North & East Sri Lanka Explorer

Upon your arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport, you will be welcomed and assisted by a Representative of Sayang Holidays. You will then be escorted to your vehicle and introduced to your chauffeur to be transferred to your hotel.

Check in to the hotel for your overnight stay in Negombo.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Your day is free to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

Optional: Visit a local fish market and enjoy a tour of the city of Negombo.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Negombo

After breakfast, checkout from the hotel and proceed to Anuradhapura (approx. 220 km/full day).

You will arrive at the hotel in the afternoon.

After your check in you will visit the Aukana Buddha Statue in the evening.

The statue, which has a height of more than 40 feet (12 m), was carved out of a large granite rock face during the 5th century. It depicts a variation of the Abhaya mudra, and the closely worn robe is elaborately carved. Constructed during the reign of Dhatusena, it may have been made as a result of a competition between a master and a pupil. The Avukana statue is one of the best examples of a standing statue constructed in ancient Sri Lanka. Return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Anuradhapura

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning is free to relax and enjoy.

Proceed to visit Wilpattu National Park in the early afternoon.

Famous for elephants, sloth bears, leopards, water buffalos, sambhur deer, spotted deer and a variety of birds. Wilpattu National Park is located in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park is located 30 km west of Anuradhapura and spreads across 131693 hectares, ranging from 0 to 152 meters above sea level. Nearly sixty lakes and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu, and it is the largest and one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. The Mahavamsa records that in 543 BC Prince Vijaya landed at Kudrimalai Point (Horse Point), married Kuweni and founded the Sinhalese race. In 1905 the area was designated a sanctuary and in 1938 it was upgraded to the National Park status. Return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Anuradhapura

Breakfast at the hotel.

Checkout and proceed to Jaffna, the Capital city of the Northern Province (approx. 200 km/full day).

You will drive through the scenic countryside Plus Omanthai and Elephant Pass.

Arrive in Jaffna in the late afternoon. Check in to the hotel. The rest of the day is free to explore the surroundings of your hotel. You will arrive in Jaffna in the late afternoon and check into the hotel.

Traditional Jaffna cuisine has a distinct flavor that is different from the rest of the country and is closer to south Indian cuisine in taste. Thosai, idly, pittu, vades rice and curries including seafood and meats (mainly mutton) are cooked with local herbs and spices and are rich in their flavors.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Jaffna

Breakfast at the hotel.

Take a tour of the Jaffna Peninsula.

Jaffna, one of the northernmost towns in Sri Lanka, is also one of the most fascinating and varies dramatically to the rest of the country. It is well worth a visit if you get the chance. Typical Jaffna scenes include people bicycling home with bananas and firewood on the back of their bicycles and majestic old houses adorned with carved roundels, grand porches and beautiful doors and windows.

With a population of 88,138, Jaffna is Sri Lanka’s 12th largest city. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. Jaffna’s suburb, Nallur served as the capital of the four centuries-long medieval Jaffna kingdom. Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war, it was Sri Lanka’s second most populated city after the commercial capital Colombo. Since the 1980s insurgent uprising, military occupation, extensive damage, expulsion and depopulation has happened. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees and internally displaced people are returning to their homes and government and private sector reconstruction has begun.

You will start your City tour with a visit to the Jaffna Fort. The fort was built by the Portuguese in 1618 under Philip De Olivera following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. It was captured by the Dutch under Rijcklof van Goens in 1658 who expanded it. In 1795, it was taken over by the British and remained under the control of a British garrison till 1948. As the only large military fort in the country, due to the presence of only government and military buildings within its ramparts, it was garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Army.

After which you will visit the Jaffna Public Library. It is one of Jaffna’s most notable landmarks and is run by the Jaffna Municipal Council. The library was built in 1933 and burnt in 1981. During the early 1980s, it was one of the biggest libraries in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.

In the evening you will visit the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna. It is one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Jaffna District. Return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Jaffna

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out and proceed to Trincomalee (approx. 250 km/full day).

You will arrive in Trincomalee in the late afternoon/early evening. Check in to the hotel, then rest of the evening at your leisure.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Trincomalee

Proceed for a dolphin/marine mammal watching with a packed breakfast.

After your dolphin watching, return back to the hotel.

In the evening, proceed for a guided city tour.

Trincomalee which is a natural deep-water harbor has attracted seafarers, traders, and pilgrims from Europe, Middle East, Africa, China, East Asia and Australasia since ancient times. Trinco, as it is commonly called, has been a seaport and Hindu pilgrimage center since 400 BCE. The earliest epigraphic inscriptions found in Trincomalee city are in the Tamil language.

Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway station and an ancient ferry service to Jaffna and the south side of the harbor at Muttur.

Amongst other things to see, the War Cemetery, Kanniya hot springs, and the harbor are of great significance.

Visit the famous Koneswaram temple and Fort Frederick. The entrance to the roadway leading to Koneswaram is actually the entrance to what used to be Fort Fredrick. The fort was built in 1623 by the Portuguese and captured in 1639 by the Dutch. It then went through a phase of dismantling and reconstruction and was attacked and captured by the French in 1672. Return to your hotel in the late evening.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Trincomalee

Breakfast at the hotel.

Check out of the hotel and proceed to Passikudah (approx. 120 km/half day).

You will arrive at Passikudah in the afternoon. The rest of the day is free to relax or explore the surroundings of Passikudah.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Passikudah

Breakfast at the hotel.

Proceed to visit Batticaloa.

Known as “Mada Kalapuwa” in Sinhala, meaning Muddy Lagoon, Batticaloa is a significant landmark in the Sri Lankan history, as it is the port where the Dutch arrived at the island and made a pact with the Sinhalese king to remove the Portuguese in the 17th century.

You will start the tour using tuk-tuks to go through the small streets leading up to the Dutch fort. It was built in 1665 near the Batticaloa Lagoon houses government offices at present. The 6m thick walls of the fort now enclose the government offices still referred to as the “Kachcheri” a Dutch word that has been corrupted in pronunciation denoting an office of some sort.

You will then proceed to the market to see how a typical family would shop for a meal. After the visit to the market, you will reach the families that will teach you the process of a typical Sri Lankan meal. You will enjoy your lunch after the cooking lesson. (Estimated time of arrival at the hotel is 3.00 pm)

In the evening, return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Passikudah

Wake up to witness a stunning sunrise, followed by a hearty breakfast.

The day is free to relax by the sea at your leisure.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Passikudah

After breakfast, checkout from the hotel and proceed to Kandy (approx. 207 km/full day).

En route to Kandy (in Matale) you will have the chance to visit spice plantations that grow a variety of spices such as cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg, for which Sri Lanka was renowned and initially colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. You could also visit a batik factory and watch the production of the artistic fabric.

Arrive in Kandy.

Kandy is a great place to buy gemstones. Sapphires of all colors, rubies, tourmalines and spinal can all be found here. Visitors are also invited to have a look around their workshop, where they will be able to see the design and cutting, polishing and setting processes.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Kandy

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and proceed to Colombo.

On arrival in Colombo, check in to the hotel and enjoy a tour of the city.

Meals: Breakfast
Overnight in Colombo

Breakfast at the hotel.

You will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to the airport in time for your departure (45 km/1.5 hrs).

*Please note that you must be at the airport 3 hours before your flight.

Meals: Breakfast