“Friendly People & Breathtaking Nature”
20 Day Sri Lanka Mountains and Coast Guided Motorcycle Tour
Negombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Mountains and Coast Motorcycle Tour
The start of this adventurous motorcycle tour is in Colombo/Negombo. The journey drives through the center and south of Sri Lanka, showcasing a number of historical Buddhist temples. In the mountains of central Sri Lanka, the route passes through famous tea plantations, where visitors can see how picked tea leaves are processed. Several National Parks are explored, and time is spent relaxing on the beaches of Western and Southern Sri Lanka, enjoying the tropical atmosphere. Additionally, one of the many game parks is visited to encounter elephants, leopards, monkeys, and crocodiles. Each day offers new experiences, making this trip a blend of culture, vast mountains, tropical beaches, and adventurous safaris. The motorcycle journey includes spotting wildlife, exploring tea plantations, rafting, and visiting an elephant reserve. Accommodation varies, and local specialties are enjoyed. Efforts are made to find small, challenging dirt roads through beautiful, tourist-free areas.
Key information
- Terrain: unpaved roads or paths
- Bike: rental bike (XR250)
- Mileage: 2080 kilometers / 1292 miles
- Daily rides: 70 - 200 kilometers / 43 - 124 miles
- Riding gear: mandatory: helmet, motorcycle jacket with protection, gloves, good hard-wearing (motorcycle) trousers with protection or separate knee protection, and solid high (mountain) boots
- Meals: all breakfasts
Highlights
- Starts and ends in Negombo
- Drive through central and south Sri Lanka
- Visit various high-profile temples
- Discover the tea plantation in Nuwara Eliya
- Stay for a day in Dambulla, Mahiyangana, and Mirissa
- Prepare for a feast for your eyes in Kandy
- 19 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
18 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: Dutch, German
Group size: 6-12 participants
Airport transfer included:
Bandaranaike International Airport
Accommodation
You will be accommodated in various accommodations along the route. All accommodations are based on a double room with breakfast included daily.
Program
Day 1 - Amsterdam - Departure
Day 2 - Arrival Colombo - Negombo
Depending on the airline, you will arrive at Colombo airport either in the morning or in the afternoon. It is then a 20-minute drive to the hotel in the center of Negombo. In the afternoon we pick up the motorbikes at the garage and meet the mechanic/driver who will accompany us on our journey.
Day 3 - Negombo – Kalpitiya (Puttalam Lagoon)
We drive out of Negombo and it is already quiet on the road, especially after we turn off the main road and drive on a secondary road. We drive partly along the coastal road where there are many shrimp farms. We pass through an oasis of palm tree plantations and then drive north on an unpaved road toward Kalpitiya. This region is emerging for real kite and windsurfers and because of this, there are many small cozy resorts. From our resort, you can walk to the beach and watch the surfers at work in the adjacent lagoon.
Day 4 - Kalpitiya - Dambulla
Today we head east into the interior. Soon we exchange the main road for the small back roads of which the quality is immediately a lot less and sometimes also unpaved. The area where we are going to drive is characterized by the many water tanks and vast rice fields that provide a beautiful view. Our hotel with a swimming pool is located on the edge of the lively town of Dambulla.
Day 5 - Dambulla - stay
We stay another day in Dambulla because there is a lot to do here! Near our hotel, you will find the Golden Temple, also called Dambulla Cave Temple. The Golden Temple is a complex of historic Buddhist buildings. The murals, with a total area of 2,100 square kilometers, show how Buddha was challenged by Mara, but to no avail. At a distance of 20 kilometers from the hotel you can visit the rock of Sigiriya. This is one of Sri Lanka's seven World Heritage Sites. The rock of Sigiriya consists of idyllic spots surrounded by walls and cannons. On top of the rock is a citadel, which used to serve as a palace. Now it's just a ruin. On the north side of the rock, you can reach the Mirror Wall which is halfway up the steep stairs. On the mirror wall, you can see frescoes of women. If you climb further up, you will find a terrace and the remains of the Lion's Gate. This is where the name 'Sigiriya' comes from, the translation is Lion's Rock. You can also visit the Minneriya Giritale National Park. This park is relatively small, but there is a wide variety of wildlife. For example, spotted deer, sambar deer, purple-colored langurs monkeys and macaques, but the most famous is of course the elephant.
