Day 01 Arrival in Sri Lanka Colombo for one night. Afternoon walk along Talangama Lake and birding highlights include Black and Yellow Bitters,Yellow Wagtail, Yellow-billed Babbler, Southern Coucal, Asian Brown Flycatchers, White-browed Bulbul, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Long-billed & Purple Sunbirds, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Brahminy Kite, Shikra, Brown-headed Barbet & Spot-billed Pelican. Sri Lanka Small Barbet, Sri Lanka Swallow, Yellow and Black Bitterns, Purple Swamphen, Purple & Grey Herons, Black-headed Ibis, Asian Openbill, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little, Intermediate & Great Egrets, Cotton Pygmy-goose, White-breasted Waterhen, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Wood, Common & Marsh Sandpipers, White-throated, Common, Pied & Stork-billed Kingfishers, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Brown Shrike, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Whiskered Tern, Little & Indian Cormorant, Black-hooded Oriole, White-bellied Drongo, Oriental Magpie Robin, Yellow Wagtail, Yellow-billed Babbler, Southern Coucal, Asian Brown Flycatchers, Flowerpecker, Brahminy Kite, Shikra, Brown-headed Barbet & Spot-billed Pelican,
Day 02 After breakfast leave for JetwingVilUyana, Sigiriyafor two nights. Afternoon visit Sigiriya Rock Fortress, which was the pleasure capital of a single king, called Kashyapa in the 5 Th centuries A.D.
Day 03 After breakfast visit Polonnaruwa (A UNESCO World Heritage Site), the medieval capital of Sri Lanka. Visit the world famous rock-cut Buddha statues of Gal Vihara and the ParakramaSamudra (‘Sea of Parakrama’) a 2500-hectare man made reservoir built by King Parakramabahu I (1153 –1186 AD) with a capacity of 134 million cubic metres. Birding highlights include Wooly-necked Stork, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Large Cuckoo Shrike and Coppersmith Barbet. Blue-faced & Sirkeer Malkohas, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Green Bee-eater, Coppersmith Barbet, Yellow-eyed & Tawny-bellied Babblers, Indian Robin, Brown Fish Owl, Indian Scops Owl, Rosy Starling, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Jungle Prinia, Baya & Streaked Weavers, Black-headed Munia, Indian Silverbill, Plum-headed Parakeet, Oriental Darter, PaddyfielPipit, Richard's Pipit & Blyth’s Pipit, Jerdon’s Bushlark, Oriental Skylark, Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark, Lesser Cuckoo, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Orange-headed Thrush, Barred Buttonquail, ‘Indian’ Red-rumped Swallow, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Citrine Wagtail, Pied Kingfisher, Spot-billedPelican, Wooly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Painted Stork, Pallid Harrier, Western Marsh Harrier,Osprey, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Common Kestral, Black-shouldered Kite & Grey-headed Fish Eagle.Afternoon, visit Minneriya National Park for Elephants. During September and October, over 300 elephants gather on the receding shores of the Minneriya Tank. ‘The Gathering’ of Elephants at Minneriya is one of those awesome spectacles, which should rank alongside better-known wildlife spectacles such as the migration of wildebeest in Africa.
Day 04 After breakfast leave for JetwingHunas Falls, Kandy for two nights. En route visit Dambulla Cave Temple, which is famous for its rock paintings and rock temples and is one of the most important sites for Buddhist pilgrimage.
Day 05 Morning, visit Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy, which is an object of veneration to Buddhists and the most important sacred relic in the country. Afternoon visit the endemics here including the noisy Layard’s Parakeet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Crimson-fronted Barbet, Black-capped Bulbul and Brown-capped Babbler. Other forest birds include the Gold-fronted & Blue-winged Leafbird, Emerald Dove, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Brown-breasted Flycatcher and Chestnut-headed Bee-eater. More than one species of the beautiful kingfishers are found here including the Stork-billed, and Common Kingfisher. The Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is sometimes seen beside the lake.
