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Your Holiday In Sri Lanka
Our holidays to Sri Lanka are completely tailor-made with all arrangements made to fit your exact requirements and interests. Pettitts Travel have organised bespoke tours to Sri Lanka for over 30 years so, whether a first time visitor or a return traveller, you can be assured that we can design an itinerary unique to you that can cover all four corners of the island. All of our itineraries, whether those featured on our website or quoted following an enquiry, include hotels and transport, guided sightseeing and entrance fees. When travelling in Sri Lanka you will have a private car with driver-guide at your disposal throughout your holiday. In Sri Lanka your driver is also your guide so they will accompany you on all sightseeing visits. In most national parks and wildlife reserves you will have the additional services of a naturalist. Whilst you are on holiday you will also have round the clock support and assistance from our both from our partners in Sri Lanka and our UK office.
Most clients use the tours featured on our website as inspiration – a starting point for discussion or a series of ideas to be adapted to meet specific requirements, adding or removing days, including places of interest or adjusting the accommodation. Sri Lanka: A Tropical Jewel is ideal for the first time visitor to Sri Lanka with a focus on the cultural triangle, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya before ending with a few days of relaxation beside the beach in Bentota. A Journey through Ceylon builds on this journey with extra time spent in and around the cultural triangle as well as two days in historic Galle. Sri Lanka is also a fabulous summer family destination with the itinerary Sri Lanka: A Summer Family Adventure mixing both adventure and wildlife with relaxation and snorkelling. Wild Sri Lanka is a comprehensive itinerary featuring the island’s premier national parks and wildlife reserves whilst Hidden Treasures of Sri Lanka showcases the underexplored northern and eastern coasts. For those looking for culture followed by pure relaxation, our two-centre journey linking Sri Lanka with the Maldives is the perfect combination.
Ancient Sites of Sri Lanka
Despite its diminutive size, Sri Lanka is blessed with an astonishing number of cultural and historic treasures so there is plenty to see and do wherever you are on the island. Highlights include the 1,500 year-old cliff-top fortress at Sigiriya with its colourful frescoes and spectacular views, the Dambulla Cave Temple complex which has been a place of worship since the 1st century BC and the UNESCO protected ancient cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura – the former famed for its mammoth standing and reclining Buddhas, the latter for its well-preserved ruins including the towering terracotta stupa of Abhayagiri vihara. The bustling hill capital of Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth. Located in the Royal Palace complex, the heart of the temple houses one of the most important relics in the country, the Buddha’s tooth. This temple, as well as the mountain-top shrine of Mihintale and the spectacular standing Buddha at Aukana, are significant pilgrimage sites and draw devotees from far and wide.
Wildlife in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka harbours an incredible diversity of flora and fauna and offers some of the finest wildlife viewing in Asia. Yala, a substantial reserve in the south-east of the island, is Sri Lanka’s best known national park. Although elusive, Yala is believed to have the world’s highest concentration of leopards, whilst its range of habitats supports a range of animals from deer and monkey to bear and crocodile. The national parks of Udawalawe, Minneriya and Gal Oya are all associated with elephant – Udawalawe and Minneriya have significant populations whilst Gal Oya, which is centred on Senanayake Samudraya Lake, has the unique spectacle of ‘swimming’ elephants. Wilpattu, the country’s largest reserve, remains little-visited due to its inaccessibility and, consequently offers a truly wild wildlife experience. Wilpattu is home to leopard, crocodile and deer and has excellent birdwatching. For something completely different, the primary rainforest of the UNESCO protected biosphere reserve of Sinharaja not only has fine birdwatching but is also the best place on the island to see butterflies, insects, amphibians and reptiles.
