Education Through Exploration

You will be welcomed with flower garlands at the arrival hall of the airport by the Walkers Tours team and escorted to the vehicle to reach your next destination.

Airport – Negombo | Travel Distance: 20 km | Approximate travel time: 30 minutes

Check-in to your hotel and spend the evening at leisure.

After breakfast at the hotel leave Negombo for Habarana, en-route visit the Dambulla cave temple.

Negombo – Habarana | Travel Distance: 160 km | Approximate travel time: 3hrs 15min

Optional activity: Visit Dambulla Temple USD 07 per person

Dambulla is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses.

After an early breakfast, proceed to Hiriwadunna.

Sigiriya – Hiriwadunna | Travel Distance: 5 km | Approximate travel time:15minutes

Optional Excursion Visit Hiriwadunna village: USD 20 per person

A trek experience begins with a morning walk to the scrub forests bordering the village of Hiriwadunna, famed for the spotting of some 130-bird species and a variety of rare butterflies. You can experience canoeing and a local tractor ride. You will end the experience with a delicious local lunch cooked by a village family.

Hiriwadunna – Sigiriya | Travel Distance: 20 km | Approximate travel time:45minutes

Visit Sigiriya Rock Fortress: USD 35 per person

After an ancient prince killed his father to claim the throne, he was forced to flee to his pleasure palace and converted it into a fortress to guard against his opposition. The spectacular citadel of Sigiriya built on a giant rock rises sheer and impregnable out of the plains below. This remarkable 5th century archaeological site is made unforgettable by its dramatic setting. A moat, rampart, extensive gardens including the renowned water gardens ring the base of the rock and the frescoes of the 'Heavenly Maidens' of Sigiriya.

Note: Please note that to reach the top of Sigiriya Rock, there are nearly 1,200 stone steps up and then down. Anybody in reasonably good condition will be able to venture to the top of Sigiriya Rock and it's certainly worth the effort, however important to know these little details before embarking on this outing.

Tamarind Gardens provides the community with training and employment opportunities in hospitality. The dairy cows and garden provide vital nutrition to households and an income source for the social enterprise and others have been employed doing various tasks for the farm and guesthouse. Tamarind Gardens has been working on a project to supply community members with water tanks to capture rainwater and store water during the dry season. The new garden project increases access to nutritional food, as well as increasing the supply of local food. This 10-acre farm provides a necessary space for community development projects that move the village towards a sustainable future.

During your experiential visit to Tamarind Garden take part in of the unique activities offered by the property owners who are passionate about uplifting the livelihood of the local community.

Optional: Activity package cost: USD 30 per person

Experience the Typical Village Style Cooking by handpicking your own vegetables from the organic vegetable farm and partake in cooking with a local chef at the property.

Women empowerment project Sewing cooperative as an additional source of income, book upcycling, cow dung drying and packaging and upcycling of rice bags are a few activities you may witness during your visit.

CSR Project with a local rural school or educational institute Visit a rural school in the vicinity and engage with the local children. Conduct a short interactive English lesson.

A scrumptious local lunch will be served at the Tamarind Gardens

After breakfast we will taking to Nuwara Eliya and venture through beautiful tea estates.

Digana – Nuwara Eliya | Travel Distance: 100km | Approximate travel time:3 hours 30minutes

Enroute to Nuwara Eliya make a stop at a tea plantation and get an insight into the processing of the world’s finest tea.

You can join the workers and take part in picking tea and visit a working tea factory to understand the tedious process behind the tea industry. The ‘Little England’ of Sri Lanka, is set against beautiful backdrops of Mountains, Valleys, Waterfalls and Tea Plantations. It is supposed to be one of the coolest places in the Island, but it is really just like an English spring day, although the temperature does drop at night. All around Nuwara Eliya you will see evidence of the British influence, houses like country cottages or Queen Ann style mansions. The Victoria Park, in the middle of the town, is a lovely place for a stroll or a picnic and is also good for Birding as you get some rare birds in this park. Seasons may be absent elsewhere in Sri Lanka, but here you can read them by the flowers, which bloom in the spring (march to May) and the fall (August and September). These are the “seasons” when low-country folk flock to Nuwara Eliya to escape the sea level heat and humidity.

Today you will depart from the hill country drive to the coast,

Nuwara Eliya – Galle | Travel Distance: 260 km | Approximate travel time:6 hours

The South Coast’s major city is Galle, whose oldest landmark is the massive Portuguese and Dutch Fort which is a “World Heritage Site” in which the central city is contained. But the city may be much older. Some scholars believe it to be the “Tarshish” of the Old Testament, to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels, and to which Jonah fled from the Lord. Today, the 90-acre Galle Fort shows no evidence of the Portuguese founders. The Dutch incorporated the Portuguese northern wall in a great rampart in 1663. A second, taller wall was built inside of it. Between the two walls, a covered passage connected the central bastion with the Fort’s two half bastions overlooking the sea. The Dutch also installed a sophisticated drainage system, complete with brick-lined underground sewers that were flushed twice a day by the high and low tides. The original gate to the fort was by the harbour. It is still there, marked by the British Coat-of-arms on the front and the Dutch V.O.C. (Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie) with the Coat-of-arms with a rooster crest, on the inner side of the Fort.

Today after early breakfast depart to Colombo.

Like many capital cities in developing countries Colombo is fast changing its face. almost overnight, skyscrapers arise from where old buildings once stood, yet in some parts, the old-world charm is retained. A 100-year-old clock tower and several British built, colonial buildings are still to be seen in the city.

Transfer to the NSBM university to take part in the Global Youth Camp

Negombo, more affectionately known as the “Little Rome” of Sri Lanka is a romantic little coastal town in close proximity to the Bandaranaike International Airport. Home to some of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka, fresh seafood and untouched beaches, Negombo is the perfect location for a beach holiday just before you set off to explore the rest of Sri Lanka or just before the end of your holiday in Sri Lanka. with a range of beach activities, such as kite surfing, and an active nightlife, there is always something to do in Negombo.

said to be the famous Tarshish of the Bible where King Solomon obtained gems and spices, this "Living" UNESCO World Heritage Site is the port where the Portuguese first landed in Sri Lanka in 1505. Captured and fortified by the Dutch who ruled maritime Sri Lanka in the 17th and 18th centuries, the city still retains the air of old Holland. Within the well preserved 90 acre fort and ramparts built in 1663 are Old Dutch churches and monuments with armorial bearings, an imposing crested and monogrammed gateway dated 1669, many well preserved Old Dutch houses and narrow alleys still bearing Dutch names. The New Oriental Hotel, built for a Dutch governor in 1684, a colonial gem now converted to the internationally renowned Amangalle Hotel and several other excellent boutique hotels are testimony to the importance of this location.

At an altitude of over 1,800m above sea level the picturesque landscape of Nuwara Eliya is known as “Little England” because of the resemblance of its homesteads to English bungalows, and it’s cool climate (there are even log fires in some hotels). Nuwara Eliya is overlooked by Piduruthalagala, the highest mountain in Sri Lanka. In colonial days it was the retreat from the coastal heat for British residents and even today rituals like horse racing, boating on the lake, beautiful flower garden competitions and golf tournaments are held during the local holiday season months of April and August. Most of Sri Lanka’s fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables are grown in the area and there are also dairy and strawberry farms. The Hakgala Botanical Gardens near the town is a prime attraction, as is a trek across Horton Plains.