20 Days Discover Sri Lanka Wild Life and Nature on Motorcycle

DAY 1: ARRIVAL - COLOMBO / NEGOMBO

Depending on your flight, you will arrive at the airport of Colombo in the morning or afternoon. The ride to the hotel in the center of Negombo is about 20 minutes. In the late afternoon the motorbikes get delivered at the hotel so you will meet the driver and the mechanic too.

DAY 2: NEGOMBO - KALPITIYA (PUTTALAM LAGOON)

Straight away after we leave Negombo the road becomes less crowded, particularly when we leave the highway and ride on smaller roads. Along the coastline there are a lot of shrimp farms. We will ride through palm tree plantations. Next, we will follow an unpaved road to the Northern direction of Kalpitiya. This area is very popular among kite and wind surfers, therefore there are a lot of small, cozy resorts. We will stay in a resort close to the beach where you can stroll or watch the surfers in the nearby lagoon.

DAY 3: KALPITIYA - DAMBULLA

Today we will ride towards the East into the inland. Soon, we will leave the highway and ride on small and poor quality country roads which are sometimes unpaved. The area where we will be riding is characterized by the many water tanks and extensive rice fields that provide a beautiful view. Along these roads, we find many artificial lakes (pokunas). These lakes date back to the 12th century. Pokunas are shallow water reservoirs that absorb the monsoon showers and are used as irrigation storage.

Our hotel with a swimming pool is located in the outskirts of the vivid village Dambulla

DAY 4: DAMBULLA - STAY

We will stay one more day in Dambulla as there is a lot to do around here! Close to our hotel, you can find the Golden Temple, also called the Dambulla Cave Temple. The Golden Temple is a complex of historical Buddhist buildings. The wall paintings, with a total surface of 2.100 square kilometers, shows how Buddha was challenged by Mara, but to no avail. 20 kilometers away from the hotel, you can visit the Rock of Sigiriya. This is one of the seven places of Sri Lanka that is listed on the World Heritage List. The Rock of Sigiriya consists of idyllic spots surrounded by walls and canals. On top of the rock there is a citadel, which used to serve as a palace. Now it's just a ruin.

On the North side of the rock, you can reach the Mirror wall that is situated halfway up the steep stairs. On the Mirror wall you can see frescoes of women. When you climb further up, you will find a terrace and the remains of the Lion’s Gate. This is where the name “Sigiriya” originated from, the translation is Lion's Rock. You can also visit the Minneriya National Park. This park is relatively small, but it has a huge variety of wildlife. For example, it has spotted deer, sambar deer, purple colored langur monkeys and macaques, but the most famous animal is the elephant.

DAY 5: DAMBULLA - POLONNARUWA

If we haven't done this yesterday, we will visit the Golden Temple today. When we get back, we will pack our luggage and start the short ride to Polonnaruwa of approximately 21⁄2 hours. We will ride past the Angammedilla channel and later the Giritale Wewa Lake. Our hotel is located next to the lake. In the surroundings, there are rice fields.

Tonight, we will have dinner in a special restaurant. It is about 6 kilometers from the city and can be reached following a dark path. There is a great diversity of delicious Sri Lankan dishes - and they are all fresh! Our host grows almost all of his ingredients in his own garden and his wife uses them to make a delicious dinner.

DAY 6: POLONNARUWA - TRINCOMOLEE

Via secondary roads, along extensive rice fields and landscaped canals where the locals wash themselvesand also do the laundry, we ride further east. Then we ride unpaved roads through the eastern part of Somawathiya National Park, where there may still be elephants. We ride towards the main road and then turn off again for beautiful off-road paths through extensive rice fields in the eastern Province of Sri Lanka. We spend the night just outside Trincomalee, a luxury hotel with swimming pool situated on a river that flows into the Indian Sea.

DAY 7: TRINCOMOLEE - PASIKUDA

The morning leg goes off-road through Somawathiya National Park, a combination of densely planted small trails and extensive dirt roads, where many elephants still live in the wild. Then we encounter a bit of paved main road, but we will turn several times and find unpaved paths through small villages along vast lakes and rice fields. Our overnight stay is again in a luxury hotel with a swimming pooldirectly by the sea.

DAY 8: PASIKUDA-MAHIYANGANA

We quickly turn off the main road and ride unpaved into the interior. This is clearly disadvantaged part of Sri Lanka with many rice fields and relatively few people. In short, this is a wonderful off-road section, but some parts can be difficult when the surface is wet.

Then we ride via the main road to Mahiyangana, a not so well-known place for tourists. It is very worthwhile to stay here for 2 days.

DAY 9: MAHIYANGANA-STAY

Today is a special experience: you will first visit the oldest tribes of Sri Lanka called the Vedda's. Then we will go on a special safari in Maduru Oya National Park. There are hardly any tourists here and we will be one of the few to find the wild elephants that live here. Especially at sunset when they emerge, the combination with the darkness makes for a great experience.

