Mountains & Beaches – The Best of Sri Lanka

ARRIVAL DAY
Ayubowan – Welcome to Sri Lanka!

Meet your guide and get kitted out with your bike. Once the formalities are out of the way, the rest of the day is yours to relax or take a quick ride to the fish markets.

Accommodation: Beach Resort
Meals: Dinner

 

DAY 1: VILLAGE RIDING
Negombo – Sigiriya (155 km)

On your bikes! It’s an early start as we jump on the bikes and head east for Sigirya. We leave the coast behind and ease into our adventure on quiet open roads, cruising through dramatic Sri Lankan countryside and stopping at some rarely visited ancient sites along the way. When we arrive in Sigirya village ride and visit the famous Sigirya Rock Temple. Then it’s time to put your feet up and enjoy a sun-downer as night falls over the majestic, jungle surroundings.

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 2: OFF-ROAD TEA PLANTATIONS KNUCKLES RANGE
Sigiriya – Knuckles Mountain (150 km)

It is days like today that you remember why you started riding in the first place: the open road, stunning rural scenery, winding mountain passes and adventures at every turn.
We leave the flat lowlands behind as we enter the base of the Knuckles Mountain Range, the road rises in ever more dramatic hairpin bends, through tea estates, past statuesque Mara trees, up, up through roads unfrequented by motorbikes. As we ride through the valleys you get to experience many of the climatic conditions of Sri Lanka, with temperatures of the region ranging between 5.5 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius, landscapes changing from breathtaking waterfalls to rare dwarf cloud forests. An experience few travelers get to experience, as we rarely pass another person on the way except for the odd sari-draped women by day and giant fruit bats at night. The route takes us through unspoilt rainforest trails and jungle tracks shrouded by dense highland forest.

Accommodation: Mountain Chalet
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 3:KANDY TIME
Drive to Kandy (70 km)

After waking up to the amazing view of the mountains stooped in the early morning mist, we jump back on the bikes for a morning ride to a spectacular waterfall – a place not mentioned in a single guide book and hidden in the depths of the highlands, take the opportunity to join the villagers with their shampoo and sarongs for a refreshing dip in the crystal clear shallows, before we head back to our chalet for lunch riding through incredible landscapes that shift from low country tea estates to pockets of rainforest and terraces of luminous emerald rice paddies.

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 4: TEA PLANTATIONS
Kandy – Nuwara Eliya (85 km)

We ride out to the beautiful Ramboda Falls, a 109m-high twin waterfall. The roads then wind challengingly through the tea plantations towards Ramboda, our next port of call, offering spectacular emerald peaks dotted with colourful sari-clad tea pluckers 1,200m above sea level. Next stop is one of the most chocolate-box-esque hill stations, where you can either learn the rich history and tea manufacturing process of the nation’s favourite drink or kick back on the veranda with an elegant brew.
It’s then a short ride up to Nuwara Eliya, set high in the cool misty hill country and quaintly called “Little England”. It is a fascinating throwback to the colonial era. We arrive at our hotel in the afternoon where you have the opportunity to lower your handicap at one of the loftiest golf courses in Asia, backed by the Knuckles Ranges where the kleptomaniac local crows are famous for stealing the egg-like balls.

Accommodation: Hill Club
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 5: HORTON PLAIN NATIONAL PARK & WORLD’S END
Nuwara Eliya – Yala National Park (175 km)

After seeing the early morning dew dissipate from the hotel’s pristine lawns, we set off to Yala National Park once again riding through the familiar yet still spectacular scenery of tea plantations and lush mountainous countryside and waterfalls, en route to Horton Plains, home to World’s End, the highest cliff face in Sri Lanka. On an overcast day you are literally above the clouds, but on a clear day you can enjoy the jaw-dropping views of the mountains, valleys and rivers below for miles and miles… It’s all downhill from here enjoying the great ride to the town of Tissamaharama, through the dusty landscape of Yala National Park, one of the world’s best spots to see leopards and the native Sri Lankan elephant.

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 6: YALA SAFARI IN 4 WD JEEPS
Tissamaharama to Mirissa (120 km)

Safari time! It’s an early start as we change the bikes for 4WD jeeps, setting off at 5.30 am from the hotel to Yala National Park. This outstanding 979 sq km area is well known for being home to a variety of wild animals including the Sri Lankan elephants, leopards, wild water buffalo and the Sri Lankan Sloth Bear as well as over 200 bird species, some of which are endemic to Sri Lanka and a diverse butterfly population. This really is a superb chance to see these creatures up close – from the safety of your jeep! It’s then back to the hotel for brunch in the late morning before we set along the southern coastline to the stunning Mirissa beach, famous as one of the best sunset viewpoints in the country.

Accommodation: Beach Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 7: REST DAY – OPTIONAL VISIT TO GALLE
Mirissa (60 km)

Lay in, set up camp on the idyllic palm fringed beach ordering tropical sounding cocktails and spicy cuisine with the occasional saunter down to the warm clear ocean or if you are feeling a little more adventurous (and up for another early start) you could jump aboard the whale watching boat and cruise the coast in search of the spectacular Hoo Maniya blowhole’s and pods of fun loving dolphins.
Or, jump on the bikes again early morning to visit the incredibly well preserved fortified city of Galle, dating back to the Dutch colonial era in the mid 17th century. Take time wandering through this UNESCO World heritage Site to experience how the traders of old used to go about their day, as this is still a bustling commercial centre.

Accommodation: Beach Resort
Meals: Breakfast

 

DAY 8: RIVERS & WATERFALLS
Mirissa – Ratnapura (190 km)

We are back on the road again! Riding by rivers & waterfalls, our journey today takes us through more incredible mountain scenery as we pass through remote villages en route via Kuruwita, famed for the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak), the fourth highest peak in the country.

Accommodation: Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DAY 9: JUNGLE TRACKS
Ratnapura– Negombo (140 km)

We head off for a morning off-road adventure ride through rubber plantations, heading inland into the deep jungle toward Kithulgala on the banks of the famous Kelani Ganga River. We then head west towards the coast and beaches of Negombo, passing through lush green rice paddies and miles of palm trees lining the way.
As evening draws in, we will head out for a celebratory farewell dinner – and recount the amazing adventure we have experienced in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, once referred to as the teardrop of India, we’d rather hope that your memories of your Sri Lankan adventure and the beauty of this place will make you smile.

Accommodation: Beach Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

DEPARTURE DAY
Negombo

It’s time to say farewell to Sri Lanka and our adventure with a transfer back to the airport for your flight home.

Meals: Breakfast