The best of Sri Lanka on a motorcycle

Departure from Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.

Arrival in Colombo, Sri Lanka. We travel to Negombo, a beautiful city lying at Sri Lanka’s west coast and will spend the day by the ocean.

We will go through the tour program after breakfast and then we will head out to our motorcycles. We start off by driving inland on beautiful roads until we reach Habarana. Once there, we will ride on elephants into the jungle, an exotic experience! (NORSK FEIL HER) After that we drive toward Negombo fish market and the Dutch fortress. We travel to the fantastic rock formation and fort, Sigiriya Rock Fortress and pass by the cave temple in Dambulla. We spend the night at a hotel.

Today awaits a ride on our motorcycles to Trincomalee, known as the world’s deepest natural harbor. It lies on the east coast and the road to Trincomalee passes through both jungle and open fields where we will be able to see wild elephants, geese, peacocks and lizards. After we’ve driven about 150 km, we stop on the outskirts of Trinco to experience the famous hot-springs in Kinniyar. When finished with this refreshment, our bikes will take us to the charming beach hotel in Nilaweli. We head out on an enjoyable boat trip to the island Pigeon and when we’ve returned, we spend the rest of the day by the beach.

In the morning, after breakfast, we drive our bikes onto a little ferry that will take us from Trinco to Mutur, a minicruise across the famous harbor. We sail in a stunning area and take some time at Passikuddah and Kalkudah Beach to go for a swim in the exquisite, tropical ocean. There is no need to worry about freezing, the water is at a steady 30 degrees celcius. At dusk, we reach the historical Polonnaruwa, seat of the second kingdom in Sri Lanka. We will also spend the night here.

After breakfast, we mount our bikes and drive to king Parakramabahu the great’s citadel. We will see several historical places this morning, including the elegantly carved Buddha statue at Gal Vihara. After a while we leave the old city and travel south toward Dambana, home of the Sri Lankan indigenous, the “Veddah tribe”. Whilst the sun is setting, we get to experience traditional Veddah dance, food and drinks before we head to our hotel where we’ll spend the night.

This will be an exciting day! We are going to experience an unforgettable off-road trip through the jungles within the Knuckles Mountains toward the little village Rangala. We will stay in Kandy. As soon as we’ve finished lunch we will continue driving off-road to a tea plantation. This plantation lies high in the Knuckles Mountains, hence making it one of the most deserted places in Sri Lanka. The drive is short and somewhat challenging but you will be awarded a stunning view and an interesting guide through the tea plantation. The night will be spent at the lovely Corbet’s Gap hotel.

It is all about driving in the jungle today. Deserted areas, twisting roads through lush valleys and a new adventure behind every turn! After we’ve left Corbet’s Gap, we drive off the main road and into areas where other tourists rarely go. When we climb higher and higher with the motorcycles, we go further into the deep mountain jungle making the journey into an unforgettable adventure. During the evening we will visit the Tooth temple and enjoy a traditional dance show from the nearby villagers. 

We get on our bikes and drive on small, wonderful roads toward the long uphill leading to Nuwara Eliya, lying near the top of the Sri Lankan highlands. We continue on slim sandy roads that pass through tea plantations and small tea factories with amazing views of mountains and waterfalls. We descend back to Haputale after we reach the highest point of today’s leg, Nuwara Eliya. Haputale is unique because of its unbelievable panoramic view to the east, south and west. We spend the night in Haputale.

The road from Haputale twists its way down the mountainside and onto the southern plains, taking us to the coast of the Indian Ocean. We visit a waterfall along the road and continue toward some historical cutouts in Buduruwagala, lying deep in the jungle. The drive further are on new, excellent roads, going east toward Kataragama. We pass through a national park (featuring e.g. elephants) before we reach Tissamaharama where we will stay for the night.

We leave the jungle behind us as we set our course toward the southern coast of Sri Lanka and the coastal village Mirissa. The journey there takes us past Sri Lanka’s newest harbor and Tangalle, a place that many tourists love. Our destination, Merissa, lies on the most beautiful part of the Sri Lankan coastline. We will spend two nights here in style! The beach we live at is said to be one of the best places in Sri Lanka to watch the sunset. What is better than enjoying the day at the beach whilst the sun slowly sets into the ocean?

Today we rest. There will be a whale safari for those interested. Merissa is in fact the starting point for these tours. If you’d like to take the motorcycle somewhere, the historical village Galle with its enormous Dutch fortress, isn’t far away. On the way there you will see what Sri Lanka is famous for: fishermen sitting on their poles out in the ocean while fishing.

Today we drive to Kuruwita Ratnapura, the village of gemstones. There is a waterfall that has taken the form of a fig tree and is therefore named after that. You can have a sip of tea on the hotel balcony while you enjoy the view of the waterfall.

We prepare for the last drive of the tour once we finish breakfast. Today’s highlights are e.g. driving through rubber-, pineapple- and spice-plantations. Once we reach Negomba, we return our bikes and head out to our beach resort.

Today you may choose to relax at the beach or head into Negombo for some shopping. We will finish the day and our tour with a farewell dinner before we travel to the airport with incredible memories!