Day 6 - Dambulla - Polonnaruwa
If we didn't do this yesterday, today we will visit the Golden Temple. On return, we pack our luggage and begin the short drive to Polonnaruwa of approximately 2 ½ hours. We drive along Angammedilla Channel and later Giritale Wewa lake, our hotel is next to the lake. There are rice fields in the area. Tonight we eat in a special restaurant. It is located about 6 kilometers from the city and can be reached via a dark path. There is a great diversity of delicious Sri Lankan dishes. And fresh! Our host grows almost all of his ingredients in his own garden and his wife uses them to make a delicious dinner.
Day 7 - Polonnaruwa - Trincomolee
Via secondary roads, along landscaped canals, where locals wash but also do the laundry, and vast rice fields, we drive further east. We then drive unpaved through the eastern part of Somawathiya National Park, where elephants can still be found, towards the main road and then turn off again for beautiful off-road trails through vast rice fields in the "eastern Province" of Sri Lanka. We spend the night just outside Trincomolee, a luxury hotel with a swimming pool, on a river that flows into the Indian Sea.
Day 8 - Trincomolee - Pasikuda
The morning stage goes off-road through Somawathiya National Park, a combination of densely planted small trails and extensive dirt roads, where many elephants still live in the wild. Then again a piece of paved road, but we will turn off several times and look for unpaved paths through small villages, along vast lakes and rice fields. Our overnight stay is again in a luxury hotel with a swimming pool and directly on the sea.
Day 9 - Pasikuda - Mahiyangana
We quickly turn off the main road and drive unpaved into the interior. A clearly deprived part of Sri Lanka, where relatively few people live and many rice fields. In short: a wonderful off-road section, some parts of which can be equally difficult when the surface is wet. Then we drive via the main road to Mahiyangana, a not so well known place for tourists. However, very much worth staying here for two days.
Day 10 - Mahiyangana - stay
Today is a special experience: you will first visit the oldest tribes, called the Veddas, of Sri Lanka. Then we will make a special safari in Maduru Oya National Park. Hardly any tourists come here and we will be one of the few who go looking for the wild elephants that live here. They come out especially at sunset and, in combination with the darkness, a great experience.
Day 11 - Mahiyangana - Kandy
After breakfast, we drive to Knuckles Forest Reserve. Via the old road, we start the climb and will stop several times along the way to enjoy the view. If this is not enough, before Kandy we drive a nice round through various tea plantations. Kandy is a place to visit the Temple of Tooth (by tuk tuk) and explore the center with its lively market. The temple is located in the royal palace complex of the former kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the Buddha's tooth. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics, as it is believed that whoever owns the relic holds the government of the country. The hotel is not far from the center and has a nice view of the valley.
Day 12 - Kandy - Nuwara Eliya
We drive out of Kandy via the main road to enjoy the busy traffic with its many smelly old buses. As we drive further away it also becomes quieter and after taking 18 hairpin bends we turn off and drive relaxed again on small roads, this time with a lot of rice fields around us. Via Victoria Randenigala Rantembe Sanctuary we climb again and soon we are again between vast tea plantations until we arrive at the hotel just outside Nuwara Eliya. We arrive early in the afternoon so that we still have time to visit the nearby tea factory Pedro anno 1885. Then we can take a tuk tuk to the center of Nuwara Eliya to admire the many British colonial houses / hotels that are still there with a nice fresh cup of coffee or tea, of course, and then enjoy a delicious evening meal in a special old colonial building.
Day 13 - Nuwara Eliya - Ella
We leave Nuwara Eliya and soon turn off the main road and dive back into the many tea plantations with breathtaking views. While climbing the road gets worse and narrower and just over the top we turn into a narrow path that first goes through a wooded area and later comes through small villages, where people earn their living on the various tea plantations.
Then we drive meandering and, if the weather is clear, with a great view towards Ella. Ella is a pleasant village with several restaurants and is known, among other things, for the famous Nine Arch Bridge and the beautiful surroundings of vast tea plantations and waterfalls. We spend the night right on the edge of the center in the middle of the woods with a beautiful view of the mountains.
Day 14 - Ella - Tissamaharama
After breakfast, we head south. The first part is a quiet drive through the mountains. We reach the main road via a narrow path. We drive through Lunugamvehera National Park to Tissamaharama where elephants can cross the road. Our hotel is located between the rice fields in the suburbs of Tissamaharama.
