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The Paradise of Sri Lanka with Michael Bates

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The Paradise of Sri Lanka with Michael Bates THE PARADISE OF SRI LANKA WITH MICHAEL BATES 18 FEBRUARY - 5 MARCH 2016 Discover a paradise island with incredible flavours, history and culture. Sri Lanka offers World Heritage sites, bustling cities, highlands, tea plantations, serene gardens and baby elephants! History of the island dates back 2000 years and thanks to its colonial past, it’s a rich cultural mix of festivities, tradition and exotic cuisine. Prepare to be dazzled by this secret tropical island. ITINERARY TOUR LEADERS HIGHLIGHTS TOUR LEADER + Visit World Heritage listed sites - ancient Buddhist temples, PAUL VAN REYK cave paintings and historic hill towns + All aboard the scenic train as we ride into the tea plantations + Visit two of the best gardens - Geoffrey Bawa’s Lunugunga Estate and Bevis Bawa’s Brief Garden Sri Lankan born, Paul is passionate + Exclusive cooking demonstrations, exploring delicious flavours about food. He shares his passion through cooking classes, websites + Stay in the Geoffrey Bawa designed Lighthouse hotel in Galle and travel. Paul has a Masters in + Marvel at noon gates, riské sculpture and artistic mosaics Gastronomy from Adelaide University and Cordon Bleu and is a reviewer for + Foodie’s delight with Sri Lankan curry & rice at Lunuganga the Good Food Guide and Sydney Eats. + Get up close to the elephants at Pinnawala He was also featured in the SBS Food Lover’s Guide to Sri Lanka. DAY 1 THU 18 FEB DAY 3 SAT 20 FEB SYDNEY TO NEGOMBO ANURADHAPURA (B) Meet your tour leaders Michael Bates and Visit the ancient city of Anuradhapura to visit its greatest treasures -dagobas Paul Van Reyk at Sydney International TOUR LEADER - hemispherical shaped white domes. Airport. Arrive late to Colombo. Transfer to MICHAEL BATES your hotel in the resort town of Negombo, We’ll swing past the 2250 year old sacred rich in culture and history. Buddha’s tree of enlightenment – the Bo tree is said to be the oldest tree in the Accommodation: Jetwing Blue, Negombo world and protected by UNESCO. Onward DAY 2 FRI 19 FEB to Minintale for a beautiful mountain walk NEGOMBO TO KANDALAMA (B/D) under frangipani trees to discover Buddhist caves. Join Paul and Michael for breakfast and then Michael runs one of Sydney’s best set out for Dambulla within the cultural Accommodation: Heritance, Kandalama landscaping companies and is mad triangle in the centre of the island. Dating DAY 4 SUN 21 FEB keen on the Sri Lankan gardens and back to the 1st century BC, the Golden SIGIRIYA (B/L) artistic genius of Geoffrey Bawa. Temple of Dambulla has been the centre of Travelling frequently on study tours Explore Sigiriya or Lion Rock, a must-see pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus for around the world, he is a passionate natural wonder of Sri Lanka. Built by an 22 centuries! The cave monastery, home to garden expert with a great sense of fun. Buddhist monks, is covered with exquisite obsessed monarch in the 5th century 2,000 year old murals depicting life and and an astonishing feat of engineering times of Buddha. The shrines also house and construction. Sirigiya rises 200m of a collection of 157 statues in various sizes sheer core of rock above a forested plain. including a reclining Buddha 15m long. Discover a series of ancient gardens, Vividly coloured frescos are the largest moats, ramparts, pools, fountains arranged antique painted surface in the world. symmetrically on either side on the rock. TO BOOK Finish our day with a beautiful view of the Spot the remains or a pair of giant lions surrounding countryside. paws still guarding the staircase that leads Check into the Heritance, a hotel to the summit, once occupied by a royal 1300 233 200 surrounded by pristine tropical jungle, palace. designed by Geoffrey Bawa and overlooking Enjoy an lunch cooking demonstration with [email protected] the magnificent expanse of the Kandalama Paul and the hotel chef. Visit our website wewa (part of Sri Lanka’s famous ancient Accommodation: Heritance, Kandalama irrigation system) and across to the www.rosstours.com DAY 5 MON 22 FEB Sigiriya rock fortress in the distance. The KANDALAMA TO KANDY (B, L) hotel is one kilometre long and the hotels seven floors are unobtrusively set into the Travel to Kandy stopping en route to visit mountainside. Hotel boasts 3 swimming a coconut rope maker and lunch in a spice pools for relaxing. garden where you can explore the history, Welcome dinner tonight. tastes and ayurvedic health uses of spices for which Sri Lanka is renowned. Arrive in Accommodation: Heritance, Kandalama ITINERARY Kandy in the afternoon, a town that nestles picked up at Nanu Oya station and drive to and is one of the few World heritage listed in the hills at an altitude of 488m and the