FLAVOURS OF CEYLON

Upon arriving in Sri Lanka, transfer to Horathapola Estate, a tranquil Colonial-style planter’s mansion that offers an ideal haven for a relaxing holiday. Hidden within a vast green coconut belt of the Western province, Horathapola is an idyllic rural hideaway located one and half hour’s drive north of the airport. Here you will experience the area’s traditional local cuisine, including Black Pork Curry, a special favorite amongst the largely Christian communities around this area. All the vegetables and fruits will be freshly picked from their own Horathapola garden. Relax by the poolside in a tropical garden teeming with birdlife and explore the estate, which grows a variety of fruits and spices.

Today you journey to the central hill capital of Kandy where you will stay for two nights at the Kandy House, the finest property in the area: a beautiful and stylishly renovated old colonial "Walauwa"(ancestral mansion) set in magnificent tropical gardens. Experience the ancient Kandyan heritage including traditional Kandyan cuisine. Kandyan sweet meats including Kavum, Kokis, and Pani Walalu are delicious treats not to be missed. In the villages, lunch is taken to the paddy field in a Kuruni picnic basket with rice and curries wrapped in banana leaf – you can also take a picnic as you explore the ancient sites of Kandy including the Degaldoruwa Cave Temple in Gunnepana, just a walking distance from the Kandy House. The Temple of the Tooth, where a sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha is enshrined, is the most famous temples in the area but there are several off-the-beaten track.

This morning you will drive to Dickoya, 4,000 ft above sea level, through the dramatic landscape of the southern highlands, a land of lush tea plantations, majestic peaks and rushing waterfalls. Here you will stay the next three nights at Norwood bungalow, one of four bungalows in the acclaimed Ceylon Tea Trails collection. Savour the "Tea experience" amidst the rolling tea covered hills of Bogawantalawa Estate. Learn about Sri Lanka’s famous crop - starting from the tea field where it all begins with the picking of “two leaves and a bud” to the factory where the processing begins. You can also taste and purchase teas from different regions which vary greatly. Ceylon Tea Trails also offers plenty of attractions for active-minded travelers including: guided trekking in the surrounding estates or a visit to Horton Plains, and mountain biking. The food is undoubtedly the best in the hill-country.