Sandwich Bird Tours

Sri Lanka: Bespoke Tours Itineraries

Leopards, Wildlife & Beaches

A 10 nights & 11 days Leopards, wildlife & beach holiday in Sri Lanka.

Itinerary in brief

Day 1 Arrive/ Colombo
Day 2 Drive to Yala Village Hotel, Yala for 5 nights.
Day 3 Morning and afternoon visit Yala National Park with a midday break
Day 4 Morning at leisure. Afternoon visit Yala National Park
Day 5 Morning and afternoon visit Yala National Park with a midday break.
Day 6 Morning visit Yala National Park. A free afternoon game drive if Leopard is missing
Day 7-9 Drive to Amaya Reef, Hikkaduwa for beach stay for 3 nights.
Day 10 Drive to Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Katunayake for one night.
Day 11 Departure.

Introduction:

Yala National Park is the premier park for Leopards & wildlife in Sri Lanka and the centre of this exciting holiday. We visit Block 1 of the Yala National Park, which covers an extent of 141 sq.km. The park comprise of a wide range of habitats such as scrub jungle, monsoon forests, inland fresh water bodies, mudflats, open grassy plains, rock outcrops, riverine forests, mangroves, sand dunes bordering the sea and a good network of roads to explore all these and their inhabitants.

Our prime focus of this holiday is seeing its fabled Leopards, which number close to 40 individuals making this probably the park with the highest Leopard density in the world. Leopard is the no. 1 big cat in Sri Lanka which makes it ‘bolder’ than in Africa and India where they have to compete with several other big cats thus forcing them to be increasingly nocturnal & secretive. Thanks to the advantages of being the apex predator & protection afforded to its habitats & prey species in Yala, Leopards can be seen during the daytime more often compared to other areas of its range. This fact and their high density make Yala National Park probably one of the best places to see Leopards in the world.

We visit the park by means of a comfortable safari jeep driven by a sharp-eyed driver. On days when we make 2 game drives, we will return to our game lodge after the morning’s safari to rest and ‘refuel’ before revisiting in the afternoon. Each fresh game drive to Yala National Park entails a fresh entry ticket and 6 visits are calculated in this way. On each visit we will be exploring the park for about 3 hours.

A key feature of this high-end wildlife holiday is its interpretative natural history guiding by Amila Salgado whose knowledge and enthusiasm will add great value to it. Also this holiday is conducted even for 1 person and the limited to a maximum of 6 participants. We believe that small group size always have a host of benefits. Foremost among these is it will enable us to travel in one jeep which will ensure ‘undivided’ attention of the guide. It will also provide better opportunity for everybody to see what has been spotted and share each other’s sightings.

With 6 exhilarating game drives to the Yala National Park we stand a very good chance to see this magnificent big cat in their home ranges. It is often our experience that with a proper ‘game plan’ we are able to accomplish our goals and sometimes surpass them! Amila will work hard towards this ultimate goal together with the local jeep drivers & trackers combining all their expertise. With proper team work we should be in business by about the 3rd game drive at least! However, in the unlikely event that we fail to see Leopard during our 6 game drives to Yala, a 7th will be offered on complementary basis!

At the end of this exciting Leopard hunt we will spend 3 nights in the fabulous Amaya Reef Hotel, Hikkaduwa, the famous beach stay location in the southern coast. Our final night will be near the airport at the luxurious Taj Airport Garden, Katunayake, which is just 10 minutes from the Bandaranaiyake International Airport before the flight back home late night or early hours next day to end this exciting Wildlife holiday.

Detailed itinerary:

Day 1 Arrival in Bandaranaiyake International Airport, Katunayake and transfer to Renuka Hotel, Colombo for one night. We will retire early today as you no doubt will be tired after a long flight.

Accommodation profile: Renuka Hotel, Colombo is situated just 45 minutes from the Bandaranaiyake International Airport in the heart of Colombo and is just walking distance from central to many restaurants, night clubs, embassies & shopping malls. The air-conditioned rooms contain a mix of timber tiled and carpeted floors, wooden furniture and colourful bedspreads and drapes. The rooms are equipped with flat screen TV with local & cable channels, mini fridge, wake-up-call facility, broadband Internet connectivity & IDD facilities. You will also get a free morning newspaper & could expect to get 24-hour room service. The hotel has two restaurants – the Palmyrah Restaurant serving authentic Sri Lankan and continental cuisine and Namaste Restaurant serving North Indian cuisine. Hotel’s business centre offers with secretarial services, fax, photocopying & high-speed Internet. There is also a fine swimming pool if you want to enjoy a dip in the midday Colombo heat.

Day 2 A long ground transfer is in prospect today to reach Yala in south-east Sri Lanka, our base for 6 nights to explore the wilderness expanse of Yala National Park. We will reach our luxurious game lodge accommodation, Yala Village Hotel in the afternoon after several comfort stops en route. Rest of the day will be at leisure to sample the pool, enjoy a beach combing walk or simply savour the vista from a vantage strategically close to the bar.

Accommodation profile: Yala Village Hotel is bordered by the turquoise Indian Ocean & forested coastal plains and is our luxurious base to explore Yala. The hotel offers sixty one chalets spread over 10 acres of well wooded area with each featuring an animal design element in its interior décor. The air-conditioned chalets come with a spacious bathroom, a private varandah, satellite TV, well stocked mini bar, telephone/IDD, tea and coffee making facilities and hair dryer. The hotel also has facilities such as laundry, babysitting, safe deposits, souvenir shop and internet/email. The restaurant offers a good choice of eastern and western cuisine. The roof top bar & observation deck provide great views of the Indian Ocean and the surrounding well wooded landscape dotted by rock outcrops that are at times visited by Leopard for prime time viewing over cocktails.

