Kandy and Sigiriya are 2 iconic tourist attractions that secure a place in most tours of Sri Lanka cultural triangle. Some people tend to miss the historical places in the cultural triangle such as Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa; however, only in very rare cases we can see the places like Kandy, Sigiriya and Dambulla are left out from tours of Sri Lanka cultural triangle. In other words, Kandy and Sigiriya are two iconic tourist attractions that attract a large number of visitors.
A large number of tourists, who visit the island wish to explore Sri Lanka cultural triangle, however, some of them, unfortunately, have the time constraints and look for short tours of Sri Lanka cultural triangle, such as this 2 days tour, understandably with the inclusion of most important historical sites. If you are a traveller fall into that category (have very limited time and wish to explore the essence of Sri Lanka cultural triangle), this could be an ideal tour for you. This 2 days tour itinerary can be easily reshaped, whatever the way you wish to, by adding some other places to the program or making it further short.
Kandy and Sigiriya tour mainly covers the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. This two days tour allows you to see several world heritage sites on the island namely Kandy, Sigiriya and Dambulla. Kandy Sigiriya tour is a private tour and it enables you to see some of the most interesting places on the island within a very short period of time. This package also includes a safari with a 4 wheel drive jeep in the Minneriya national park, allowing you to explore the rich wildlife of Sri Lanka in this short program.
Apart from the aforementioned 4 activities (visiting Sigiriya rock fortress, Dambulla cave temple, Kandy temple and safari at Minneriya national park), there is still room to expand the program by adding several activities such as cooking class, elephant ride, village tour, cooking class etc. However, adding optional activities on the itinerary depends on the availability of time.
Most importantly this tour is a private tour, means you have the maximum flexibility and privacy of the program, the tour flows at your own pace. The starting point of the tour is Colombo, however, you can adjust the starting point to meet your requirements, usually, there is no additional charge for the pick-up if the starting point of the tour within Colombo.
The recommended time to start the tour is at 08.00AM but it can be changed, most of the time the pick-up timing is changed if the participants are coming from the airport. Usually, the most flight arrive in Colombo airport early in the morning, therefore the guests are requesting the pick timing on par with their arrival time. There will be no additional charged for early morning pick-up or late pick-ups, however, it is highly recommended to start the journey early hours due to the time required for the sightseeing on Day 1.
The tour kicks-off in Colombo, because most travellers, who book this kind of tours of Sri Lanka cultural triangle, which are very short programs, are based in Colombo. Most of the travellers, who choose this 2 days Kandy and Sigiriya tour are not leisure travellers, they are business travellers or people on a foreign mission such as attending a conference, trade show, attending seminar etc, and therefore have very limited time for extra activities. Most of these travellers opt to one of the tours of Sri Lanka cultural triangle, in order to make use of their visit to see some of the most important tourist attractions on the island.
<p>KANDY</p><p></p><p>Kandy was the last capital of Sri Lankan monarchy, which was cede to British administration in 1815. Finally, it was ceded to them by the Chieftains of Kandy who were disappointed over the king’s cruel deeds. Today Kandy is one of the most important cities owing to the presence of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha.</p><p></p><p>Visit Temple of Tooth Relic in Kandy enjoy a typical Sri Lankan Cultural Show of Drumming Dancing music and fire walking</p><p></p><p>PINNAWALA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE</p><p>Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the foster – home of elephants of different age and size feeding, bathing, playing together and even mating. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the foster – home of elephants of different age and size feeding, bathing, playing together and even mating. The Jumbos living at Pinnawala elephant orphanage are found in the jungle with injuries and some of them are abandoned in the jungle. Since its inception there are few dozens of babies are born in the orphanage. </p><p></p><p>OPTIONAL - ELEPHANT SAFARI / RIDE</p><p>The Elephant Safari (At Village) has become a highlight event to tourist for its excitement and adventure or even for the "Chance of a Life Time" of riding an Elephant. The Elephant Safari is a ride on an Elephant with a safely secured seat that takes around one hour. The ride takes you through the jungle, village and even crosses a part of the paddy field. </p><p></p><p>This is a fun-filled activity, especially kids love it, going through the villages, paddy fields, patched of forests and waterholes allow you to see natural beautify of Sri Lankan countryside while taking a glimpse on various avian fauna species and many other animals. </p><p> </p><p>TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH RELIC</p><p>The tooth relic temple also is known as Dalada Maligawa in native language houses the left eyetooth of Buddha, and it’s one of the most important tourist attractions as well as the most sacred Buddhist temple on the island. There are few thousands of Buddhist religious sites on the island but none of them can surpass its fame as a sacred site, it is the Mecca of Sri Lankan Buddhist. The temple is located in the world heritage site of Kandy, which is also the cultural centre of the island. </p><p></p><p>Overnight stay in Kandy</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. <br></p><p></p><p>GOLDEN CAVE TEMPLE DAMBULLA</p><p>In the 1st century BC, a king of Anuradhapura fled the city due to a South Indian invasion and took refuge in the caves of Dambulla. On recapturing Anuradhapura after 13 years, the king converted the caves into a monastery and gifted it to the Buddhist monks.<br></p><p></p><p>SIGIRIYA ROCK</p><p>A Prince of the 5th century who committed patricide made the rock of Sigiriya his hideout in order to stay away from his half-brother who sought vengeance. This prince Kasyappa by name, not only fortified his stronghold but also added to it artistic beauty.(declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO).</p><p></p><p>MINNIERIYA SAFARI</p><p>This will include a Safari tour by jeep with a jungle tracker, where you can see animals in the Jungle, including elephants, Bears, Wild boar, Dear, Buffalo, Monkeys and many other animals if you are lucky, leopards too. Return to Habarana.<br></p><p></p><p>TEA FACTORY</p><p>Visit a Tea Plantation and a Tea Factory en route. Sri Lanka is famous for its “Ceylon Tea” has added cheers to many the world over for more than a century.</p><p></p><p>CITY & SHOPPING</p><p>Kandy and Nuwara Eliya tour will also include places of Tourist interest such as </p><p></p><p>Kandyan cultural show</p><p>Optional village tour</p><p>Kataragama devala</p><p>Sri Muttumari Amman Temple</p><p>Gem museum</p><p></p><p>Shopping at </p><p>Tea Center</p><p>Batik Factory</p><p>Handicraft centre</p><p>Gem Museum</p>