As a tiny island nation, Sri Lanka is among the smallest countries in the Asia Pacific Region and yet home to 6 amazing UNESCO-protected cultural heritage sites. You can visit the Sacred City of Kandy to discover the famous Temple of the Tooth which houses a tooth relic of the Buddha and feel the piety of the locals; explore Dambulla Cave Temple, the country's largest and best preserved cave temple that holds 157 Buddhist statues. Every cultural site reflects a majestic past. If you are a culture lover, just enjoy your pace to explore more in this fascinating country.
Sri Lanka is a land of religious people, with the majority (about 70%) being Buddhists, which is reflected in the many Buddhist temples and statues across the country. Of course here you can also meet Hindus, Muslims, and people of other religions. As the nation is also influenced by Hindu culture and colonial culture, you will have the chance to admire architecture of various cultures and styles, such as Hindu temples, and houses, churches, castles and towers left by Portugal, the Dutch and the British.
When it comes to Sri Lankan food, you may think of rice and curry, which is the staple of the island. But did you know that there are many curries in Sri Lanka? It can be curry of fish, chicken, mutton, vegetables, lentils or fruits. So even vegetarians will find it easy to travel the country. That's why Sri Lanka is considered one of Asia's best destinations for vegetarians. If you want to know the secret of making delicious traditional curries, I strongly recommend you visit a local family to learn about it. And if curry is not your cup of tea, you can still find western dishes that match your dietary preferences in most restaurants or hotels.
The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy houses one of the tooth relics of the Buddha. Every summer (usually July or August), the city of Kandy holds a ten-day celebration known as Esala Perahera (Festival of the Tooth) to honor the sacred tooth relic in this Temple. More than a hundred elephants will join the parade held at night.
The railway has become an iconic attraction for travelers in Sri Lanka, thanks to breathtaking sites like Ella’s Nine Arch Bridge. A vibrantly coloured train bending through the lush jungle as it crosses the bridge is a dramatic sight, and captures the sense of adventure that lures so many travelers to Sri Lanka.
No wonder that Sri Lanka is blessed with some breathtaking coastlines. Most of the coastlines are in the north, south, and west of the islands. If you love beaches, then the beauty of Trincomalee, Unawatuna, Bentota, Mirissa will stun you. These beaches will give you enough reason to visit this beauty!
The views from the top are worth climbing to an altitude of 12,500 ft.
Get a chance to camp around frozen Juda ka Talab where was once a place for meditation of Lord Shiva
Sankri is one of the quaint natives of Uttarakhand. The hamlet serves as the base camp for multiple Himalayan treks in Uttarakhand.
Option A : Sri Lanka Backpacking for 7 Days (Ex Colombo). Click Here
Option B : Sri Lanka Backpacking for 9 Days (Ex Colombo). Click Here
Option C : Sri Lanka Backpacking for 9 Days (Ex Colombo) with Yala National Park. To know more view following Itinerary.
After the flight across the Indian Ocean You will land at Colombo airport in the capital of Sri Lanka. After clearing the immigration we will head towards our Hostel.
After freshening up we will head towards the local market near Beira Lake and procure SIM cards and walk around the lake.
Afterwards we will walk towards Independence Square and spend some time there.
In the late evening we will come back to our hostel and will get to know other backpackers.
Early Morning train departs at 06:30 which will reach Bentota at 08:22.
Once you reach Bentota, first head towards the hostel and get freshen afterwards head towards Bentota lake and have lunch with Pizza from the only pizza hut near the lake.
Post lunch, visit the Ventura beach to enjoy water sports like snorkeling, canoeing, sailing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, knee boarding, scuba diving, and banana boat.
Once you are done with watersports then witness a phenomenal sunset at Evening at Ventura beach.
And at late evening you can also visit the various clubs in Bentota to enjoy nightlife in Sri Lanka.
After breakfast you have the option to visit Madu River. Take a magical speed-boat ride down the beautiful Madu River, a wetland estuary spreading over 900 hectares of which 770 hectares is covered with water and inhabited with 64 islands. The boat ride is a wonderful way to take a closer look at this complex wetland ecosystem; a world heritage site protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands being one of the last wetlands in Sri Lanka to contain a pristine mangrove forest.
Journey past massive mangrove forests, glide under the canopy of the forest tunnels as they curve playfully towards the watercourse. Take in the unique biodiversity of the Madu River and its surrounding islands that boasts of hundreds of birds, plants, fish and animals.
