Sri Lanka for families: elephants, the hill train and the beach

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Negombo

   Bandaranaike International Airport to Negombo, about 10 km

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Negombo
   Détail du jour 1

   Your holiday starts at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) at Katunayake, about 35 km north of Colombo. A driver meets your family in the arrivals hall for the drive of about 20 to 30 minutes to a hotel in Negombo, a fishing town where a lagoon meets the Indian Ocean. Starting here rather than in Colombo keeps city traffic out of the first day and puts you on the road inland tomorrow. Long-haul flights land at all hours, so nothing is planned before the evening: children can sleep off the flight, swim in the pool or dig on the beach, which faces west for the sunset. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide gathers everyone, children included, to walk through the plan: which mornings start early, how long each drive is, and what to wear at temples. Dinner together follows, with mild curries, rice, fried fish and hoppers for children who want something plainer.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
   • Early-evening family get-together with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the early evening

   

2. Jour 2 : Inland to Sigiriya: bikes and a bullock cart

   Negombo to Sigiriya, about 165 km, then a village afternoon

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Sigiriya
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave Negombo at about 8 am and head inland, about 165 km and four hours on the road, partly on the Central Expressway, with a stop every hour or so so younger children can stretch. Coconut country gives way to paddy fields, reservoirs and the granite outcrops of the dry zone. We reach the Sigiriya area around midday and sit down to lunch with a farming family in a village nearby: rice and several curries cooked over a wood fire, served on lotus leaves, with something mild for children. After a rest through the heat, at about 3:30 pm we set off by bicycle on quiet lanes between the paddies and the village tank, the reservoir that waters the fields. Children who would rather not ride sit in the support vehicle or on the bullock cart, which then carries everyone, slowly and noisily, along a farm track. We are back at the hotel before dark, and the evening is free by the pool.

   Compris

   • Village lunch with a farming family near Sigiriya
   • Bicycle ride through the paddy fields, with children's bikes and helmets
   • Bullock cart ride

   Option plus facile : Ride the bullock cart and walk the lanes instead of cycling. If it rains hard, the ride moves to the next morning or becomes a cart ride and a longer village lunch.

   Temps libre : Evening free at the hotel

   Activité : The bike ride is about 6 km on flat lanes and farm tracks, at children's pace, with the vehicle following.

3. Jour 3 : Sigiriya at opening, elephants by jeep

   Sigiriya Lion Rock, then a jeep safari in Kaudulla or Minneriya National Park

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Sigiriya
   Détail du jour 3

   We are at the Sigiriya gate when it opens, about 7 am, before the heat and before the queues build on the upper stairs from mid-morning. King Kashyapa built his palace on top of this rock in the late fifth century, and children tend to love it: the water gardens with their old fountains, the painted women of the frescoes reached by a spiral stair, the polished Mirror Wall and the giant stone paws of the lion gate, before the brick ruins of the summit, nearly 200 metres above the plain. The climb is about 1,200 steps and we take it slowly. We are down by about 10:30 am, back at the hotel for a swim and lunch, and rest through the hottest hours. At about 3 pm we head out by open jeep to Kaudulla or Minneriya National Park, chosen by current herd reports, and look for elephants grazing by the reservoir until the park closes. Herds are smaller than in the July to October Gathering.

   Compris

   • Sigiriya Lion Rock at opening, with a local site guide and entry
   • Lunch at the hotel or nearby
   • Jeep safari in Kaudulla or Minneriya National Park, with park fees, two jeeps for the group

   Option plus facile : Stay at the base of Sigiriya: walk the water and boulder gardens and see the lion paws from below while the others climb.

   Temps libre : Late morning and early afternoon free at the hotel

   Activité : About 1,200 steps on Sigiriya, some on narrow metal stairways against the rock face; children hold an adult's hand on the exposed sections. About three hours in an open jeep on dirt tracks.

   

4. Jour 4 : Dambulla's caves and Kandy

   Sigiriya to the Dambulla cave temple, then Kandy, about 95 km

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kandy
   Détail du jour 4

   A slower morning after yesterday's early start: breakfast at 8, then about 20 km to Dambulla, where five caves under a granite overhang are filled with painted ceilings and more than 150 Buddha statues, the largest a reclining Buddha about 14 metres long. Children like the walk up the rock, past monkeys, and the cool of the caves after the heat outside. Shoes come off at the entrance, so bring socks for the hot stone. Then we drive south into the hills, about 75 km and two and a half hours, with a sit-down lunch on the way. In Kandy, the last royal capital until 1815, we first see an hour-long show of Kandyan dancing and drumming that ends, at most venues, with fire walking, then walk to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic for the evening ritual, about 6:30 pm, when the drummers play and the shrine doors open. Dinner is free by Kandy Lake.

