Galle City Tour

<p>After the breakfast meet and greet by seerendipity tours representative and leave for Galle and Bentota, En-route visit, </p><p></p><p>BENTOTA</p><p>Bentota beach is the most popular beach holiday destination on the island. The unique location of Bentota beach resort is one important reason for its popularity as a beach holiday destination. Bentota resort is located on an island and the island is connected with the mainland at its southern border. Bentota is mainly comprised of a narrow strip of land that spreads along the north-south axis. </p><p></p><p>Unlike most other islands, Bentota is surrounded by both the sea and a river. One side of the island is the Bentota River while the western side of Bentota is flanked by the Indian Ocean. Large numbers of hotels are built in this narrow strip of land enabling the travellers to have a peaceful atmosphere during the holiday. You can reserve a hotel in Bentota through Seerendipity Tours at very affordable rate online. </p><p></p><p>TURTLE HATCHERY</p><p>Projects have been launched to conserve the population of turtles that are reaching extinction and such projects are found along the southern coast of Sri Lanka where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. The turtle digs a hole on the Beach, Lays hers eggs and covers it with sand where it is supposed to, incubated by the heat of the sun. But many people live in the coastal area dig the sand and discover the eggs hidden by the sea turtle; these eggs are consumed by some of them while some others are selling it. </p><p></p><p>But now the eggs are bought up by the conservation projects and are hatched the Natural way in enclosed areas where the Birds don’t have a chance of picking them up and the babies are released to the sea at night giving them to better chance of surviving. </p><p></p><p>SPICE GARDEN</p><p>Visit a spice garden at Matale where spices and herbs used for Sri Lankan cuisine and medication are grown Spices of Sri Lanka attracted the early seafaring merchants who made the long voyages to purchase this precious merchandise.</p><p></p><p>GANGATILAKA TEMPLE KALUTARA</p><p>Kalutara a popular Buddhist city 45km south of Colombo is a popular Buddhist pilgrimage site due to the Gangatilaka Buddhist temple. The historical background of Kalutara goes back to 2nd century BC. According to the historical notes, Kalutara is one of the 32 places, mentioned by Rev Mahinda to King Devanampiyatissa, which had to be developed as a place where one of the thirty-two saplings of the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi tree (Bo tree, ficus religiosa) in Anuradhapura is planted, to which the King extended his patronage. </p><p></p><p>It is recorded in the Sinhala Maha Bodhi Wansa (chronicle) that until such time when the Maritime Provinces were subjugated by the Portuguese in 1505 A.D., the historic Kalutara Bodhi exited intact. In the 16th century, this sacred site was turned in to a Portuguese fort. Though no harm is supposed to have done to the Bodhi (Bo tree) it was not venerated by the people during that period. The fame of Kalutara temple went far and wide after the planting of Bo-tree by the Pandyan King named Wickrama Pandya in 1042 A.D, today the Bo-tree stand in the lower terrace. Large number of Buddhist devotees gathering to the Bo-tree daily in order to pay their devotion to the sacred tree. </p><p></p><p>After the Portuguese, the Dutch too use of the present upper terrace or the uda maluwa area as a camp followed by the British as well, subsequently. During the British period, since the latter half of the 19 century, it was used as an office premise with the residence of the Government Agent. </p><p></p><p>MADU GANGA BOAT RIDE</p><p>In the global context, the ecological importance of this site has garnered it the ‘Ramsar Wetland’ status in 2003, is the second-largest wetland in Sri Lanka and earned the Ramsar wetland status due to its importance as a wetland. The wetland encompasses over 915 hectares; it has 23 islands in varying sizes within its borders and they are inhabited by nearly 300 families. The River Sanctuary is now a Tourist Development Area and a Special Area Managed (SAM) by the Coast Conservation Department. Balapitiya is where the ‘Madu Ganga’ makes its home.</p><p></p><p>CITY OF GALLE</p><p>Galle is one of the ancient seaports of Sri Lanka and was an anchor point in the Silk Route. A group of Portuguese sailors caught in a storm accidentally landed in Galle fort in 1505; subsequently they built a fort near the Galle harbor and took control of the maritime region. The fort was later ceded to Dutch colonial rulers, and fort was widened and developed under the administration of Dutch East Indian Company, The fort is still in very good shape and earned status of UNRESCO world heritage site. </p><p></p><p>GALLE FORTRESS</p><p>The Fort has developed to a multi-cultures and multi-religious closed city over the last few centuries. The Sri Lankan government and many Dutch people who still own some of the properties inside the fort are looking at making this one of the modern wonders of the world. The heritage value of the fort has been recognized by the UNESCO and the site has been inscribed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria iv, for its unique inheritance of "an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.</p><p></p><p>Galle Fort is also known as Dutch fort successfully survived in the Tsunami of 2004, in which large part of the city washed off, killing many thousands of people. Even though the mighty waves have done and extensive damage to the coastal belt, the impact on the Fort was negligible mainly due to its high-rise protective wall. It has been since restored. </p><p></p><p>Usually, the drivellers get about 2 hours free time with to explore the old city, where there is a large number of shops, cafes, galleries, museums, churches and hotels. The labyrinthine cobbled streets crisscrossing the entire fort and flank by Old Dutch styled mansions, most of these mansions and houses are converted luxury boutique hotels and occupied by foreign travellers. </p><p></p><p>UNAWATUNA BEACH</p><p>Unawatuna Beach is located just south of Galle, the main city in the south and 125km from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Unawatuna Bay, which is a year-round safe bathing spot in southern Sri Lanka, is rank among the best beaches in the world. A coral reef that blocks the underwater current entering the bay is the main reason for its popularity as a safe bathing spot.</p><p></p><p>This beach is a paradise for all those who yearn to enjoy the silence of the sea and dive deep into the blue waters of the ocean. Swimming, snorkelling, diving and surfing are other major activities along the coast here. Within its reach, there is an accessible, reasonably well-preserved coral reef that serves as the base for snorkelling.</p><p></p><p>HIKKADUWA</p><p>Hikkaduwa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in southern Sri Lanka. It is 98 km south of Colombo and its beautiful beaches a lot of glamour to this town. It is the place where you can have a glimpse of the fascinating underwater world and see the creatures that inhabit the unfathomable depths of the sea. Hikkaduwa is not only a leading beach holiday spot but also surfing and diving place on the island. Hikkaduwa marine sanctuary, which is only a few meters away from the beach houses a large number of beautiful sea creatures and getting hold of a glass-bottom boat, allows you to see the beautiful corals without jumping into the water.</p><p></p>