala. The large rock-carved figure of Kustaraja, is described as a king who was mysteriously cured of leprosy, or as Avalokiteswara, a disciple of Lord Buddha. Visit the Weherahena Temple in Matara, before checking-in to your hotel at Unawatuna or Galle for dinner and overnight.
Have a leisurely breakfast and drive along the coast to reach Wadduwa. You can relax in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere gazing at the Indian Ocean. Overnight at a hotel in Bentota/ Wadduwa.
Transfer to airport to board departure flight or you could be dropped in a hotel in Colombo Half-board – Includes accommodation, breakfast & dinner