Depart from Bentota at 15:38 and reach Colombo at 17:11 then continue your journey to Kandy at 17:45 and reach Kandy at 20:55.This train journey will give you a wide view of Laccadive Sea.
Transfer to the Hostel, Check in and relax.
Take a full day excursion to Sigiriya, where you'll visit two fascinating sites: the Golden Temple of Dambulla, a cave complex full of Buddhist imagery, and Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a massive column of rock turned into a fortress. After pickup at 7:00 AM from your hotel in Kandy, head out of the city towards the first site. On the way, admire Sri Lanka’s countryside and villages as you journey to this atmospheric cliff side cave complex packed with Buddhist imagery and frescoes.
Enter the historic caves of the Golden Temple of Dambulla, which dates back to the 1st century BC. View the ancient murals depicting the life story of Lord Guatama Buddha. Admire the hundreds of figurines of the Buddha and other deities scattered throughout the 5 main caves. Visit the Cave of the Divine King, the Cave of the Great King, and the Great New Monastery, as well as the giant golden Buddha statue just a little distance outside of the cave complex.
At noon, enjoy lunch at a restaurant of your choice before traveling approximately 45 minutes to visit Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Rising from the central plains, the iconic rocky outcrop of Sigirya is perhaps Sri Lanka’s single most dramatic sight. Near-vertical walls soar to a flat-topped summit that contains the ruins of an ancient civilization. Climb the 5th-century rock fortress and walk through the entrance framed by the paws of a lion (which give the fortress its name, “The Lion Rock”). View the beautiful unfaded murals that brought Sigiriya its fame, climb the steep staircase to the terraced gardens, and walk through the tunnels throughout the palace. You’ll get an eerie feeling of times long past.
Finish your tour at 5:00 PM, at which point you’ll head back to Kandy to be dropped off at around 8:00 PM.
In the early morning before sunrise, head towards Bahirawakanda vihara buddha statue. It's one of the beautiful and tallest Buddhha statues in Kandy.
From there the view of sunrise will bring a shiver to your soul. Get spellbound and then come back to the hostel.
After breakfast head towards the city center and visit The Temple of The Sacred Tooth.
According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died in 543 BC, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kushinagar and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by his disciple, Khema and kept it here.
After Sacred tooth visit The Royal Palace of Kandy, located to the north of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, was the royal residence of the Sri Lankan monarchy of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka.The last king to reside in it was King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.
Afterwards find a restaurant near Kandy lake and after having lunch walk around Kandy lake. Now get charged up to witness traditional kandy dance in the evening.
It will be a great experience to see the colorful costumes and unique Srilankan dance-forms. The dance ends with a performance where artists walk on fire. The fire and dance show is one of the traditional cultural highlights in Sri Lanka and Kandy seems to be the center of these shows.
This show starts at 5 PM, but you need to reach there half an hour early to get to the front row. Start your overnight train journey at 1:00am from Kandy and reach Ella by 07:18 am.
After breakfast, get ready to explore Ella.
Starting from Nine Arches Bridge, which is also known as Ahas Namaye Palama or The Bridge in the Sky, is an iconic architectural structure located in the mountainous region of Ella in Sri Lanka. It is a magnificent stone bridge, built amidst lush green tea plantations, with stunning mountains in the backdrop. This ancient construction is 91 meters long and 24 meters high and never fails to leave tourists spellbound at its beauty.
Lunch at the only cafe in the vicinity provides just what one needs to complete the tour - coffee. The owners of this cafe are amiable and generous with the tourists, and of course, serve delicious appetizers and beverages. The cafe has a minimalistic menu, at very reasonable rates. What’s better than grabbing a bite of sandwiches with traditional tea and coffee amidst the hills?
Afterwards, Ravana Falls is another must visit in Ella. Hill country of Sri Lanka is quite popular for beautiful waterfalls and Ravana Falls is right at the top.
The falls are quite impressive, and you can climb over some of the rocks to get a closer look.
If you love water and wanna have some splash time, enjoying some hours in the water fall, then this is the place in Ella. You can spend some time swimming, but be safe as the rocks are slippery.
It currently ranks as one of the widest falls in the country. This waterfall measures approximately 25 m (82 ft) in height and cascades from an oval-shaped concave rock outcrop. During the local wet season, the waterfall turns into what is said to resemble an areca flower with withering petals. But this is not the case in the dry season, where the flow of water reduces dramatically.
After visiting Ravana waterfall get back to the Hostel and cook the food with other hostelers.
After having breakfast head to Yala National Park, An incredibly famous safari experience, Yala National Park offers an option in contrast to the African safari - yet less expensive AND nearer to the home.
