7 Best Colombo Excursions
Here are the 7 best Colombo excursions
- White water rafting tour
- Kanneliya Rain Forest — the bio-diversity hotspot
- Whale watching tour
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
- Tea country / Nuwara Eliya tour
- Sinharaja rain forest tour
- Sigiriya/Polonnaruwa/Kandy 3 days tour
- Sigiriya/Polonnaruwa/Kandy 3 days tour
1. White water rafting tour
Kitulgala tops among the places for day tours from Colombo, and it is also a popular spot for 2 day trip of Sri Lanka, famous for its primaeval rain forests and natural beauty Kithulgala is one of the best places for adventure holidays in the country. It is just a 2 hours drive from Colombo to reach Kitulgala. Kitulgala was the place where the award-winning film Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed. White water rafting, kayaking, mountain climbing, mountain walking, mountain biking are some of the adventures can be performed in the area.
2. Kanneliya Rain Forest — the bio-diversity hotspot
One of the oldest forest cover on the island. Excursion in Kanneliya Forest Reserve allows you to walk around the reserve in the buffer zone. Forest reserve located in Galle more than 100 KM from the commercial centre of the island (Colombo). Even though Kanneliya is not as big as Sinharaja rain forest, it’s richness in Bio-diversity compared to be similar to Sinharaja rain forest.
3. Day tour from Colombo to Whale and Dolphin watching in Sri Lanka
The whale watching excursion usually starts early morning and after 2–4 hours journey in a comfortable vessel, you come to the whaling protected area in the Indian Ocean. Apart from giant blue whales, one can see the dolphin as well as sperm whales.
4. Colombo Excursions to explore Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
First, of its kind in Asia, elephant orphanage is started in 1975 with five elephants today it is the home for the largest elephant herd in the world. The elephant herd is comprised of more than 85 elephants including two orphans and few sick. Best time to visit the orphanage is the feeding time from 09.15 and from 13.15.
5. Excursion to Tea country / Nuwara Eliya tour from Colombo
This two-day tour with an overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya covers the breathtaking mountains of Sri Lanka. One will come to the tea country in Sri Lanka here you find the endless tea garden and green-capped mountains and cascading waterfalls. One can sip a fresh cup of best Ceylon tea in a tea factory. Little England which located 1800 m above the sea level is also in the itinerary. Kandy being the most famous city for Buddhist in the country contains many historical Buddhist monuments in and around the city.
The historical city of Nuwara Eliya has a close relationship with Ramayana, an epic story dates back to 7000 years, and many Ramayana monuments like Sita kovil, Ashok vatika are to be found near the nearby places. Sita temple and Ashok Vatika or Haggala botanical garden is the most important Ramayana reminiscence here.
- Duration-6 Days
- Regions-Cultural triangle, Upcountry, Beach
- Places-Sigiriya rock, Dambulla temple, Minneriya National Park, Royal botanical garden, Tooth relic temple, Tea country, Bentota beach, Colombo
- Start/End-Colombo
- Transport-Private vehicle
- Accommodation 4-star hotel
- Meals-Breakfast and Dinner
- Age range-all ages
6. Colombo Excursions to Sigiriya/Dambulla
This excursion starts very early from Colombo, due to the fact that the journey from Colombo to Sigiriya and Dambulla lasts around 4 hours. the excursion lasts around 10 hours with transfers between Sigiriya and Colombo.
The tour mainly revolves around the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka and includes 2 major UNESCO world heritage sites namely Sigiriya and Dambulla.
7. Colombo Excursions to Sinharaja rainforest
This is one of the most popular Colombo Excursions and a large number of foreign travellers choose this one day tour. Sinharaja rain forest, the natural world heritage in Sri Lanka is a place not to be missed by the people who love nature. This primaeval forest harbours a large array of Fauna and Flora with high bio-diversity. The forest reserve harbours a large number of animal, vertebrate, bird, amphibian and fish species. This one-day excursion is offered you as an alternative to the Sinharaja adventure tour. The track leads you through the picturesque natural vegetation, waterfalls, streams and mountains
This article first appears in Best of Sri Lanka travel blog https://www.urlaub-sr-lanka.info/s