DAY 10: MAHIYANGANA - KANDY

After breakfast we ride to Knuckles Forest Reserve. Via the old road we ride into the mountains, where we will have several stops to enjoy the view. If we feel like it, we can ride a beautiful route through tea plantations before going to Kandy. Our hotel with a swimming pool is close to the city center and offers a breath-taking view on the valley. Kandy is a place to visit the Temple of Tooth where a remain of Buddha's tooth is exhibited. The temple is situated in the royal palace complex. Since the ancient times, this piece of tooth played an important role in local politics because people believe that the one in possession of the tooth must rule the country. Behind this royal palace complex, you will find the World Buddhist Museum which is definitely worth a visit. Furthermore, it is fun to stroll through the bustling city center and over the colorful market. The hotel is not far from the center and has beautiful views over the valley.

DAY 11: KANDY-NUWARA ELIYA

We will leave Kandy via the main road to "enjoy” the busy traffic and its many smelly buses. The further we get away from Kandy, the calmer it becomes. After 18 hairpin curves, we leave this road for smaller roads. Around us we find many rice fields. Via Victoria Randenigala Rantembe Sanctuary we start gaining altitude and soon enough we are riding through a beautiful area with tea plantation as far as we can see. We keep this view until we reach Nuwara Eliya.

We arrive early in the afternoon so we have time to visit the nearby tea plantation of Pedro of 1885. In the afternoon, we can take a tuktuk to the city center of Nuwara Eliya. This city looks very British because of the many big colonial houses and hotels. A cup of afternoon tea will be the finishing touch!

DAY 12: NUWARA ELIYA-ELLA

We leave Nuwara Eliya and soon also leave the highway. Via small roads we will zigzag through the many tea plantations that offer breathtaking views. While we gain altitude, the road becomes smaller and of lesser quality. When we cross the top, we will head for a small path that first goes through a forest and later through small villages where people earn their money by working on the tea plantations.

Towards the end of this day, we will get to a viewpoint. When the weather is clear the view is magnificent. Next, we will get to our destination of today: Ella. This is a friendly village with many restaurants. We will spend the night in the outskirts of the center in the middle of the woods.

DAY 13: ELLA - TISSAMAHARAMA

After breakfast, we will head South. The first part is calm riding through mountains. Via a small path, we get to the main road. We will ride to Tissamaharama via Lunugamvehera National Park where elephants can cross the road. Our hotel is situated between the rice fields in the suburbs of Tissamaharama.

DAY 14: TISSAMAHARAMA - UDAWALAWA

This will be a very special morning because we will go on safari in Yalla National Park! At 4:30 am we will be picked up by a jeep. While it is still dark, we will ride into the park. The early morning is the best time to spot wildlife. There is a big chance we get to see crocodiles, elephants and many exotic birds - perhaps even leopards! Around noon we will be back at the hotel, and after lunch we will make the short trip to Udawalawa National Park where we will spend the night.

DAY 15: UDAWALAWA-MIRISSA

After breakfast we will visit an elephant orphanage and sanctuary. Next, we will head further South. Following many small paths along rice fields and through palm tree plantations, we will arrive in the seaside town Mirissa. The hotel is situated 300 meters from the beach and there are many restaurants in the surroundings.

DAY 16: MIRISSA - STAY

Today we have a day off to enjoy the tropical beach of Mirissa. If you wish to do something active, we can travel by train to the Galle fort. This is about 40 kilometers. Galle is a colonial town that was built in 1663 by the Dutch VOC after the Portuguese were spooked away by 2000 men who arrived with 12 ships. This is definitely worth a visit! For those who have never seen dolphins or whales in the wild, this is your chance! A few kilometers from the coast, you can see many kinds of whales in the morning. For example, the blue whale with a weight of 170 tons and a length of 30 meters which reaches the surface for some air and hopefully goes back down with a beautiful dive.

DAY 17: MIRISSA-DENIYAYA

We leave the south coast behind and head north again into the mountains. Rice fields and later tea plantations emerge as we climb. The roads narrow and the climate slowly gets cooler. Today's ride is approximately 3 hours, so we will arrive early in the afternoon at our accommodation in Sinharaja Rain Forest National Park, a rainforest with numerous special birds, monkeys and plants. In the afternoon you can do a 3 hour jungle trekking tour with a local guide. We spend the night in a calm oasis with animal sounds.

DAY 18: DENIYAYA-KITULGALA

During breakfast we enjoy tropical sounds in the background. Then we climb with our motorbike over a mountain and ride through a wooded area and then descend following beautiful hairpin bends. We are now riding on the main road, but we will quickly turn again to ride towards Kitulgala which is in a hilly and wooded area. Our open-plan cottages are located right on a river to enjoy the natural sounds when you go to sleep.

DAY 19: KITULGALA-NEGOMBO

This area is known for its rafting. In the morning you can experience this adventure facing rough waters. After lunch we will get on our motorcycles for one last time to ride towards Negombo. We will avoid the crowded roads as much as we can and use smaller roads. Eventually we will arrive at the hotel where we started this trip. In the evening, we will end this beautiful tour having a great last dinner together.

DAY 20: NEGOMBO - DEPARTURE

Today you will be brought back to the airport in Colombo with a cab.