Occupying the south-eastern corner of the island, the vast Yala National Park is Sri Lanka’s second largest national park and also its most popular.
The park itself is divided into five blocks, two of which, Ruhuna and Kumana, can be explored on guided game drives, and stretches from the sea inland, encompassing some 979 square kilometers (378 square miles) of forest, wetlands and savannah. This varied landscape provides a vital home for hundreds of Sri Lankan elephant, sloth bear, crocodile and rare wild water buffalo, as well as over 200 bird species.
Come back to Ella till late evening and chillax.
Today you wake up early and head towards Ella railway station. Train will Depart from Ella at 06:40 and reach Colombo at 15:47, you will have breakfast in Train.
The train trip from Ella to Kandy in Sri Lanka, around, is viewed as perhaps the most delightful and beautiful train trip on the planet. This train ride takes you through staggering scenes of lush greenery and lavish tea manors and mountains. This train journey provides the most fantastic scenery. On the way, you can see cascading waterfalls, green tea plantations, local kids running around the train tracks as well as small tiny villages dotted along the way.
However, when you are embarking on one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, which has become an Instagram sensation.
Once you reach Colombo, head towards the hostel and after getting freshen and charged up go to your destiny, “Bally’s casino”. Don’t forget to try your beginner’s luck. Enjoy your night like “This night has no morning”.
Today it's time to get emotional as you will be going back to India. But you are taking a lot of good memories from Srilanka.
Minimum 50-55 litres Rucksack with cover.
1 small Day pack.
Good trekking shoes that are oaky, so that you can have a comfortable grip ( strongly recommended).
Layered clothes, as when the weather changes in the mountain you can put on layers or take it off as per your comfortability.
1 Trekking Pole, to maintain stability and balance.
1 stainless steel lunch box with Airtight Lid, a stainless steel mug & a stainless steel spoon.
At Least 2 full sleeve t-shirts must be dry fit (Big No for cotton t-shirt)
2 trek pants must be dry fit with zippered pockets, so you can put your mobile, hanky or snacks (Big No for Jeans)
1 pair of Thermal wear.
1 Padded jacket or down jacket.
2 sweaters or fleece jackets.
1 rain jacket and 1 rain pant. (If you don’t have a rucksack cover then you can carry a poncho instead of a rain jacket. )
4 pairs of sport socks must be dry fit.
1 pair of woolen socks to keep your feet warm.
1 pair of synthetic hand gloves (For easy grip over anything or to keep yourself warm).
1 sun cap or hat, so it can provide you protection from sunstroke, headache, and dehydration.
1 woolen head cap/ balaclava, so that it can protect your ears from cold sensitivity.
1 woolen neck warmer or scarf to keep your neck warm.
Under garments according to your comfort but shouldn't be too many.
Sunscreen.
Toiletries like small size toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, moisturizer along with Toilet roll (As you’ll not be able to have a bath on trek so don't need to overload it with shampoos & other stuff.
1 pair of Gaiters (you can take in rent from our base camp)
2 water bottle (1 litre each)
Sunglasses with UV Protection, so that it can provide you protection from harmful UV rays or snow blindness (If you wear specs, then you can get oversized glasses which you can wear over your regular specs).
1 Headlamp, so that your hands can get free to do other things
Photo Id
Disclaimer and Medical Certificate duly filled.
Stay for 7 nights in the best hostels from Hostelworld.
8 Breakfasts and 8 Dinners are included in this package.
Experience Backpacking Leader.
Airport transfers.
All intercity transports.
Entry fee to Royal Palace of Kandy, Temple of The Sacred Tooth, Ravana Waterfall, Nine Arch Bridge, Yala national park, Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha.
Kandyan Dance Show tickets.
Madu river boat riding.
Entrance fees at Sigiriya Rock and Dambulla Cave.
Watersports activity.
Any type of insurance including travel, health, and more.
Expenses of personal nature are not covered.
Any cost incurred due to any emergency / calamities.
Anything not mentioned in inclusions.
We in Barefoot Trekians believe that if you are fit nothing will be difficult for you.
No cancellations will be taken over the Call or WhatsApp message. Please forward the confirmation email that you have received at the time of booking to cancellations@barefootrekians.com regarding the cancellation. The Booking Amount is non-refundable. All backpacking costs are based on rates (including foreign exchange rates) known at the time of printing and expected to be in effect at the time of departure. The current price will be confirmed at the time of booking. Tickets and other documents will be sent across after receiving the initial payment.
