Tours & Excursions

Distance from Hotel:    20 km
Travel time:                   30 minutes.

Kaudulla National Park is Sri Lanka ‘s newest national park (opened in 2002) and is located off the main Habarana – Trincomalee road in the ancient cities’ area (Cultural Triangle). The park has established a 6656-hectare elephant corridor between Somawathie Chaitiya and Minneriya National Parks. The best time to visit the park is between August and December. The park is centered on ancient Kaudulla Tank (reservoir) and is home to up to 250 Elephants (including herds of juvenile males), Leopard, Fishing cat, Sloth bear, Sambar deer, and the endangered Rusty-spotted cat. There are four waterways that run through the park and their sources are streams that have sprung up and joined together. Some are connected to the Hurulu Wewa. Thus the park has been named Hurulu Eco Park as all wildlife here is sustained through these waters.

Distance from Hotel:    40 km
Travel time:                    45 minutes

Instead of the 5th Century and the king who governs the country at 477 BC is King Kashapa made the very beautiful ancient and architectural places which are 8th wander of the world called Sigiriya. Kashapa chose the Sigiriya as his kingdom and he made not only the kingdom but also beautiful water flowers and flower gardens and many architectural places. King Kashapa made the rock flowers at rocks and crated steps nice ways with carvings and in the gap he made a nice wall called Katapath pawra “Lyrics wall”. He made the Sigiriya as Lion. Some called this for Lion rock. Sigiriya means also The rock of Lion. At this time we can see only two legs although at that time people might see the fully lion rock. The kingdom was situated at top of the rock and it is near 3 1/2 sqkms. Sigiriya has the best architectural qualities in Asia. Sigirya garden is only second in the world for old roman gardens. Their foremost people come to visit Sigiriya. Another fact of Sigiriya is in Sigiri rock has various types of paintings. All painting has queens or women. There may be many paintings although now we can see little amounts of paintings. old people write their lyrics about Sigiri paintings in Katapath Pawra means lyrics wall.

Distance from Hotel: 24 km.
Travel time: 30 minutes.

Raja maha Temple of Rangiri Dambulla (Golden Rock Temple) Located north of Kandy and considered by most to be the center point of Sri Lanka. Dambulla is a town built around a vast isolated rock mass and a World Heritage City, declared by UNESCO. The name Dambulla derives from Damba – Rock, and Ulla – fountain. One sees the incessant drip of water from the fountain within the main image house. This complex of caves at Dambulla is one of the most impressive Buddhist Temples in the world. It was here that King Dambulla Golden TempleVattagamini Abhaya (Valagamba) took refuge in the 1st century BCE. He later turned the caves into a rock temple. Later kings made further improvements, including King Nissanka Malla who had the temple interior gilded, earning it the name of Ran Giri – Golden Rock. Dambulla Viharaya contains an abundance of valuable material from the very earliest times till the late eighteenth century and shows the evolution of the Singhalese Buddhist art. Such vast material in one place, combined with a long history, is a rare find anywhere. Dambulla temples contain 153 Buddha images, 3 images of kings, and 4 images of gods and goddesses. There are also 4 main monasteries and it was within this complex that the monks began the militant nationalist movement against the British in 1848.

Distance from Hotel:   05 km
Travel time:                  15 minutes

This is the Hurulu Eco Park, part of the Hurulu Forest Reserve which comes under the purview of the Forest Department. Getting the information from a resident at Habarana, we found our way on the Habarana-Trincomalee Road. Coming from Habarana past the railway crossing after 100 meters you can see the Hurulu Eco Park board on your left, between the 116th and 117th km post.At the moment the park covers an area of 10,000 hectares but there are plans for expansion. The area open to visitors is a drive of around 20 km from the Habarana end. There are four waterways that run through the park and their sources are streams that have sprung up and joined together. Some are connected to the Hurulu Wewa. Thus the park has been named Hurulu Eco Park as all wildlife here is sustained through these waters.

