Get underneath the skin of the Sri Lankan capital on a walking tour with a charismatic local resident as your guide. The walk focuses on photography, architecture and history in two stages; stage one covers the Fort while stage two covers the Pettah market. It will also include a break for tea and stops along the way to sample street food. The walks usually start and end at the Old Dutch Hospital and often a chance to have a drink and a further chat with your entertaining guide. For those looking to get a taste of Colombo’s nightlife, the same locals can take you on a ‘Dodgy Bar Tour’ to some of Sri Lanka’s most interesting and atmospheric establishments.

Elephants are synonymous with Sri Lankan culture and no tour of Sri Lanka would be complete without seeing some of these majestic animals. There is nothing quite like seeing them roaming in the wild in one of the island’s national parks, but we can also take you for a more close and personal meeting with some of Sri Lanka’s tamed elephants. Our unique elephant encounter is exclusive to Bamboo Travel clients and begins with a journey off the main road near Dambulla and through a remote village to a private catamaran which will be waiting in a tranquil location on the Kandalama Tank. Cross the tank on your catamaran, the traditional mode of transport for fishermen in Sri Lanka before arriving in a small bay where 2 tamed elephants will be enjoying a bath. Their mahouts will invite you to join them in washing the elephants in the traditional way, using coconut husks. The mahoots will explain to you about the lives of these elephants and you will witness the close chemistry between them. After bathing the elephants, they will be taken up onto the shore and assist the mahoots in feeding them fresh local fruit. Later, you will bid adieu to the elephants and transfer by local tractor back to the main road. This experience lasts for around 2 hours and can be arranged either early in the morning (07:00-09:00) or in the late afternoon (16:00-18:00). The elephants you will meet are well looked after and we believe this is a responsible and respectful way to enjoy a meeting with these wonderful animals.

Around an hours drive from Nuwara Eliya, the Horton Plains National Park has unique vegetation and is famous for many rare and endemic highland birds that you won’t see elsewhere in Sri Lanka. This makes it a very important place for keen birdwatchers to include on their tour of Sri Lanka. From wherever you are staying in the Hill Country, to make the most of a visit to the Horton Plains you will be required to rise very early and take a packed breakfast with you from your hotel. There are a number of walking routes around the park which you can take depending on how long you would like to walk for and your guide will be able to take you to some of the very best bird-watching spots on the Plains. Your driver will wait for you at the park entrance and you will be accompanied on your trek by a local English speaking expert birdwatching guide.

Sigiriya rock is one of Sri Lanka’s most famous and striking attractions. The rock is best climbed early in the morning or in the mid-to-late afternoon, to avoid the midday sun. On arrival at the rock you will commence the climb with an expert local guide who will explain the ancient history of this unique rock fortress. Walk through the extensive gardens, ringed by an intimidating moat, and up the steep steps, passing through the famous Lion’s Paw to the summit where you will enjoy jaw-dropping views out over the Sri Lankan countryside. Visitors should be aware that sections of the climb are steep and the upmost care should be taken when ascending and descending the rock. The last section up to the summit is on a narrow metal staircase and to reach the summit requires a good level of fitness. Many people decide to stop by the Lion’s Paw, about two-thirds of the way up and enjoy the view from there. Depending on what time of day you chose to do the climb, we can arrange for a packed breakfast to be taken with you or for some sundowner cocktails to be served at the foot of the rock – a fine way to cap off one of a visit to one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic sights.

In Galle you can learn how to cook Biriyani with the descendants of Muslim settlers. Biriyani is a dish that was brought to Sri Lanka many centuries ago by Arab merchants and is often served at Muslim family celebrations and festivities. A traditional Biryani comprises side dishes such as raita, cashew curry, Malay pickle, curried peas and meats and other spiced vegetables that accompany flavoured rice. Along with your host family you will pick, marinade and season the ingredients for your dishes and then you will all sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labours as a family.

