Flavours of Srilanka Spices – 11 Nights / 12Days

Welcome to Sri Lanka. Known as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’, the island offers explorers palm-studded sea shores, moving ranches, and hallowed locales saturated with otherworldliness. With beguiling individuals, baffling vestiges and the absolute best food on the planet, Sri Lanka’s entrancing pith will stay with you long after you return home. You’ll begin your adventure by getting in the seaside spirit in Negombo, a historical commercial centre surrounded by a fascinating network of canals teeming with rural life. Pull up a deck chair on Negombo’s huge, sweeping beach and enjoy the Indian Ocean before meeting up with your group and leader at a welcome meeting tonight at 6 pm. Spend your first night enjoying the coastline, getting to know your fellow travellers and watching the fishing boats float by. Perhaps go out for a meal together for your first taste of Sri Lankan cuisine.

In the morning, wake early and catch the action at the Negombo fish market. The market is situated at the northern end of a lagoon renowned for lobsters, crabs and prawns. Weave through stalls piled with shark, squid, barracuda and unheard of sea creatures as the sellers call out their wares, and get a great insight into local commerce. Continue on to a coconut plantation (approximately 1 hour) to discover why this ‘super food’ is so central to life in Sri Lanka. Learn how all parts of the tree play an important part in daily life, sip the water of a king coconut, watch ‘toddy tappers’ extract the palm wine from the coconut sap and taste the results. Enjoy a Sri Lankan rice and curry lunch. Head inland to Dambulla (approximately 2 hours), home to vibrantly decorated cave temples and a great base to explore the wide array of natural wonders and historic sites in this fascinating area. Your evening is free to explore. Alternatively join your leader on an optional street food crawl for an introduction to some staple Sri Lankan ‘short eats’ including hoppers and the famous kotthu roti. In the morning, wake early and catch the action at the Negombo fish market. The market is situated at the northern end of a lagoon renowned for lobsters, crabs and prawns. Weave through stalls piled with shark, squid, barracuda and unheard of sea creatures as the sellers call out their wares, and get a great insight into local commerce. Continue on to a coconut plantation (approximately 1 hour) to discover why this ‘super food’ is so central to life in Sri Lanka. Learn how all parts of the tree play an important part in daily life, sip the water of a king coconut, watch ‘toddy tappers’ extract the palm wine from the coconut sap and taste the results. Enjoy a Sri Lankan rice and curry lunch. Head inland to Dambulla (approximately 2 hours), home to vibrantly decorated cave temples and a great base to explore the wide array of natural wonders and historic sites in this fascinating area. Your evening is free to explore. Alternatively join your leader on an optional street food crawl for an introduction to some staple Sri Lankan ‘short eats’ including hoppers and the famous kotthu roti.

After breakfast, drive to Sigiriya (roughly 30 minutes). Here you will have the chance to move to the highest point of the stone and visit its detailed antiquated stronghold complex (around 2.5 hours full circle by walking, including steps). The 200 meter high antiquated remaining parts of a cautious capital worked by an unfortunate ruler, ‘Lion Rock’ houses dynamic fifth-century frescos, terraced gardens and sprinkling wellsprings. Next, observe age-old traditions at a nearby chena cultivation area, one of the oldest forms of agriculture known to humans. It’s particularly popular in the dry zone of the country where it rains for only a few months of the year. Principal crops are tropical vegetables, cereals, grains, yams and corn. Then feast on tropical vegetables, curry made with tapioca and fried fish caught in the nearby lake for lunch. In the late afternoon, return to Dambulla to explore the Wholesale Market and dodge the trucks and people piled high with every type of produce imaginable. Boasting an incredible array of fresh food, much of which is subsequently transported to Colombo for sale, this is the perfect place to get a sense of Sri Lanka’s agricultural diversity. The rest of the evening is free for your own food adventures. Use the free evening to poke around the town or sit back with a drink. There are plenty of restaurants surrounding the markets. Your leader will also have some tips on where to find the best roti in town.

Located high on a cliff face are the impressive Dambulla Cave temples. You will have time to explore these this morning and admire the many Buddha images, frescoes and paintings. On the way to the physical and spiritual heart of the country and the former home of the last Sri Lankan king, stop for lunch at a spice garden in the renowned spice-growing region of Matale. Sri Lankans are the masters of spice and here you can learn how spices aren’t just used in food, but also cosmetics and ayurvedic medicine. Smell the fragrant odours of cumin, cinnamon and curry leaves before tasting pumpkin curry flavoured with aromatic fenugreek, with a side of dry chilli sambol and the uniquely Sri Lankan coconut roti. As the spice gardens here are popular with tourists, you will find the prices to be higher than outside, but it is the ideal place to learn about the best Sri Lankan spices. Continue on to Kandy and arrive by late afternoon (approximately 2 hours). Kandy is a pleasant city surrounded by lush green countryside, and it’s home to a picturesque lake, old shops, a bustling market and some great restaurants. This evening observe locals worshipping in Kandy’s Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), one of Sri Lanka’s most sacred shrines that houses a tooth relic of the Lord Buddha.  With your free evening, perhaps follow the sound of rhythmic chopping to watch a chef transform a ball of dough into a huge sheet of wafer-thin roti, skilfully slice, griddle, mix with vegetables and spices and create kotthu roti.

