Visit of Colombo (Duration: ½ day):

Colombo is Sri Lanka's largest city, its most important port, and its commercial capital. It is not a single city; but several, which, assembled, form a true mosaic. In a few minutes we pass from business districts dominated by towers to popular areas after crossing the residential area of ​​"Colombo Seven" where beautiful colonial villas surrounded by gardens open on wide flowering avenues. You have to visit, among others, the Hindu temples of Sea street, the Asokaramaya temple for its set kitsch, the Pettah market for its colorful animation, the National Museum and its disparate collections to better understand the discovery of the island's monuments. . But we must also walk on Galle Face Green, along the sea to soak up the atmosphere of this metropolis with many faces.

Colombo is an ideal excursion for shopping; its numerous stores (decoration, clothes, batiks, jewels etc.) are so many places of temptations where the very reasonable prices make it possible to have fun with less expenses.

Colombo

Visit of Galle (Duration: ½ day):

Galle is composed of two parts: the modern city, very animated, and the old city, an old Dutch fort, built in 1640 on a Portuguese building. This is the most interesting part of the visit with its maze of narrow streets encircled in a corset of high walls. Here, time seems to have stopped in the shadow of these ramparts punctuated with bastions. The World Heritage listed fort has preserved some of its finest restored homes, some of which now house luxury hotels, antique and jewelery stores. The fort, whose great door is stamped with the initials (V.O.C) of the famous East India Company, is nowadays mostly inhabited by Muslims.

To close the discovery of this strange universe, a tour of the ramparts is necessary; we discover the lighthouse and a white mosque whose façade is reminiscent of a church. This walk makes it possible to see, below, the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.

Boat trip on the Madugaga River and visit of a turtle farm Duration: 3 hours: Walk on the Madugaga River, then boat ride on the sea where you can discover small islands. The tour ends with a visit to a turtle farm. A different way to apprehend the coast and observe local daily life.

Galle

Ambalangoda and his masks (Duration: 3 hours):

This small town is famous for its masks factories. You can visit a workshop and see the artisans, sometimes children, carving in a soft and fragile wood ritual theater figures. These masks still play an important role in dances as you can see during theatrical performances. Painted in bright colors, they are original and very decorative gifts.

Kandy, the capital of the mountains (Duration: one day):

Admirably situated in the heart of the mountains, Kandy is home to the "Temple of the Tooth", a building where the Buddha's tooth, a symbol of power for 17 centuries, has been preserved. This priceless relic, venerated by millions of Buddhists, attracts pilgrims from all over the world. His reliquary consists of six gold boxes is displayed every day at the time of the puja. This ceremony provides an opportunity to witness the popular religious fervor in a colorful atmosphere. But Kandy is also its artificial lake, its botanical garden of Peradeniya and its museums.

Kandy

The elephant orphanage (Duration: one day):

The orphanage of Pinnawela elephants where abandoned elephants are collected and bred. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is one of the most popular attractions in Sri Lanka and for good reason: apart perhaps from the Kandy Esala Perahera, you will not see these pachyderms as close. Created by the government to help the "underprivileged elephants", it is home to some sixty animals that have long become one of the emblems of Buddhism. You will see them wash in the river between 10h and 12h. The orphanage also offers many products such as T-shirts, key rings, cups, etc. A true pilgrimage!

Pinnawala

Excursion to Ratnapura, the city of gems (Duration: one day):

Sri Lanka has been famous since ancient times for its precious stones, most of which come from the Ratnapura region. We always extract, according to methods that have not changed: sapphires, rubies, moonstones, amethysts, sapphires, zircons, garnets ... What dream! The largest sapphire in the world comes from Sri Lanka as well as the "blue bell" (400 carats) adorning the British crown. Ratnapura, located in a beautiful natural setting, will allow you to visit stone processing workshops, jewelry and a museum of precious stones.

4x4 tour of the Uda Walawe Nature Reserve (Duration: one day) :

The Uda Walawe Nature Reserve covers 310 km2 around a giant reservoir. It is home to about 500 wild elephants, sometimes very aggressive, as well as many mammals and even some leopards. This reserve is also famous for its variety of birds.

Udawalawe