   Compris

   • Dambulla cave temple, with entry
   • Sit-down lunch on the way to Kandy
   • Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, with entry
   • Kandyan dance and drumming show

   Option plus facile : Skip the climb to the Dambulla caves and wait in the shade at the foot of the rock with the driver.

   Temps libre : Evening free after the temple

   Activité : About 15 minutes of steps up to the Dambulla caves. Shoulders and knees covered for both temples; light-coloured clothing is best at the Temple of the Tooth.

5. Jour 5 : Tea country and the hill train to Ella

   Kandy to Nanu Oya by road via Nuwara Eliya, then the train to Ella

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ella
   Détail du jour 5

   We leave Kandy at about 7:30 am and climb by road into tea country, about 80 km and three hours with stops. The road winds up past Ramboda Falls and estates where pickers work the slopes, and we stop at a working tea factory to watch green leaf withered, rolled and dried into black tea, with a tasting and something cold for children. An early sit-down lunch follows in Nuwara Eliya, the old hill station at about 1,870 metres, cool enough for a jumper. At Nanu Oya we board an early-afternoon train, about 1 pm, with reserved seats. It climbs past Pattipola, the highest station on the line, then runs down through Haputale and Bandarawela with tea on both sides and tunnels to count, reaching Ella around 4 pm, before dusk. This is about six hours of travel, over our four-hour cap, because the train is the point: children can stand, look out and move about, and the road part is broken by the falls, the factory and lunch. We confirm each season whether the Kandy line runs; if the train is cancelled, our vehicle drives you.

   Compris

   • Ramboda Falls viewpoint
   • Working tea factory visit with a tasting
   • Sit-down lunch in Nuwara Eliya
   • Reserved seats on the train from Nanu Oya to Ella

   Temps libre : Evening free in Ella from about 4 pm

   Activité : About six hours of travel in all, half by train. The train time is confirmed with your final itinerary, as timetables on this line changed after the cyclone. Bring a warm layer for Nuwara Eliya.

   

6. Jour 6 : A tea-picking morning and the Nine Arch Bridge

   Ella: a tea estate, the Nine Arch Bridge and a free afternoon

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ella
   Détail du jour 6

   This morning we join tea pickers on an estate near Ella. They show children how to pick two leaves and a bud, the only part used for good tea, and let them fill a small basket before we weigh the morning's harvest together, the way the pickers' own leaf is weighed each day. It is a gentle hour on terraced slopes, done before the sun gets strong. Then we walk to the Nine Arch Bridge, completed in 1921, which curves across a ravine on stone and brick arches about 24 metres high. Your guide knows the train times, so we can watch a blue train cross from the hillside rather than wait on the track. After a sit-down lunch in Ella, the afternoon is free: a swim, a nap, or a cafe on the main street. Families with energy left can climb Little Adam's Peak with the guide in the late afternoon, about an hour up on a good path through tea, for the view down the Ella Gap.

   Compris

   • Tea-picking morning on an estate near Ella, with the pickers
   • Walk to the Nine Arch Bridge
   • Sit-down lunch in Ella

   Activités en option

   • A cooking class in Ella, paid locally

   Option plus facile : Ride a tuk-tuk to the Nine Arch Bridge viewpoint instead of walking the track.

   Option plus active : Little Adam's Peak with the guide in the late afternoon, about 4.5 km return and 1.5 to 2 hours.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Ella

   Activité : About 3 km of walking on estate paths and tracks, some uneven; closed shoes and sun hats.

7. Jour 7 : Down to Udawalawe: orphaned elephants and a jeep safari

   Ella to Ravana Falls and Udawalawe, about 110 km

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Udawalawe
   Détail du jour 7

   We leave Ella at about 8 am and drop through the Ella Gap, stopping at Ravana Falls by the roadside, to the dry lowlands at Wellawaya, and on to Udawalawe: about 110 km and three hours of driving in all. The Elephant Transit Home, run by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, feeds its calves several times a day, and we time our arrival to one. It raises orphaned elephant calves and returns them to the national park when they are old enough to live wild, and visitors watch from a viewing platform as the young elephants run in for their milk; there is no touching or riding, which is the point. After a sit-down lunch and a rest through the heat, at about 3 pm we head into Udawalawe National Park by open jeep, two jeeps for the group so every child has a window. Wild elephants feed here year round in the grassland around the reservoir, with water buffalo, crocodiles, peafowl and eagles. We stay out until the park closes near sunset.