Day 3 Morning and afternoon we will make 2 visits to Yala National Park with a midday break for lunch and relaxation. Our pursuit for Leopards will also yield many of Yala’s sought-after big game and foremost among these is Sloth Bear and Elephant. The Sloth Bear is the only Bear species recorded in Sri Lanka and we will look for this opportunist in several of its known sites. Elephants are found in considerable numbers in the Yala Park and surrounding areas and we should have little difficulty in seeing these majestic herbivores which may include tuskers. Some of the other mammal highlights may include Spotted Deer (No1 prey species of the Leopards), Wild Boar, Sambar Deer, Wild Buffalo, Hanuman Langur, Toque Macaque & Ruddy Mongoose. The park also has a good population of Mugger crocodiles and we should have little difficulty in seeing some very big ones. Yala is also home for a great diversity of birds and some of the highlights may include Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Black-necked Stork & Malabar Pied Hornbill.

Day 4 Morning at leisure. Afternoon visit Yala National Park.

Day 5 Morning and afternoon visit Yala National Park with a midday break.

Day 6 Morning visit Yala National Park. In the unlikely event that Leopard is missing, after 6 game drives, a complementary 7th game drive will be offered this afternoon.

Day 7-9 We will bid farewell to Yala and its Leopards and drive to Amaya Reef, Hikkaduwa in the south-western coast, our luxurious beach resort for 3 nights.

Accommodation Profile: Amaya Reef, Hikkaduwa.

Amaya Reef is the ‘beach’ hotel of the Amaya Resorts & Spas - the other two being Amaya Hills (our hotel in Kandy in 2006) & Amaya Lake (formally Culture Club – our hotel in Dambulla in 2004), which were hugely popular among the participants of these two Sri Lankan Trips. This newly renovated hotel is situated in Hikkaduwa the premier beach resort destination in Sri Lanka.

Every one of Amaya Reef’s 54 rooms features an ocean view, and each offers individual design which is first class. Hikkaduwa is famous for sea food and Amaya Reef has a specialty seafood restaurant and caters best Sri Lankan fish, Grilled lobster & Tiger prawns in addition to all those hot and spicy Sri Lankan curries. Amaya Reef’s culinary director and staff seek out the individual desires of each guest, ensuring them a personalised dining experience that outshines the buffets or one-menu-suits-all approach found in many restaurants. Theme nights bring you close to Sri Lankan culture and world cuisine, with décor and culinary offerings evoking each special theme.

An outdoor pool gives beautiful views of the sea. There is also a plenty of opportunity do optionally engage in water sports in Hikkaduwa such surfing, scuba diving & snorkelling in the marine sanctuary nearby.
June-Sep gives good chance to get tickable views of the summer visitors Red-billed & with luck, White-tailed Tropicbirds close to the shore while distant Bridled Terns + probable Sooty Terns migrating south in steady lines on the way to breed in little islets north of the famous Aldabra Islands may cause some highbrow deliberations.

Sea may be rough during our time of stay and local advice must be sought before venturing in for bathing unless you are planning for a pelagics extension to Maldives.

Day 10 Drive to Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Katunayake for our final night and farewell dinner before being transferred to the airport late night today or early hours the following day.

Accommodation profile: Taj Airport Garden Hotel, Katunayake is situated just 10 minutes from the Bandaranaiyake International Airport and offers excellent comforts. Standard rooms provide satellite television, safety lockers, e-mail and internet connections, 24 hour room service, a mini bar and in-house & laundry facilities. The hotel offers a 24 hour Coffee Shop and business centre. The hotel’s garden and a small wetland patch in it are good for birds and may have some surprises in store.

Day 11 Departure.

Prices (Valid till 30 October 2007) Land based
Please note that Yala Park is closed for visitors every year from 1 September-15 October

2 persons: cost per person based on double/twin occupancy £1250
3-6 persons: cost per person based on double/twin occupancy £1130
7-12 persons: cost per person based on double/twin occupancy (with foreign tour leader) £ 1130
Single occupancy £180

Flight guide price for British clients is £400 from London

Rates from 1 Nov 2007 to 30 October 2008 will be roughly £100-120 more per person.

The above cost includes: transportation in comfortable A/C vehicle, accommodation in A/C rooms based on double occupancy (except for 1 person), all meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner), interpretive natural history guiding by Amila Salgado, comfortable 4 WD jeeps for safaris to Yala National Park, 6 game drives to Yala National Park including all entrance tickets, services of a compulsory wildlife department tracker for the safaris & government taxes.

The above prices exclude: Peak season supplements from 20 Dec-10 Jan, compulsory X’mas and New Year gala dinner supplements, tips & government taxes.

Tour Leader – Amila Salgado has led many tours to Yala. He has found Leopard on several one off game drives in Yala for his clients. He approaches each safari with a clear game plan working in coordination with the jeeps drivers and the local tracker to produce results. Amila carries his telescope in the jeep to assist better viewing which is required when ‘subjects’ do not cooperate. His ensures a fun-filled Leopard & big game experience.