Ethik Trip to Sri Lanka

For us, to be ethical is also to be transparent, so for each trip booked with our partners, a participation will be paid to Ethik Hotels when you indicate that you come from us. The objective is to be able to keep the site alive (adding new accommodation/travel, translation, communication…).

Olalalanka

Our partner agency is Olalalanka.

Emmanuel has been living in Sri Lanka for many years and offers you the opportunity to discover this beautiful country through a responsible and tailor-made trip. Developing sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka is a real objective for Olalalanka from 2021.Spoken languages: French, EnglishContact :@ : office@olalalanka.comWhatsApp: +94 77 911 1282

12 days / 11 nights : 1281€ per person (Based on 2 adults sharing 1 double bedroom) * / Extension 3 nights in Kalpitiya: +511€.This is a proposal, Olalalanka offers tailor-made trips and will be able to adapt to your desires.

PROGRAMME

Day 1 / Bentota

Ayubowan, welcome to Sri Lanka! Your driver greets you at the airport and accompanies you to Bentota to rest after a long flight.

Night : Kotomba HermitageInformation : 110 km – 1h45

Day 2 / Bentota

Today, your guide takes you on a tour of the authentic city of Ambalangoda,  a mask factory,  a  discovery of the jungle,  the typical market of Ambalangoda. In the afternoon, you leave with a local fisherman on the lagoon, on a small rowing catamaran, to drop the fishing nets that you will pick up early the next morning. A day of immersion in Sri Lankan local life. Return, dine, and night at your host’s house.

Night : Kotomba Hermitage

Day 3 / Bentota – Galle

In the morning, you take the road to Hikkaduwa, in the south-west where your guide is waiting for you to discover the true cinnamon: you will visit a plantation to discover how it grows and how it is harvested, you continue with a visit to a small artisanal oil factory. You will go home with some gifts bought from local producers: cinnamon sticks, a small bottle of cinnamon oil, and a pot of coconut-cinnamon spread, which are enough to amaze your friends and family when you return! After this good time, a delicious breakfast of pancakes awaits you. In the afternoon, your guide who was a victim of the 2004 tsunami will tell you about his experience. You will visit with him some places that have forever marked the history of Sri  Lanka (museum, train,  memorial,  memorial statue). Installation, dinner, and night at the hotel.

Night : Ging View Villa / Option Huma Terra Lodge ( extra charge of 188.4 € )Information : 60 km – 1h30

Day 4 / Galle – Uda Walawe

In the early morning, your driver accompanies you to Thalpe, the starting point of a 26 km bike ride through the rice fields. A wonderful opportunity to be at the heart of Sri Lankan rural life, to be able to observe the small scenes of the daily life of the local population and to follow the lagoon of Koggala, studded with 8 islands. Later, you visit the Fort of Galle. After strolling along the ramparts and bastions that bear names of stars, take the time to stroll through the alleys and admire the beautiful colonial buildings.Then you drive to Uda Walawe, one of Sri Lanka’s most beautiful landscapes reminiscent of the African savannah. Arrival, installation, dinner, and night at the hotel.

Night : Eliyanth UdawalaweInformation : 125 km – 3h30

Day 5 / Uda Walawe – Ella

At dawn, your Jeep is waiting for you at the hotel to go on a safari in Uda Walawe National Park. You crisscross the trails around the gigantic reservoir in search of wild animals: elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles, Sloth bears, monkeys, Sambar deer, peacocks, mongooses… And with a little luck, the fierce leopard! After breakfast, you head for the highlands region. You stop at the rock temple of Buduruwagala known for its monumental Buddha statues. Before arriving at Ella, you admire the Rawana Falls which tumble over the road. On arrival, installation, dinner, and night at the hotel

Night : Monisha HomestayInformation : 100 km – 2h30

Day 6 / Ella

In the early morning, you go for a tuk-tuk walk, with the final destination being the gaze at Lipton’s Seat where Sir Thomas, the British tea magnate, who liked to sit and contemplate the view. You walk through a tea plantation, cross the pickers*, watch the leaf weighing, visit a community of tea workers with its school, nursery, dispensary, and religious shrines. In the afternoon, you can relax at the hotel or continue your tour of the area with a lovely walk to the top of Little Adam’s Peak**, where the view is spectacular and you can continue your discovery of the area by walking to the Bridge of the Nine Arches, an architectural feat made solely of stone, bricks, and cement. With a little luck, you could take the mythical photo of the train passing on this spectacular viaduct!

