Colombo Trip Overview
Explore the best that Sri Lanka has to offer from Dambulla on this full day tour to Sigiriya Rock Fortress and Minneriya National Park. Start your tour at 6.00 AM with pickup at your hotel in Negombo. Visit the Golden Cave Temple of World Heritage and see its beautiful caves and artistic paintings. And next travel to Revered as the 8th wonder of the world, the spectacular Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a monumental sight that takes the breath away of every visitor since it is one of the best places to visit in Sigiriya. Located in the heart of the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka, this extraordinary fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Finish your day with a 3-hour safari ride through Minneriya National Park, home to elephants, 160 species of birds, deer, leopards, sloth bears, and more. At the end of a long but fulfilling day, you’ll be taken back to your hotel in Negombo!
Additional Info
Duration: 15 to 16 hours
Starts: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Colombo Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Explore the best that Sri Lanka has to offer from Dambulla on this full day tour to Sigiriya Rock Fortress and Minneriya National Park. Start your tour at 6.00 AM with pickup at your hotel in Negombo. Visit the Golden Cave Temple of World Heritage and see its beautiful caves and artistic paintings. And next travel to Revered as the 8th wonder of the world, the spectacular Sigiriya Rock Fortress, a monumental sight that takes the breath away of every visitor since it is one of the best places to visit in Sigiriya. Located in the heart of the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka, this extraordinary fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Finish your day with a 3-hour safari ride through Minneriya National Park, home to elephants, 160 species of birds, deer, leopards, sloth bears, and more. At the end of a long but fulfilling day, you’ll be taken back to your hotel in Negombo!
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Dambulla Royal Cave Temple, Kandy – Jaffna Highway, Dambulla 21100 Sri Lanka
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Golden Cave Temple complex is the largest and well preserved of its kind in Sri Lanka and is situated within a huge cavern in the rock that is 160 meters high over the surrounding plains. For many centuries, Dambulla Cave Temple has been a pilgrim site for Buddhists and monks till today. The temple comprises of five caves that are extraordinary and covers a wide area of the complex. These temple caves and monastery were constructed in the 1st century BC by King Vatagamini Abhaya or Valagamba in gratitude for the monks’ efforts and help in during his exile and the reforming of his army to return to reclaim his throne at Anuradhapura.
There are 80 caves at the site but the main ones are located in 5 sanctuaries. It is believed that before the arrival of Buddha, the caves had been occupied by per-historic locals who were believed to be the monks who used to meditate in these caves. These were determined during excavations and many human remains were found. All the caves have their own significance and have their own names as of, Deva Raja Viharaya (Cave No.1), Maha Raja Viharaya (Cave No.2), Maha Aluth Viharaya (Cave No.3) and Paschima Viharaya (Cave No.4) and Cave No.5 has no historical value since it was done in the second decade of this century.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Sigiriya The Ancient Rock Fortress, Sigiriya 21120 Sri Lanka
The rock was formed from magma of a bygone volcano and sits 180 meters above ground level. Originally used as a monastery by Buddhist monks, the Sigiriya rock became a fortress , when King Kasyapa I fearing revenge by his brother, Mogallana, the rightful heir, decided to build his royal palace here so that no one could reach him.
He transformed this rock to appear like a gigantic captivating white cloud; styling the fortress entrance gatehouse –Lion Gate on the mid-level terrace in the form of a lion, where the feet and paws are visible today; giving his hideaway its name Sigiriya since the Sinhala word Sihagiri means Lion Rock. From this point, you can finally ascend to the summit that houses the gleaming white palace of incomparable beauty. There are almost 1200 steps that take roughly 2 hours to reach the summit.
The rock itself is visibly spectacular with its flat summit and steep sides, looming majestically amidst the jungles around it. The palace built during the 5th century, is an engineering brilliance of the era. The excellent creativity used in the designs and construction is beyond astonishing.
Apart from the fortress complex having remnants of a ruined palace and an extensive network of fortifications, there are Royal Gardens with ponds and fountains. Upon ascension of the Lion Gate and Staircase to the summit, you will come across the Mirror Wall and the famous exquisite multicolored rock paintings depicting divine and angelic goddesses – Frescoes which have brought universal renown to Sigiriya.
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Minneriya National Park, 2VWC+V6W, பொலன்னறுவை, Sri Lanka
Since the park is located in the dry zone, it receives an average rainfall of 1500-2000 millimeters. The temperatures range from as low as 20’C to 34.5’C. The wet season is during the north east monsoon of October to January and the dry season is from May to September. Physical features of the park are low-canopy forests, intermediate high-canopy forests, scrublands, grasslands, rocky outcrops and wetlands. Other species that habitat in the park are those of wild buffalo, deer, the purple faced monkey and an incredible variety of birds.
Nevertheless, it is the elephants that steal the limelight. There have been reports of 700 elephants in a gathering which makes the Elephant Gathering at Minneriya one of the world’s largest gathering of Asian elephants.
Not only can you witness elephants at this park, you also have the opportunity to catch sight of many other animals such as monkeys, leopards, deer, sloth bears and wild buffaloes, to whom this park is home to. Wildlife enthusiasts should not miss out on this opportunity. The vegetation which consists of grasslands, wetlands, rocky outcrops and so on makes this safari experience even more memorable.
Since this park is home to over 160 species of birds, it is a great spot for bird watching. You will be able to catch sight of water birds such as the painted stork, spot- billed pelican, great white pelican, little cormorants, grey heron and lesser adjutant alongside endemic birds such as the Sri Lanka grey hornbill, crimson-fronted barbet and black-crested bulbul.
In terms of reptiles, there are nearly 25 species of reptiles, while eight species are endemic. The Mugger Crocodile can be seen around the area of the reservoir.
Duration: 3 hours