Day 15 - Tissamaharama - Udawalawa
This will be a special morning because we are going on safari in Yala National Park! At 4.30 am we are picked up by a jeep. When it is still dark we drive into the park. Early morning is the best time to spot wildlife. There is a good chance that we will see crocodiles, elephants and many exotic birds, maybe even leopards! Around noon we will be back at the hotel and after lunch, we will make the short trip to Udawalawa National Park where we will spend the night.
Day 16 - Udawalawa - Mirissa
After breakfast we first visit an elephant orphanage which is not far from our overnight stay. Then we drive directly further south. Via various small roads, past rice fields and palm tree plantations, we arrive in the tropical beach town of Mirissa. The hotel is only 300 meters from the beach and has several restaurants nearby.
Day 17 - Mirissa - stay
Today we have a day off to do nothing and enjoy the tropical beach of Mirissa. For those who still want to be active, we can drive to Galle Fort by local train, about 40 kilometers away. Galle is a colonial city that was built in 1663 by the VOC, after the Portuguese were driven out by 2000 men who arrived with 12 ships. Definitely worth checking out! Or for those who have never seen dolphins and/or whales in the wild, now is the time. Two hours sailing from the coast you have the chance to spot various species of whales in the morning. Including the blue whale of 170 tons and 30 meters long that takes a breath of air and, hopefully with a graceful dive, goes back into the depths.
Day 18 - Mirissa - Deniyaya
We leave the south coast behind and head north again into the mountains. Rice fields and later the tea plantations appear when we start climbing. The roads are getting narrower and the climate is slowly getting cooler. Today's drive is approximately 3 hours, so we will arrive early in the afternoon at our accommodation in the Sinharaja Rain Forest National Park, a rainforest with numerous special birds, monkeys and plants. A calm oasis with animal sounds here we spend the night.
Day 19 - Deniyaya - Kitulgala
During breakfast we enjoy tropical sounds in the background. Then we climb over a mountain with the motorcycle and drive through a wooded area and then descend again with beautiful hairpin bends. We now drive on the main road for a while, but will soon turn off again to drive towards Kitulgala, which is again located in a hilly and wooded area. Our open-fronted cottages are located directly on a river to enjoy the natural sounds again when you go to sleep.
Day 20 - Kitulgala - Negombo
This area is famous for its rafting. In the morning you will experience this adventure with rough water. After lunch, we get on our motorbikes again to drive towards Negombo. We will avoid busy roads as much as possible and use smaller roads. Finally, we arrive at the hotel where we started this journey. In the evening we close this beautiful tour with a delicious last dinner together.
Day 21 - Negombo - departure
Unfortunately, this motorcycle trip has come to an end and you will be taken to the airport of Colombo by taxi. Depending on the time you leave, you may arrive in the Netherlands on the same day.
Location
The starting point of this adventurous motorcycle tour is in Colombo/Negombo. You will drive through central and south Sri Lanka and you will visit various high-profile temples. In the mountains of central Sri Lanka, you will ride through famous tea plantations, where you will also experience how picked tea leaves are processed. You will visit different national parks. On the beaches of West and South Sri Lanka, you will relax and enjoy the tropical atmosphere. Evidently, you will also visit one of the many wild parks where you can find among others: elephants, leopards, monkeys, and crocodiles.
Food
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- International flights from Amsterdam/Brussels
- Airport Taxes and Fuel Surcharges
- All airport transfers
- All overnight stays based on a double room with breakfast
- Motorcycle rental
- Follow car with local driver
- Local mechanic in the support car
- Dutch-speaking tour guide on the motorcycle
- Extensive travel manual
What's not included
- Gasoline engines
- Other meals and drinks
- Entrance fees to national parks and attractions (about 40 euros)
- Other, optional excursions
- Personal expenses
- Travel and cancellation insurance
- Local driver's license (costs approximately 45,-)
- Visa fees
How to get there
Recommended Airports
CMB
Bandaranaike International Airport
2 km
Transfer included
Airport: Bandaranaike International Airport
Airport transfer included: Bandaranaike International Airport
No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 12.1% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through Tripaneer.com. All major credit cards supported.
68500
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