Distance from Hotel:    72 km
Travel time:                   01 hour

The oldest cities and the oldest kingdom of Sri Lanka were situated at Anuradhapura. Anuradhapura was continued as the capital of Sri Lanka at 1500 years. Anuradhapura kingdom was started by king Pandukabhaya. After came Buddhism to Sri Lanka at the time of King Devanampiyathissa and after Anuradhapura became a beautiful city. Anuradhapura had a lot of Pagodas. They are Ruwanwalisaya, Thooparamaya, Jethawanaya, Abhayagiriya, Mirisawatiya, and Lankaramaya. All of those identify Atamasthana means noble 8 pagodas of Anuradhapura.

Distance from Hotel:    18 km
Travel time:                   30 minutes

Located between Habarana and Polonnaruwa, the 8890 hectares of MINNERIYA NATIONAL PARK is an ideal eco-tourism location in Sri Lanka. The park consists of mixed evergreen forest and scrub areas and is home to Sri Lanka ‘s favorites such as sambar deer, leopards, and elephants.However, the central feature of the park is the ancient Minneriya Tank (built-in 3rdcentury AD by King Mahasena). During the dry season (June to September), this tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants who come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds (cormorants and painted storks to name but a few) that come to fish in the shallow waters. Making your way through the park, you will see elephants, Spotted Deer and also the Sambar, which is a deer with no spots and an apt scientific name, carves unicolor. If you’re lucky, a leopard looking for food might cross your path. Less menacing but equally intriguing are the frogs and lizards with their tongues ready. Among the reptiles, the Red-lipped Lizard and Skink are both endemic to Sri Lanka as well as endangered. The frogs, on the other hand, are more abundantly present and have a tendency to jump over your feet or across your eyes between leaves. A notable example with a formidable but misleading title is the Sri Lanka Greater Hourglass Tree Frog. It all sounds like there’s such a lot to see at the park. But overhead is where the action really is. Sri Lanka, home to over 400 species of birds, has long been a birdwatcher’s paradise. In Minneriya National Park alone, 160 species crowd the trees or strut the banks.

Distance from Hotel:    83 km
Travel time:                   01.30 hours

Trincomalee on the East Coast of the island of Sri Lanka boasts the finest deepwater natural harbor in Asia. Attracting great seafarers like Marco Polo Trinco has been a trading port for over 2500 years. After the Portuguese invaded, Trincomalee was next held by the Dutch and the French alternately, till the capture of Ceylon by the British in 1795..During WWII Trinco was the base of the British fleet and the HQ of the Allied Southeast Asia commander. Trinco and the East Coast boast some of the best beaches on the island of Sri Lanka at Nilaveli beach (with the natural bird sanctuary of Pigeon island offshore) where you can wade knee-deep into the sea for hundreds of meters and at Uppuveli north of the city. Fascinating to see is Lovers Leap, a sheer drop down to the sea from the face of Swami Rock at the temple. The hill faces up Swamee rock is rugged. As Trinco is full of seismic and volcanic activity as seen in the Kanniya Hot Springs area, this rugged face of the rock is a reminder of the movement of Earth’s crust in this area. There are many other ancient ruins in the Trincomalee area including a 1000-year-old Buddhist Vihara.

Distance from Hotel:   40 km
Travel time:                  45 minutes

Anuradhapura was the Capital of Sri Lanka at 1500 years. After destroying Anuradhapura with various effects Polonnaruwa became the Capital of Sri Lanka. Polonnaruwa kingdom was started 1017 AD and it was finished at 1215 AD. There were two aggressions that were aggressed by India were cased to start and finish the kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Colas who have inoculated Sri Lanka at 1017 AD avoid the Anuradhapura kingdom and started Polonnaruwa as their Kingdom. Thereafter Sinhalese kings attacked Colas and created Polonnaruwa as the Sinhalese Kingdom. Magha who was attacked Sri Lanka and who were in Kalinga of India became the final king of Polonnaruwa. King 2nd Parakramabahu who rescued Sri Lanka from Magha and started Dambadeniya as the 3rd Kingdom of Sri Lanka.