Day 06 After breakfast leave for Sisira's River Lounge, Kithulgala for two nights. Afternoon Cross the Kelani River in a dugout canoe and reach the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, which is a lowland tropical rainforest rich in endemic fauna and flora. The Kelani Valley Forest Reserve is ideal for any missed lowland birding highlight are Chestnut-backed Owlet, Green-billed Coucal, Sri Lanka Myna, Brown Hawk Owl, Forest Wagtail, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Dark-fronted Babbler, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher Orange-billed, Brown-capped & Sri Lanka Scimitar Babblers, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Crimson-backed Flameback, Black-capped Bulbul, Yellow-fronted Barbet Chestnut-backed Owlet, Green-billed Coucal, Sri Lanka Myna, Brown Hawk Owl, Forest Wagtail, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Dark-fronted Babbler, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher Orange-billed, Brown-capped & Sri Lanka Scimitar Babblers, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Crimson-backed Flameback, Black-capped Bulbul, Yellow-fronted Barbet
Day 07 Full days birding at Kelani Valley Forest Reserve.
Day 08 After breakfast leave for Jetwing St Andrews Hotel,NuwaraEliya for two nights. Afternoon visit Victoria Park for Himalayan migrants Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush Indian Pitta and Indian Blue Robin. Other highlights Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Sri Lanka Woodshrike, Brown-capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Marshall's Iora, Lesser Hill Myna, Crested Hawk Eagle, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Indian Pygmy Woodpecker, Lesser Yellownape, Streak-throated Woodpecker, Crimson-backed Flameback, White-rumped Shama, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Indian Cuckoo, Grey Tit, Grey-breasted Prinia, Jungle Prinia, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Jungle Owlet, Brown Wood Owl, Brown Fish Owl, Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Pitta, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Pied Thrush and Thick-billed Flowerpecker
Day 09 Morning visit Horton Plains National Park to see Cloud Forests and rare montane fauna, which include the endemic Rhino-horned Lizard, which was featured in Charles Darwin's monumental work on evolution, Bear Monkey, Giant Squirrel and Sambhur. Walk though the grasslands and Cloud Forests to a popular viewpoint know as World's end, which is an escapement with a 870 m drop. We also look for endemic birds Yellow-eared Bulbul and Sri Lanka Hill White-eye and Dull blue Flycatcher. Afternoon city tour of NuwaraEliya.
Day 10 After breakfast leave for Elephant Reach Hotel, Yala for two nights. Afternoon visitSithulpahuwa - ancient hermitage.
Day 11 Morning and afternoon safari at Yala National Park, according to the Leopard Research sponsored under the Jetwing Research Initiative Yala Block 1 has one of the highest densities of Leopards in the world. Yala therefore offers one of the best chances in Asia to see Leopards. Other large animals you may see include Elephant, Sloth Bear, Mugger Crocodile, Spotted Deer, Sambhur, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Buffalo, Jackal, Grey Langur and Mongoose. Birding highlights include Malabar Pied Hornbill, Painted Stork, Lesser Adjutant and Black-necked Stork. Western Reef Egret, Red-necked Phalarope, Small Pratincole, Little Heron, Garganey, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveller, Caspian, White-winged, Whiskered, Common, Large Cres& Lesser Crested & Little Terns, Indian Cormorant, Brown-headed Gull, Greater Flamingo, Great and Indian Thick-knees, Curlew, Marsh, Wood & Green Sandpipers, Lesser & Greater Sand Plovers, Little-ringed Plovers, Black-necked Stork, Common Hoopoe, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker & Ashy Drongo,
Day 12 After breakfast leave for Martin’s Simple Lodge, Sinharaja (Basic) for two nights. Afternoon visit Sinharaja Rainforest (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) for lowland endemics and mixed species bird flocks. According to a study of the mixed species bird on average 42 individual birds occur in the flocks, which makes this world's largest mixed species bird flock. The mixed species Bird flock study of Sinharaja forest has been continuing since 1981 and is considered as the World's longest studied bird flock study. Birding highlights include Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Red-faced Malkoha, Legge’s Flowerpecker, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, White-faced Starling, Sri LaMyna, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Sri Lanka Swallow, Hill Munia, Besra, Crested Hawk Eagle, Crested GoshawkBlack-naped Monarch, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Indian Cuckoo, Brown-backed Needletail, Alpine Swift & Red-winged Crested Cuckoo, Orange-billed Babbler & Sri Lanka Crested Drongo.
Day 13 Full days birding at Sinharaja Rainforest
Day 14 After breakfast leave for Jetwing Blue Oceanic Hotel, Negombo for one night.
Day 15 Transfer to International Airport.
The Tour Includes
The Tour Excludes