Night : Monisha Homestay

*Except for Sunday, a day off**2 hours A/R. No difficulty except a few steps before reaching the top.

Day 7 / Ella – Kandy

In the morning, you board  the train to Nanu Oya (subject  to availability). You can take full advantage of the beautiful landscapes that pass by through the windows and the wide-open doors, at the slow pace of the train. Your driver greets you at the train station and you take the road to Kandy, Sri Lanka’s last royal capital. You visit a tea factory and take a break from Ramboda’s double falls. In the late afternoon, you visit the Temple of the Tooth*. It is during the vesperal ceremony that you visit the shrine, as the faithful flock, hands laden with offerings. After this moment of shared fervor, dine and night at the hotel.

Night : Clove Garden / Option Villa Rosa ( extra charge of 225.2 €)Information : 80 km – 3h + 2h30 train

*For the visit of the temples, trousers are imperative for the gentlemen. Ladies should have their legs and shoulders covered. To avoid contact with white-heated stones, plan a pair of old socks. You can keep your shoes in your bag or, like Sri Lankans, drop them off at the booth to watch them.

Day 8 / Kandy

This morning, you head to the mountains, at the foot of the Knuckles for an unusual and unique walk! You will be guided by a local expert who is none other than an authentic village dweller you will meet. Upon arrival, you will be offered an infusion of flowers served in half a coconut, accompanied by local sweets.During the walk, you will cross breathtaking landscapes, thanks to your guide you will learn everything you need to know about the fruits and spices of the region, you can take a bath at the foot of a waterfall, you can observe freshwater crabs, many birds such as parakeets of Layard,Yellow-fronted Barbet , Crimson-backed Flameback …;  Indian grey mongoose, felines like the fishing cat, reptiles like the horned lizard… You will pass through layered rice fields, where you can watch the villagers plow with buffaloes. Back in the village, you can exchange with the villagers and enjoy a typical tasty meal.These small villages are part of a pilot project to demonstrate that it is possible to grow fruits, vegetables, and spices without the use of modern technical means and chemicals.

Night : Clove Garden / Option Villa Rosa ( extra charge of 225.2 €)Information : 40 km – 1h30

Day 9 / Kandy – Sigiriya

This morning, accompanied by your guide living there, you will walk in places very little frequented by tourists, in small “secret” streets and typically where you will discover the local life and immerse yourself in the daily life of the Kandyans. On the program: walk and tuk-tuk, great white Buddha “Bahirawakanda” more than 26 meters high and which culminates on the city, fruit and vegetable sellers who “fight” to sell their harvest of the day, local dishes, the discovery of a little-known street to observe the very typical offices of notaries and law firms, a traditional Ayurvedic pharmacy, smells and perfumes of local products of the central market, “Street arts” and much more …After the meal, you head north towards the Cultural Triangle on the Spice Route. You stop at the Nalanda Temple*, of Hindu-Buddhist architecture which is beautifully located on the bank of the Mahaweli River, before visiting the caves of the rock temple of Dambulla, which houses a remarkable collection of Buddha statues.

Night : Anushka Nera Nature House / Option Jungle Hideaway by Back of Beyond ( extra charge of 71,4 €)Information : 90 km – 3h00

*For the visit of the temples, trousers are imperative for the gentlemen. Ladies should have their legs and shoulders covered. To avoid contact with white-heated stones, plan a pair of old socks. You can keep your shoes in your bag or, like Sri Lankans, drop them off at the booth and watch them

