Sri Lanka Spice Trails

Meet at the hotel for a trip briefing and welcome dinner.

Riding along the coast, we pass the distinct patchwork sails of the Kara-vas fishing community. Turning inland on quiet back roads, we head to Dambulla to visit a 2nd century Buddhist cave temple.

Ride on a mix of tarmac and red dirt roads passing orchards, paddy fields and elephant grass, we cycle to the ancient 5th century rock fortress Sigiriya, where we walk up 300 m to view the ruins of King Kasyapa's summer palace. After our descent, our afternoon ride follows an old irrigation canal.

Watch out for wild elephants as we descend out of the Kaladuwa Hills. We ride through the historic park of Polonnaruwa, the 10th century capital and best preserved of the ancient cities

We transfer back to Polonnaruwa and ride around Parakrama and through Angammedilla National Park, a small forest reserve that is an elephant corridor linking two parks. Here, we follow the Ambon Ganga (river) to the foothills around Naula, said to be the centre of the Island. Lunch in the spice growing region of Sri Lanka before transferring onto Kandy.

A rest day in picturesque Kandy -- an important Sinhalese religious centre and a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. Explore old shops, antique and gem specialists, or the bustling market. A must see is the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

Prepare to tackle Sri Lankan hill country. Those who find hills a bit too challenging can take the train after cycling 21 km. From Gampola, we start to see the tea carpeted slopes of hill country and can stop to take photos of brightly dressed tea pickers and colourful Hindu temples. We then descend to reach Hatton.

There is a long climb with an easy gradient up to Bogowantalawa that takes us to a remote pass with dramatic views. The reward for the long climb is a stunning descent through small villages and tea country, ending close to Banlangoda. After lunch at a local restaurant, we transfer to our hotel on the edge of Udawalawe National Park.

We cycle to Udawalawe National Park, one of the best parks to see wild elephants in Sri Lanka. You may also see wild buffalos, crocodiles, sambur deer, and monkeys. There are also lots of water fowl and hawk eagles to keep the photographers happy. After lunch, we cycle along an irrigation canal back towards our hotel.

We bike through a network of back roads for some fantastic cross-country riding. It’s a quite a long, undulating ride with lots of fruit stops to break up the day. We try to get to the beach by early afternoon, so there is some free time to enjoy the beach or a nearby surf camp.

Riding through open paddy fields and cinnamon estates, we arrive in Galle mid-morning with plenty of time to explore the fort. You are free to choose your own lunch venue, and we meet up again for a farewell dinner.

We transfer hours to Colombo for the airport or hotel.