This morning you’ll enjoy a guided walk around Kandy’s busy city centre, including a tour of the Central Market and samples of local fresh fruits, before visiting a nearby working tea factory. Learn about tea harvesting and production while enjoying some samples. The rest of the day is free for you to explore. Kandy is home to a National Museum, monasteries and there are many scenic walks around town. The botanical gardens here are among the best in Asia. In the early evening, join a Sinhalese family to spoil your sweet tooth with a Kandyan sweet-filled Sri Lankan dinner and cooking class. Try your hand at crafting string hoppers, pressing a smooth rice dough into noodle-thin strands to form perfect discs (this is an art that takes some practice to master!), try a chicken curry made with spice-infused coconut milk, closer to a Thai curry than a classic North Indian one. Then fill up on specialty sweets inspired by Dutch and Portuguese dessert traditions.

Take a scenic journey into the highlands to Bandarawela (approximately 7 hours). Journey past waterfalls, little villages and up through the mountains on the way to this town in the cool highlands, once popular with British plantation managers. Look down over a sweeping vista filled with bright green tea bushes and vegetable gardens. Tonight you are invited to a local home for a traditional meal.

Rise early and head to the verdant encompasses of the district’s tea ranches. Find out about the country’s most significant fare, meet neighborhood tea pickers who will show you their specialty and let you have an active go at picking and afterward gauging tea before it takes off to the production line. Appreciate a cup (or two) at the source! At that point go out to the town of Haputale (around 60 minutes) for a home-prepared lunch with a Tamil family. Attack customary Tamil food with dosa – a firm rice hotcake – and idli, an exquisite steamed rice cake presented with curry sauces or chutneys. Get back to Bandarawela in the late evening and absorb the country appeal of the town and the delightful encompassing scenes.

Drive approximately 2 hours to the wilderness of Yala National Park (or Udawalawe National Park in the off season). Encompassing a variety of diverse ecosystems, the park has an impressive array of wildlife, including sloth bears and lots of birds. In the evening take a safari tour and get the binoculars out to search for the leopards that lounge in trees or stalk through the brush, crocodiles that patrol the river or wild elephants that graze across the savanna. Please note that during times of inclement weather, such as heavy rainfall, we may not be able to visit the national parks and will arrange an alternate activity in these cases.

Start the day sweetly discovering one of Sri Lanka’s favourite ingredients. Try buffalo curd, served in bright terracotta pots with thick, golden treacle, often eaten as a snack, as an accompaniment to meals or as a dessert. Sri Lankans are famed for their sweet tooth and this is just about as sweet as it gets. En route to the beautiful beach village of Mirissa (approximately 3 hours), discover the Muslim influence on Sri Lankan food with dishes like biryani and watalappam at lunch. Spend the rest of the day relaxing or exploring the golden sands of Sri Lanka’s southern coastline. The beach is a long curve of sand and has lovely calm clear waters for swimming, and the sunsets are great too. This is a paradise that you won’t want to leave. Perhaps consider taking a bicycle ride or tuk-tuk to watch colourful fishing boats bring back their loads of fresh fish to sell along the shore. Maybe take a boat to spot whales and dolphins, or wash down all that chilli with a beer, while watching surfers take on the waves.

Meet with a local fisherman and learn about their craft, and how their lives have changed after the tsunami. Enjoy the freshest seafood lunch possible with a fisherman’s family – a wonderful crab curry is likely to be on the menu. Continue on to the perfectly preserved colonial township of Galle (approximately 1 hour) and its blend of European architecture and South Asian traditions. In the evening take a tour of the Royal Dutch Fort, exploring the winding passageways, maze of gallery-filled narrow streets and 400 years of rich history. Return to Mirissa for the night.

Head north for the last stop on this gastronomic experience and Sri Lanka’s business heart, Colombo (roughly 2.5 hours). The city is a cosmopolitan blend of dynamic road markets, frontier structures, intriguing historical centers, fine eateries and extraordinary shopping openings. Nibble your way around paths loaded up with ‘short eats’, road food prospects and clamoring neighborhood diners. Appreciate a last Dutch Burgher-affected dinner, and praise the finish of your food experience with new companions.

This outing closes toward the beginning of today. There are no exercises gotten ready for this last day and you are allowed to leave whenever.