4 Days Independent Tour from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya

Today, you will arrive in Colombo - the biggest city in Sri Lanka. Upon your arrival at the airport, you will get through the custom and get your luggage. Then walk along Kepz Road for about 1 km to Katunayake Bus Stop. Take the public bus No. 187 to Wtc Bus Stop for about 1.5 hours. Getting off the bus, head towards southeast and turn right from New Dawalagiri Hotel. You will find Colombo City Hotel on your right after 20 meters. Check in at the hotel. You could have a free afternoon at the hotel or just explore the city on your own. Take the public bus No. 100 from Galadari Hotel Bus Stop for 2 stops to Galle Face. Enjoy the beautiful beach and the enchanting sunset scenery in the Galle Face Green.

Accommodation: Colombo City Hotel

The train and the long distance bus are available from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya. The train takes about 7 hours and there are only few trains available. So it is recommended to take the bus instead, which takes about 6 hours and have more available every day. The bus will arrive at Nuwara Eliya Main Bus Station. Walk towards the east for about 550 meters, turn left at Victoria Park Entrance and then walk along Nuwara Eliya-Uda Pussellawa Road. After about 110 meters, turn left at Ananda Auto Electrical and head along the Park Road, you will find Panorama Green View Hotel on your right after 400 meters. The rest time is free for you to relax.

Accommodation: Panorama Green View Hotel

This morning, you will visit the Mackwoods Tea Factory, which is the biggest and the most famous tea factory in Nuwara Eliya. As the public transportation here is not very convenient, you could hire a car or take the tuktuk. It takes about USD55 - USD65 per day to rent a car. So it may be more economical to take the tuktuk. It takes about 30-45 minutes from your hotel to the tea factory with a cost of LKR2000 for a round-way. You could taste the different kinds of teas and buy your favorite one in the factory. In the afternoon, wander leisurely at the small town. You could visit the Victory Park (the entry ticket is LKR300 per person) nearby your hotel, where you could see the colorful blooming flowers and many kinds of small animals, especially the birds, such as Indian Robin, turtledove, Indian and Pakistani Flycatcher. It is also a very popular bird watching place for locals. Then you could walk about 5 minutes to Nuwara Eliya Post Office - a pink British style architecture. You could get very nice photos here. At dusk, you could enjoy the sunset at Gregory Lake (the entry ticket is LKR200 per person; opening time: 08:00 - 18:00) - the biggest lake in the town. In the early morning and at dusk, many wild birds gather at the lake. You could also ride a horse along the lake or take the speed boat (with a cost of about LKR2500 per boat) around the lake.

You will have a hiking tour in Horton Plains National Park in the morning. Take the bus or the train to Ambewela Pattipola or Ohiya and then take the tuktuk to the park. Or you could rent a car to the park directly, which is more convenient. You may also ask your hotel to arrange the car with the entry tickets for you. The entry tickets of the park is about LKR2500 per person and some hotels offer a package with the transfer and the entry tickets at about LKR4000 per person. After visiting the park, drive about 30 minutes to the New Zealand Farm (the entry tickets is LKR200 per person). Local people like go to the farm during the holiday or the weekends to let their kids get close to the nature and visit the milk factory. In the late afternoon, get back to the town or head to your next destination.

Kind notice: Please take enough food and water with you for the hiking. There is great differences in temperature during day and night. The long sleeved shirt and pants are necessary in the morning and late afternoon. While it is quite shining at noon. So please take the sunscreen, sun hat and sun glasses.