Nuwana Eliya to spend a relaxing afternoon sites which thrive with a bustling population, last capital of the Sri Lankan kings. The name in the hills and a special high tea at the Hill restaurants, shops and galleries, making this Kandy conjures visions of past, splendour, Club (dress code applies), which was founded a pleasant and leisurely day. legend, folklore, mystery and traditions kept in 1876 by a British coffee planter, as a home Today Chef Nimal and Paul will put on a alive lovingly for years. away from home, and today is a private club luncheon cooking class to demonstrate the Check in to the breathtaking retreat of Amaya and hotel. local lamprais – a great treat. Remainder of Hills in the verdant mountains of Hanthana, Check into the old world charm of Jetwing the day at leisure. 9km from Kandy, where the architecture St Andrews, a former country house, Accommodation: Jetwing Lighthouse, Galle is Kandyan palatial style and the 170ft reminiscent of the days of the British Raj – it’s swimming pool is more than tempting! all about English breakfasts, high tea and stiff DAY 12 MON 29 FEB GALLE TO LUNUGANGA (B,L) Accommodation: Amaya Hills, Kandy brandy. Accommodation: Jetwing St. Andrews Visit the Lunuganga estate, the former DAY 6 TUE 23 FEB country home of Geoffrey Bawa. Started in KANDY (B) DAY 9 FRI 26 FEB 1947, the garden led Bawa, originally a lawyer This morning visit the Royal Botanical NUWARA ELIYA (B) to the bar, to decide to become an architect. Gardens in Peradeniya, which was originally Tour Nuwara Eliya and understand how The garden in the estate here remained his the pleasure garden of royalty. Nearly 4000 abundant rainfall, sunshine and cold nights muse and an experimental laboratory for new species of plants are found in the garden makes the perfect cup of tea. Sri Lanka is and exciting ideas. Explore the garden with which is encircled by the Mahaweli River. one of the world’s largest exporters of tea. Michael leading the charge. Bandara Palipana, Professor of Botany who Since the introduction of tea in the mid-19th Lunch to be taken within the gardens. has worked in the garden for 25 years, will century, Nuwara Eliya has been the capital Accommodation: Jetwing Lighthouse, Galle take us for a walk around the gardens that are of the tea industry where rolling mountains famous for their collection of orchids. in the highlands are carpeted by green tea DAY 13 TUE 1 MAR Afternoon tour of Kandy with its lakeside plantations. Tea plantations abound as we get GALLE TO BENTOTA (B/L) setting and a visit to the sacred Temple of the a little taste of England in the hills with rose Coastal drive this morning, passing coastal Tooth, which houses one of Buddhism’s most gardens and dotted with stone houses. villages to Bentota, where our destination sacred relics and attracts followers of the faith We’ll wander around the Hakgala Botanic is Bevis Bawa’s Brief garden. The estate is from all over the world. The Royal Complex Garden and visit a Tea Plantation with tea located along the south coast in Bentota. situated around the Temple of the Tooth tasting this afternoon. Bevis, Geoffrey’s brother, also an architect and Kandy Lake comprises the Kings Palace, Accommodation: Jetwing St. Andrews and artist, designed and converted what was Queens Palace, Audience Hall, Boathouse a rubber plantation, bequeathed to him by and Royal Summer house, represent a zenith DAY 10 SAT 27 FEB his mother in 1929, into the legendary garden of ancient Sri Lankan architecture. NUWARA ELIYA TO GALLE (B) it is today. It’s a magical world surrounded Accommodation: Amaya Hills, Kandy After breakfast we travel to Galle, an ancient by a thick bamboo hedge. The garden is Dutch outpost located on the south western a private wonderland filled with nooks, DAY 7 WED 24 FEB coast of Sri Lanka. Pass by the landacape alcoves and cloisters, and the house quite PINNAWALA ELEPHANT SANCTUARY (B/D) that was filmed for ‘The Bridge over the River invisible with a roof completely concealed A special visit to an elephant orphanage today Kwai’ on the Kelani River near Kitulgala which in white bougainvillea. Beautifully filled with with 75 elephants ranging from newborn to is famous for white water rafting. sculptures by Bevis himself and his many elderly matriarchs, some orphaned, some The minimalistic, stately and elegant artist friends, including Donald Friend, who injured in the wild and others abandoned. Lighthouse Hotel is our home for the next went for a weekend and stayed for six years. We’ll watch them eat, play and bathe in the four nights, another hotel designed by The house also contains many artworks river. Geoffrey Bawa who was responsible for including a magnificent mural of Sri Lankan Back to Kandy for a home visit with a linking the islands ancient architecture with life by Donald Friend in the style of Chagall.
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