"Discover the endless wonders of Sri Lanka - it's incredible landscapes, people, history, food and wildlife - on an incredible ride that takes you through the heart of the cultural triangle, over the cool mountainous tea country, to the spectacular southern coast"
Welcome to Sri Lanka!
On arrival at Colombo airport, you'll be met by your driver and transferred to our start point hotel on the beach in Negombo. We have nothing planned during the day, as everyone will be arriving at different times, but if you do arrive early, the hotel is by the beach, so a swim in the Indian Ocean is a must. In the evening we'll get together for a group meeting and dinner, toast the beginning of our adventure, as well as go over all the formalities and answer any questions.
Negombo is a major port city in Sri Lanka. It is situated at the mouth of Negombo Lagoon, a haven for trading and fishing vessels, and was once a key port in the spice trade as well as in the centuries old fishing industry. One of the first places to be colonised by the Portuguese in the early 1500s for the spice trade (cinnamon a major product), the area has a majority Roman Catholic popopulation, and several Christian churches.
After breakfast we'll head north up along the coast a short way and set up our bikes for a warm up ride along the old coastal road with the sea on our left. We'll pass the distinctive patchwork sails of the “Karavas” fishing boats, groves of palm trees, which are “tapped” for making “toddy”, a slightly alcoholic beverage, and many fishing villages. After a couple of hours exploring local life on the coast, we'll pack up the bikes and head inland by vehicle stopping for lunch along the way. In the afternoon we'll cycle to Anuradhapura to explore the many ancient temples, irrigation systems and shrines of this 2400 year old ancient capital. Many Buddhists visit the site for worship and an extraordinary array of intensely coloured water lilies and other flowers are made as offerings. After visiting the site we'll cycle back to the hotel for dinner and a cool off in the hotel pool.
Anuradhapura is a World Heritage Site famous for its well-preserved ruins of an ancient Sinhalese civilisation, founded in 437 BCE and lasting 1500 years. Anuradhapura is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Asia. A centre of Theravada Buddhism for many centuries, it is a major Buddhist pilgrimage site with ruins of many ancient Buddhist temples, including the famous Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, which is said to be the oldest still-living planted tree in the world and is believed to have originally been a branch of the sacred fig tree at Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India), under which the Buddha attained enlightenment.
After breakfast we will start our ride along a sealed road passing small villagers, forest, wetlands and paddy fields. Our route takes us along the outskirts of Ritigala National Park, and it's mountain namesake will form a beautiful backdrop for a part of our ride. Along the way we'll stop for a selection of curries, sambals, rotti, and more. The food in Sri Lanka is exceptional with endless types of curries using endless varieties of vegetables, definitely a culinary adventure that works great with biking. This cycling section is through the dry zone, an area that sees relatively less rainfall during monsoon season, and has unique flora to other parts of the country. We'll arrive at our resort stay for swim and a freshen up before dinner. In most cases dinner is in the hotels or guesthouses as they are secluded away. There is always a huge variety of dishes to tempt. We'll be taking a loop ride the next day visiting nearby Sigyria Rock and Dambulla Caves, so we will stay in this accommodation for two nights.
Enjoy a hearty breakfast before our ride through the countryside on a mix of tarmac and dirt roads passing orchards, lakes, paddy fields and elephant grass. We'll be exploring the countryside but the main attractions are Sigyria Rock and Dambulla Cave Temple. It's a short ride to the ancient 5th century rock fortress, Sigiriya (Lion Rock), our first destination. We’ll park the bikes and walk across the crocodile infested moats, through the old water gardens and finally take a 180m climb - up stairs either hewn out of the rock or on circular iron staircases - past dozens of rock frescoes to view the ruins of King Kasyapa’s summer palace on the summit. It should take around two hours to explore. Back on the bikes, we'll head off-road along the shores of Kandalama Lake where we’ll have excellent views of Sigyria Rock over the water. We'll have a special lunch today, a great selection of Sri Lankan delights served alfresco in the fields, surrounded by farmland. Onward after lunch we make our way to Dambulla Cave Temple Complex, Sri Lanka most significant cave temple site, via quiet backroads and trails.
Sigyria is a UNESCO world heritage site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of granite rock approximately180m above the surrounding plain, chosen by King Kashyapa (AD 477–495) for his new capital. He built his palace on top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure; Sīnhāgiri, the Lion Rock (an etymology similar to Sinhapura, the Sanskrit name of Singapore (the Lion City). The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death and it was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning. Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues and murals that cover an area of 2,100 square metres. Dating back to the first century, Dambulla Cave Temple is also a world heritage site.
