What‘s Included

Meeting and Pickup

What To Expect

Reviews

• An experience you won't forget – perfectly organized!

  Daniel E,

  Sep 4, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  I highly recommend this tour, especially my tour guide Shan, who accompanied and drove me the entire way. We set off around 5 a.m. and after about 4.5 hours, we reached our first destination, Sigiriya Rock. I knew I had to climb up there, but when I stood in front of it, I thought, "Oh my gosh, that's really big." So I climbed the 200 meters up and back down in about 2.5 hours. It was very crowded, so progress was very slow, but it was still worth it for me. It was a truly amazing experience, and my driver, Shan, was waiting for me at the bottom the whole time. After the exertion, we continued on to an ox-drawn carriage ride, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards, we took a raft across a small lake, where I was given a necklace and a headdress made of beautiful flowers. Equipped with this, we then went to a small village where I enjoyed traditional Sri Lankan cuisine and was able to participate in the process myself. Here, I was able to grate coconut and do other tasks myself, and I was also able to watch the food being prepared. Afterwards, we ate the food, which was truly delicious. Here, people eat with their hands, which is very unusual for us Europeans, but a very interesting experience. When we were finished, we were picked up by a tuk-tuk that took us to a safari vehicle, which then took us to Minneriya National Park. There were really very few animals in the national park; I was just extremely unlucky here. I have to say, though, that the driver really made an effort to find them. Unfortunately, apart from a single elephant and a few birds, we didn't see anything else. It was still a great experience. After the safari, we went to Dambulla to the cave temple. Here, we had to climb stairs again, but no matter what, once you get to the top, you see some truly amazing things. I really liked the design of the caves; the feeling reminded me a bit of the royal tombs in Luxor, Egypt. It's truly astonishing how artfully people designed these caves many years ago. I was also very impressed by the golden statue. Since it was a long walk from the entrance to the end, I called my driver Shan to ask if he could pick me up at the exit, which he did. He was a really friendly, honest, and helpful person. At the end, it was about 4.5 hours back to the hotel. It was a very long drive, but Shan drove very well. It's a very long trip, but I don't regret it. I highly recommend it to everyone; you really get to see a lot here, and the tour operator is very reliable. Any questions can be answered via WhatsApp at any time. Many thanks to Vishwa for organizing the trip and Shan for making it happen and making it a great day.