Elephant and Gem City

Five days through Ratnapura's gem country and Udawalawe

Length: 5 days, 4 nights
Pace: Steady
Bases: 3
Best months: Feb to Apr
From: $700 · $140/day

per person, twin share, excluding international flights.

IndicativeThese prices are modelled from market rates and have not been costed yet. We will quote a real figure when you enquire.

When this trip works

This trip needs two calendars to agree, and they only do from February to April. The park is at its best March to July, but the coast closes in May, so the honest window is short. Outside it we would send you to the parks alone.

October — out of season

It is October now, and this route reads out of season this month.

Prime
Good
Mixed
Out of season

The shape of it

Colombo and the westHill countryThe southeastern parks

3 bases, 2 changes of hotel. The longest stay is 2 nights in Ratnapura.

Colombo
1 night, day 1
Ratnapura
2 nights, days 2 to 3
Udawalawe
1 night, day 4
Fly home

Day by day

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, where they are included that day.

Stop 1 · Colombo and the west

Colombo

Day 1 · 1 night

Day1
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 1: Airport → Colombo
Arrive, pick and drop.
- Airport → Colombo
Meals
None included
Pace
Steady

Stop 2 · Hill country

Ratnapura

Days 2–3 · 2 nights

Day2
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 2: Colombo → Ratnapura
Delgamuwa Rajamaha Viharaya, Saman Devalaya + poojawa, gem mining visit, evening leisure and river relax.
- Delgamuwa Rajamaha Viharaya
- Saman Devalaya + poojawa
- Gem mining visit
- Evening leisure and river relax
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Full days
Day3
Day 3: Ratnapura
Leisure.
- Ratnapura
If you want moreAdam's Peak
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 3 · The southeastern parks

Udawalawe

Days 4–5 · 1 night

Day4
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 4: Ratnapura → Udawalawe
Elephant feeding, evening safari.
- Elephant feeding
- Evening safari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Day5
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 5: Udawalawe → airport
Udawalawe → airport, via Barawakumbuka onto the expressway.
- Udawalawe → airport
Meals
Breakfast
Pace
Steady

What it costs

One route, three levels of hotel. The itinerary does not change.

Comfort

$700

$140 a day · single supplement $240

Well-run three-star hotels and family-owned guesthouses, chosen for location and the people who run them rather than the star rating.

Private air-conditioned vehicle and driver-guide throughout
Daily breakfast
All transfers and road tolls
24-hour local support line

Boutique

$1,040

$208 a day · single supplement $395

Small boutique hotels, tea-estate bungalows and design-led beach houses. Twelve rooms rather than a hundred.

Everything in Comfort
Breakfast and one further meal daily
Park fees and site entrances as itemised
A trip designer on WhatsApp for the duration

Luxury

$1,520

$304 a day · single supplement $685

The best rooms on the island: colonial bungalows, private villas and lodges with their own naturalists.

Everything in Boutique
All meals, and a private chef where the property allows
Private guiding at every site rather than shared
Airport fast-track on arrival and departure

per person, twin share, excluding international flights.

Entrance fees, itemised

Site fees in Sri Lanka are high and rising: Sigiriya alone is thirty-five dollars. Most operators bury them in the exclusions. Here is the whole list, with what we cover and what we do not.

Udawalawe National Park and jeep
$40
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Elephant transit home
$5
In the price
Yes, we cover it

Entrance fees for Elephant and Gem City
Site	Fee	Included
Udawalawe National Park and jeep	$40	Yes, we cover it
Elephant transit home	$5	Yes, we cover it

Covered by us: $45

Who this is for

First-time safari travellers who want elephants without a fortnight to spare
Families, for whom Udawalawe beats Yala: open country, visible animals, shorter drives