{"id":6047,"date":"2017-07-13T09:21:19","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T09:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/?p=6047"},"modified":"2017-07-13T09:29:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T09:29:26","slug":"top-10-things-to-do-on-a-tour-of-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/top-10-things-to-do-on-a-tour-of-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 things to do on a tour of Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sri Lanka is a great destination to combine with your Maldives<\/a> dive holiday if you want to experience a little bit of culture and explore this stunning country! Here are the top 10 things we recommend you do on a tour to ensure that authentic Sri Lankan experience.<\/p>\n

1. Galagedara Ancestral Garden Tour <\/h5>\n

A garden tour and home cooked lunch at Halgolla Plantation Home is an experience not to be missed. Set in a plantation of 45 acres, trail through tropical wilderness and return back for lunch in this ancestral home of the family that has lived here for over three centuries. During the garden tour you will learn about the different spices of the island and see the vast variety of fruit trees growing in the garden. Experience a marvellous setting, fabulous hospitality and exceptional food.<\/p>\n

2. Anuradhapura Backroads Cycling Journey<\/h5>\n

The Kingdom of Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka for more than 1,000 years in ancient times. This was one of the greatest human civilisations in Asia. The sacred city was named as a UNESCO World Heritage site as well. A branch from the sacred fig tree under which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment was planted in Anuradhapura in 3rd Century BC and this tree is still alive making it the oldest tree on Earth with a known planting date. Visit the three temples of Mirisaveti, Jetavana and Ruvanweli which align perfectly with the star constellation Orions Belt. The only other places that this happens at are the Egyptian Pyramids, Mayan\u2019s Pyramids and Angkor Wat. Cycle through the back roads with your hosted resident guide who will take you through the inner city where you will witness an amazing side of Anuradhapura.<\/p>\n

3. Book a Cultural Village Tour<\/h5>\n

\"village-tour-sri-lanka\"<\/p>\n

See verdant green paddy fields, sun dappled mangrove river banks, villagers bathing and children playing and discover an abundance of wildlife and learn about species only found in Sri Lanka. Observe village communities at work, and the gentle pace of life as you explore a kaleidoscope of colours, vibrant new tastes, and sensory experiences.<\/p>\n

4. Galle Fort Walk with a resident host<\/h5>\n

\"galle-fort-sri-lanka\"<\/p>\n

Meet up with an expert resident in the UNESCO Galle Fort who will take you around this magical enclosed living heritage city, showing you the hidden gems and explaining about the lifestyles of the people. This will be a real hands on experience where you will get an idea about how the Portuguese, Dutch and the British have left their mark on Sri Lanka and how their descendants are living inside the Dutch Fort.<\/p>\n

5. Enjoy a Farm to Table Experience in Kaduwela<\/h5>\n

\"farm-to-table-experience-sri-lanka\"<\/p>\n

Pick fresh vegetables from an organic farm in Kaduwela, east of Colombo, and learn how to cook mouthwatering traditional Sri Lankan curries with the guidance of the Village Headman\u2019s wife, who will prepare a Sri Lankan meal you will never forget.<\/p>\n

6. Monkey Kingdom Cycling in Polonnaruwa<\/h5>\n

\"monkey-kingdom-sri-lanka\"<\/p>\n

Cycle around the Monkey Kingdom of UNESCO Polonnaruwa at leisure. Witness how this ancient capital city has been taken over by very friendly monkeys. This area was the setting for the Disney movie \u2013 Monkey Kingdom. Explore multi-storied castles, temples and megalithic Buddha statues while keeping an eye on the inhabitants \u2013 the monkeys, who\u2019re now the kings of Polonnaruwa.<\/p>\n

7. Sailing in the Kingdom of Jaffna<\/h5>\n

Enjoy a sailing journey discovering the unexplored kingdom of Jaffna on the Northern peninsula of the island. Stay on board a private luxury yacht while exploring places like the Delft Island, Fort
\nHammenheil, Nagadeepa temple, Nagapooshani Amaan Kovil, Adam’s Bridge, Kakarativu Island and Jaffna.<\/p>\n

8. Rock Fortress Experience<\/h5>\n

Wake up early in the morning and drive to Sigiriya rock fortress. Enjoy a guided walk around the moat to explore the defence mechanism used by the ancient kingdom and explore the water gardens where the water sprinkler systems automatically get activated on a rainy day, even after 1,500 years. Climb the rock fortress and be amazed by the castle which was built on top and don\u2019t miss the famous Sigiriya frescoes which many believe are to be that of King Kashyapa\u2019s queens.<\/p>\n

9. Watch Elephants Swimming<\/h5>\n

Enjoy a boat safari in Senanayake Samudraya to witness elephants swimming. Enjoy the only experience in Sri Lanka that allows you to spot wildlife from the water. It\u2019s a unique way to immerse yourself in the elephants’ habitat. With a little luck you could spot elephants swimming between islands or bathing at the lake\u2019s edge. <\/p>\n

10. Tuk Tuk Safari<\/h5>\n

\"tuk-tuk-safari\"<\/p>\n

A tuk tuk safari will offer an amazing exploration of Colombo\u2019s best seasonal hotspots. The premium tuk tuks offer the best sight seeing in Colombo, with open air convertible rooftops. <\/p>\n

Ready to pack your bags and head to Sri Lanka? Contact us<\/a> and chat to an expert who will tailor make the perfect Maldives and Sri Lanka combination holiday to suit your needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka is a great destination to combine with your Maldives dive holiday if you want to experience…","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6058,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[261,484],"class_list":{"0":"post-6047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-maldives","8":"tag-maldives","9":"tag-sri-lanka","10":"cs-entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6047"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6057,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6047\/revisions\/6057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdiveholidays.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}