The next section of riding is in the hill country and we start with a drive to avoid the main highway and get us onto the quiet mountain roads. Our destination is the old capital Kandy, but first we'll be riding along ridge lines with interspersing views of forest, tea plantations and, mainly, Tamil villages that work the tea plantations. Hindu shrines and styled architecture are a contrast to the Sinhalese Buddhist decorations, and if we’re lucky enough to be cycling on a holy day we may see some ceremonies. The ride will take us via hilly roads with lots of twists and turns and stunning views before descending into Kandy. Our hotel is located on the hillside with panoramic views over Kandy.
Today is free to relax, swim in the pool or explore Kandy. The main attraction is the Temple of the Tooth although the town is worth poking around for the local life, roti restaurants and old colonial hotels and buildings that dot the city.
Kandy was the last centre of the King-era of Sri Lankan history. The Kingdom of Kandy began with Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu (1473–1511) and lasted through several colonial invasions by the Portuguese and Dutch before finally succumbing to the British in the early 19th century. The Temple of the Tooth is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The temple of the tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.
After leaving Kandy early, we head back up into Tea Country yet another great ride. We'll be on small country roads winding through tea plantations and mountain villages. We'll take a deviation off road into the hills skirting a spectacular rocky ridge making our way through forest, tea plantations with views across the mountains. A truly spectacular ride before we descend to the train line for lunch and board our train to Nuwara Eliya. For most of the afternoon we'll be able to relax at old school train pace and absorb the slowly moving scenery on the colonial era train line that winds it's way up to Nanoyu Station, our jumping off point. Hanging out the side of the train, buying snacks from the hawkers and chatting to locals is part of the experience of one of the last of it's kind train journeys. Once we hit Nanoyu, we'll head to our hotel with mountain views and the old colonial town of Nuwara Eliya below. The weather is much cooler and warm gear will be needed for evenings and mornings.
Nuwara Eliya was founded by Samuel Baker, the explorer of Lake Albert and the upper Nile in 1846. The climate lent itself to becoming the prime sanctuary of the British civil servants and planters in Ceylon. Nuwara Eliya, called Little England, was a hill country retreat where the British colonialists could immerse themselves in their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting, elephant hunting, polo, golf and cricket. Many of the buildings retain features from the colonial period such as the Queen's Cottage, General's House, Grand Hotel, Hill Club, St Andrew's Hotel and Town Post Office. Visitors to the city can wallow in its nostalgia of bygone days by visiting the landmark buildings in the search for that Grand Budapest Hotel experience!
A big day lies ahead! We'll start with a ride out of town with it's faded colonial glory and make our way through rolling grasslands on our way to Horton's Plains over 26km. The ride is surreally European feeling at the beginning, racetracks, green pastures and hills in the distance. A stop at a buffalo dairy for ice cream is the fuel to take us up the switch-back climb to the plains. High altitude landscapes and Sambar deer appear as the views become more spectacular. We'll grab a picnic lunch and then begin our two to 3 hour hike to World's End, a precipitous 800m drop overlooking the plains below, and onto Bakers Falls. The walk is stunning, if the weather co-operates!, and highly recommended. For those with energy, also recommended is the descent following on our way to Haputale: a long winding drop over 20km through the cloud forest canopy and further down through pine forest. We'll have a transfer to our final destination in Haputale, with a hotel overlooking the coastal plains all the way to the ocean.
We begin the day with a beautiful downhill ride on back roads rarely used, passing by Diyaluma Waterfalls with views across the plains below. The last section of road brings us through ever bigger villages and towns across the flat southern plain until we reach lakeside Tissa. Our hotel has a pool to cool down after a hot ride. After dinner, we'll visit the sacred town of Kataragama, where pilgrims of all religions from across the country travel to worship. It's a crazy colourful affair as Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies overlap and intermingle with throngs of pilgrims clamouring for blessings and good fortune. It's hard not to come back without flowers in your hair or paint on your face!
Today we ride through the Bundala Bioshere Reserve, one of the most important wetlands for migratory birds in Sri Lanka, where almost 200 species of birds visit annually - the highlight being the greater flamingo. We also have a chance to come across elephants, crocodiles, macaques, buffalo, leopard and jackals among others. After having our fix of fascinating fauna, we make our way to our hotel in Tangalle with time to hit the beach for sunset.
Our last day on the bikes takes us slightly back inland to explore the backroads and villages of the south. The vegetation is lush and green, tiny farming communities sit nestled in valleys and along rivers. We ride from valley to valley, crossing creeks and rivers (which are not safe to swim in as they are inhabited by crocodiles) until we reach our last stop at Mirissa Beach. Our resort is in the middle of the action, centrally located so it's a short walk from your room to the waves. Our last night we'll celebrate with your choice of delicious seafood and Sri Lankan delights over sunset on the beach!
Today is departure day and we'll organise transfers to get you back to Colombo airport today. However, we highly recommend you extend your stay. There's plenty more to see….Galle, Yala National Park, endless beaches and Geoffrey Bawa designed hotels and villas to check out.