   Compris

   • Ravana Falls
   • Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home at a feeding, with entry
   • Sit-down lunch in Udawalawe
   • Jeep safari in Udawalawe National Park, with park fees

   Temps libre : Early afternoon free at the hotel

   Activité : Feedings at the Elephant Transit Home run several times a day; the one we aim for is confirmed with your final itinerary. About three hours in an open jeep on dirt tracks; hats, sunscreen and binoculars if you have them.

8. Jour 8 : The south coast: stilt fishermen and Galle Fort

   Udawalawe to Koggala and Galle Fort, then Bentota, about 220 km

   • Environ 4.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Bentota
   Détail du jour 8

   Today is the one long road day, about 220 km and four and a half hours of driving, over our four-hour cap because there is no short road from Udawalawe to the west coast. We break it into three parts. First about two and a half hours south to the coast at Matara, then the coast road west past Weligama Bay to Koggala, where a few fishermen still sit on stilts in the surf; most now pose for photos in return for a tip, and your guide explains how it works. Galle Fort is half an hour on: the Dutch walled town begun in the 1660s, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we eat a sit-down lunch and walk the ramparts to the lighthouse while children look for the old cannons and the monitor lizards in the moat. Then about an hour north on the Southern Expressway to Bentota, a beach town where the Bentota River meets the sea. We arrive in the late afternoon, in time for a swim before dark.

   Compris

   • The stilt fishermen at Koggala
   • Galle Fort, a walk on the ramparts with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Galle Fort

   Temps libre : Evening free in Bentota

   Activité : Driving times are approximate; the route between Udawalawe and the coast is chosen on the day for traffic.

   

9. Jour 9 : A river boat and a beach day in Bentota

   Bentota: the Bentota River by boat, then a free afternoon

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Bentota
   Détail du jour 9

   After eight busy days, today is mostly for the beach. We start early, at about 8 am, while the river is calm and the birds are busy, with a boat trip of about two hours on the Bentota River. The boat goes upriver past fishing villages, through mangrove channels narrow enough for the roots to brush the sides, and children look for monitor lizards on the banks, kingfishers, herons and, with luck, a crocodile sunning itself. The boatman stops at a small island where you can see how cinnamon is peeled from the bark. We are back by late morning, and the rest of the day is free: swim, build sandcastles, or try the water sports on the river mouth. Lunch is your own, at the hotel or a beach cafe. In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner by the sea, the last evening together.

   Compris

   • Bentota River boat trip through the mangroves, with a boatman and life jackets for children
   • Farewell dinner

   Activités en option

   • Water sports on the river mouth, booked locally
   • Lunuganga, the garden estate of the architect Geoffrey Bawa, a short drive from Bentota, on a guided visit paid locally

   Temps libre : Afternoon free on the beach

   Activité : Swim only where the hotel or the lifeguards say the sea is safe; currents change through the season.

10. Jour 10 : Back to the airport

    Bentota to Bandaranaike International Airport or Colombo, about 110 km

    • Environ 2 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 10

    A last swim before breakfast if you want one, then we drive you back to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), about 110 km and two hours, longer in Colombo traffic, on the Southern Expressway, the Outer Circular Highway around Colombo and the airport expressway to Katunayake. We time the departure from Bentota to your flight and plan to reach the airport about three hours before it leaves, so book a flight leaving after about 2 pm. Many long-haul flights to Canada and the United States go via the Gulf or East Asia and leave in the evening, which leaves time for a slower morning on the beach. If you are staying on in Sri Lanka, we drop you at a hotel in Colombo instead, about two hours from Bentota, or your guide can help arrange a few more beach nights. Your guide says goodbye at the hotel, with a short written note of the places your family went, for the children to keep.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) or a Colombo hotel

    Temps libre : Morning free until departure

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm; exact timings come with your final itinerary.

Faune et météo : December to April is the dry season on the west and south coasts and in the hill country: hot days on the coast and in the Cultural Triangle, cool mornings around Nuwara Eliya and Ella. The Cultural Triangle can still see north-east monsoon showers in December and early January. Wild elephants are seen in Udawalawe year round, and that is the reliable sighting. In the Cultural Triangle we choose Kaudulla or Minneriya by current herd reports; numbers there are smaller than during the July to October Gathering, and rain in December and January can scatter the herds. Around 13 to 15 April, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, much of the country closes, and we do not run then.

• Negombo1 nuit
• Sigiriya2 nuits
• Kandy1 nuit
• Ella2 nuits
• Udawalawe1 nuit
• Bentota2 nuits