Raw Gentle Nature
7 Days & 6 Nights
A six night/ seven day tour, visiting two wildlife sanctuaries – Yala Safari National Park and Udawalawe National Park, where you will have the opportunity to come face to face with elephants, leopards, bears, deer and peacocks just to name a few. Also Visit Tree Hut at Joolpothana, known for its lush bird life.
Day 01
Arrival and transfer to Mount Lavinia Hotel. (Option: Proceed on a city tour of Colombo. See the Pettah Bazaar, the Fort area, a city park and a residential area in Colombo.) Dinner and overnight stay at Mt. Lavinia Hotel.
Day 02
Leave after breakfast for Udawalawe National Park. Transfer from park entrance to the campsite by 4WD jeeps. Lunch at the campsite. In the afternoon do a safari of Udawalawe National Park by jeep. This park is world famous for its elephants, spotted deer, sambhur, barking deer and langur, water buffalo and jackal. Serpent eagles, hawk eagles, white bellied sea eagles, black capped bulbuls, Malabar pied horn bills, white necked storks, open bills, white ibis, stork-billed kingfishers and peacocks are also found in fair numbers. Return to the campsite, which will be lit by lanterns and campfire. Dinner and overnight stay at campsite.
Day 03
Do an early jeep safari. Return to campsite for breakfast. Transfer from Udawalawe to Yala via Tissamaharama. Visit the Tissamaharama Temple. In the evening start Jeep safari at Yala National Park. This large variety of habitats supports a large number of mammals such as spotted, barking and mouse deer, sambhur, wild boar, water buffalo and endangered sloth bear. This is one of the best places in the country to see majestic elephants along with rare tuskers and leopards. Large water holes and lagoons support the high density of endangered crocodiles. You can also see large flocks of migratory and resident birds. 142 species of birds have been recorded in the park so far. Overnight stay at Yala Village
Day 04
Start an early Jeep safari of the Yala National Park. Take a picnic breakfast to have inside the park. The first part of the safari will focus more on leopards. Though Yala has one of the world’s highest densities of leopards there is much more to see there. The latter part of the safari will open your eyes towards the other fauna and flora of the park. Return to hotel in the afternoon. In the evening leave for second safari of the day at Yala National Park. Overnight stay at Yala Village.
Day 05
After breakfast start an early Jeep safari of the Yala National Park. Afternoon is at leisure. In the late afternoon visit Tree Hut at Joolpothana. This tree hut is located close to a small dry zone reservoir where you can see a lot of bird life. You will also be able to see the slash & burn cultivation system Practiced by the local villagers. After witnessing a beautiful sunset from Tree Hut, start your way back to the hotel. On your way back there will be a small Night Safari outside the park. This safari will focus on small mammals such as black-nape hare, civet, fishing cats and porcupine. Overnight stay at Yala Village.
Day 06
After breakfast proceed to Galle. Do a city tour of Galle, which was once the chief port of Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was named by the British), and which is a world heritage site now. Transfer from Galle to Bentota. Overnight stay at Club Villa.
Day 07
After breakfast transfer from Bentota to Airport or to your beach hotel as per your request.