Polonnaruwa is an ancient city in the east of Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle and whilst the ancient city of Anuradhapura to the north is perhaps the more famous, many visitors find Polonnaruwa an easier place to understand as it is smaller and in parts less ruined. A well-planned city defended by enclosing walls (around 5 km of which still remain) and graced by palaces, shrines, monasteries, pavilions, parks, ponds and irrigation lakes, Polonnaruwa is strewn with ruins in a resplendent state of preservation and is a delightful place to explore. For keen cyclists, we strongly recommend exploring Polonnaruwa on a guided bicycle tour. As most of the interesting ruins are quite close together and the area is pretty flat, the cycling is easy going and can be done as a morning or as a full day tour if you want to get further afield. The ancient city also backs onto a large reservoir called Parakrama Samudra and cycling around at a leisurely pace, you are likely to see some of Sri Lanka’s impressive birdlife.

What could be more appealing than a gentle morning of cycling, culminating with lunch in one of Sri Lanka’s most fabulous hotels, set amongst tea plantations in the hills outside Galle? From a base outside the city, head off on a guided cycling tour around Koggala Lake and through the plantations to Kahanda Kanda (around 15km of cycling). On arrival enjoy a special lunch in this magical setting before being returned to your hotel in Galle by car. Alternatively you can reverse the itinerary, starting with lunch and then doing a gentle afternoon ride back to Galle, finishing on the beach in time for a sunset swim. Our trusted local supplier can also arrange other unique cycling tours around the Galle area 

The spectacular festival of Esala Perahera takes place over a 10 day period in either July or August (Esala). The festival dates back to the 3rd century BC and is celebrated to honour both the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic, which is kept in Kandy’s famous Temple of the Tooth. The term ‘perahera’ refers to a procession of musicians, drummers, dancers and singers accompanied by a large number of elephants, some of whom are tuskers. The pageant that can be seen today in Kandy includes all of these ingredients with up to a hundred elephants, dressed in colourful costumes, and up to thousand artistes – talented in dancing, drum beating, fireball dancing, whip-cracking – taking to the streets. What starts off as ‘simple procession ‘ on day one of the festival, with teams of well-trained elephants and fire wielding dancers parading the through the crammed streets of Kandy, culminates in a five hour feast of ‘orchestrated mayhem’ on the final night! If you are travelling to Sri Lanka in July or August please ask how we can include a night at the Esala Perahera in your itinerary.

From Kurikadduvan jetty in Jaffna, catch the navy operated ferry to Delft Island. The ferry journey takes around 30 minutes to reach the island which is just 50 square kilometres in size and is surrounded by shallow waters. Locally-hired transport will take you on an excursion on the bumpy roads around the island. Roots of the Dutch era are still clearly visible with scattered ruins of the Dutch Fort and Court House located in the grounds of Delft Hospital. This hospital plays an important role in the lives of the islanders as snake-bites are responsible for a high number of fatalities here. On the tour you will also see a giant hollow ‘baobab tree’ big enough for about five people to stand comfortably in its cavity, the old stables of the Dutch era and ‘giant foot prints’ which Hindus refer to as the foot prints of Lord Hanuman (the monkey god of Ramayana mythology). Other sites include ancient Buddhist ruins at one end of the island and to the west of the island temple ruins that were designed in South Indian Chola style. You may also see a pigeon house designed by the Portuguese, when pigeons were used as a mode of communication, and groups of wild ponies as you travel around. After the sightseeing you can have lunch at the missionary school before making your way back to Jaffna.

For enthusiastic horticulturalists, a visit to the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya is a must. The gardens are home to a rare collection of tropical exotic and indigenous flora and an impressive orchid house. The Gardens include more than 4000 species of plants, including orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palm trees and they are conveniently located on the outskirts of Kandy and so are easy to include in most itineraries. Although it is advisable to avoid the heat in the middle of the day, the time and length of your visit can be flexible depending on your interest and itinerary. Usually your driver will leave you to explore the gardens on your own, although we can also arrange for you to be shown around the gardens by an English speaking expert in botany. Our expert is a walking encyclopaedia and a true character and will make a visit to the gardens fascinating, even for those with very little interest in botany.