Day 10 / Sigiriya

In the morning, you head to Polonnaruwa, the second royal capital listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The ideal means of locomotion for this visit is by bicycle*, that you can join the sites scattered in a vast park on the bank of the Parakrama Samudra, which is a gigantic reservoir dug during the reign of King Parakramabahu the 1st. The highlight of the visit is undoubtedly the Gal Vihare** and its monumental Buddha statues including the famous “recumbent Buddha”. After flipping through a page of ancient Lanka’s medieval history, you have lunch with a traditional Rice and Curry in front of the rice fields before heading back to Sigiriya. At the end of the day, you climb the Lion’s Rock***, which was transformed into a fortress by King Kassapa in the 5th century. You visit the small museum before crossing the water gardens from where the view of the rock is ideal for photos. Halfway through, you will admire the famous “Sigiriya Damsels” painted on the side of the rock. A few more flights of steps between the monumental lion claws carved into the rock before reaching the platform at the top of what initially constitutes the lava cap of an ancient volcano. It was there that Kassapa had his palace erected, of which there remains the royal bath, a few walls, with an unobstructed view just as much as the fortress was. After this wonderful walk in nature, back to the hotel, dinner, and night.

Night : Anushka Nera Nature House / Option Jungle Hideaway by Back of Beyond (Extra charge of 71,4 €)Information : 120 km A/R – 2h30

*Extra: 500 LKR/person (approximately $2.50)**For the visit of the temples, trousers are imperative for the gentlemen. Ladies should have their legs and shoulders covered. To avoid contact with white-heated stones, plan a pair of old socks. You can keep your shoes in your bag or, like Sri Lankans, drop them off at the booth to welcome and watch them***Take a hat or cap and water. Be careful not to get too close to monkeys that may be nervous.

Day 11 / Sigiriya – Kurunegala

In the morning, you set off to discover the Buddhist monastic complex of Ritigala, erected on the side of a hill sacred to    Hindus. After this beautiful walk in the jungle, you take the road to Ridigama. You stop in Aukana to admire a 5th century Buddha statue, 12 meters high and considered a masterpiece of Buddhist art. You return to Ridigama, the seat of the Ridi Viharaya temple, commonly known as the “Silver Temple” since it was built on a silver mine in the 2nd or 3rd century BC. A monk welcomes you, helps with your installation and introduces you to the temple. After the vesperal ceremony, dinner and night at the temple.

Night : Silver Temple Ridee ViharayaInformation : 65 km – 1h30

Day 12 / Kurunegala – Aéroport

At dawn, it is the temple bell that wakes you up for the call to the morning ceremony. You can walk freely through the sanctuary, take the pulse and discover the vast property before heading to the international airport where your driver drops you off depending on the departure time of your flight. End of your stay and our services.

Information : 90 km – 2h30

Day 12 (Optional extension)/ Kurunegala – Kalpitiya – 3 nights

Your driver drops you off in Kalpitiya for a few days off. You can relax on the long sandy beaches, vary the pleasures, you can go up to the northern tip of the peninsula to discover the Kalpitiya Fort that the Sri Lankan Navy soldiers show. St Peters Kerk Protestant Church bears witness to the presence of Dutch settlers in the 17th century. St. Anne’s Church in the heart of the peninsula is a pilgrimage site for the island’s Catholic community.

On the last day, your driver will drop you off at the airport depending on the time of departure of your flight. The road is pleasant to Negombo with the vast coconut groves and Hindu and Buddhist temples that punctuate the journey.  End of your stay and our services.

Night : Kitesurfing Lanka

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• The selected rooms are double rooms of standard category.

The price includes :

• Pick-up and return to the international airport
• Air-conditioned private vehicle with kilometers, insurance, fuel included
• English-speaking driver (including meals and accommodation)
• Phone geolocated with internet to stay connected, communicate with your driver and our French team 24 hours a day
• Providing an adapter for your electrical appliances
• Road log with explanation of the sites visited (paper pouch made from elephant poop)
• Copper Ayurvedic Gourd    
• Tickets and parking for all sites and activities mentioned in the program
• Hotels:  1 double bedrooms  
• Half-board (breakfast and dinner)
• Lunches or snacks on days 3, 6, 8, 9 and 10
• Government taxes
• TVA
• Typical fruit tastings and “snacks”
• Sri Lankan Smiles

Le prix ne comprend pas :

Anything that is not listed in the “price includes” section :

• Personal Expenses
• Drinks
• Assistance-repatriation insurance Airfare
• Flight tickets
• Tips

Options

• French speaking driver : +454 €.
• Beach extension : 511 €