The Ayurveda fortnight

Fifteen days: Ayurveda at Beruwela, then a tour of the island

Length: 15 days, 14 nights
Pace: Barely moves
Bases: 7
Best months: Dec to Apr
From: $2,550 · $170/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

The centres on the southwest coast run from roughly November to April and empty out during the southwest monsoon. December to March is the settled stretch, and October and November are the opening weeks, when the sea is still settling and the rooms are at their cheapest. If your dates fall between May and September we move you to a centre on the east coast, where the calendar is the exact mirror.

October — mixed, worth a conversation

It is October now, and this route reads mixed this month.

Prime
Good
Mixed
Out of season

The shape of it

West and south coastThe southeastern parksHill countryCultural TriangleColombo and the west

7 bases, 6 changes of hotel. The longest stay is 6 nights in Beruwela.

Beruwela
6 nights, days 1 to 6
Yala
1 night, day 7
Haputale
1 night, day 8
Nuwara Eliya
1 night, day 9
Kandy
2 nights, days 10 to 11
Dambulla
2 nights, days 12 to 13
Negombo
1 night, day 14
Fly home

Day by day

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

Stop 1 · West and south coast

Beruwela

Days 1–6 · 6 nights

Day1
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 1: Airport → Beruwela
Arrive CMB, pick and drop, leisure.
- Airport → Beruwela
Meals
Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day2
Day 2: Beruwela, same hotel
Ayurveda doctor check-up, then following the Ayurveda plan.
- Ayurveda doctor check-up
- Following the Ayurveda plan
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned
Day3
Day 3: Beruwela, same hotel
Following the Ayurveda plan.
- Following the Ayurveda plan
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned
Day4
Day 4: Beruwela, same hotel
Following the Ayurveda plan.
- Following the Ayurveda plan
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned
Day5
Day 5: Beruwela, same hotel
Following the Ayurveda plan.
- Following the Ayurveda plan
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned
Day6
Day 6: Beruwela, same hotel
Following the Ayurveda plan.
- Following the Ayurveda plan
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 2 · The southeastern parks

Yala

Day 7 · 1 night

Day7
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 7: Beruwela → Galle → Yala
Galle city tour, evening Yala safari, leisure.
- Galle city tour
- Evening Yala safari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves

Stop 3 · Hill country

Haputale

Day 8 · 1 night

Day8
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 8: Yala → Haputale
Elephant feeding Udawalawe, evening leisure.
- Elephant feeding Udawalawe
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves

Stop 4 · Hill country

Nuwara Eliya

Day 9 · 1 night

Day9
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 9: Haputale → Nuwara Eliya
Morning Lipton's Seat, Haputale-Nanu Oya train.
- Morning Lipton's Seat
- Haputale-Nanu Oya train
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves

Stop 5 · Hill country

Kandy

Days 10–11 · 2 nights

Day10
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 10: Nuwara Eliya → Kandy
Full tea factory, check-in, cultural show, Maligawa.
- Full tea factory
- Cultural show
- Maligawa
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day11
Day 11: Kandy, same hotel
Botanical + shopping + city tour, evening leisure.
- Botanical + shopping + city tour
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 6 · Cultural Triangle

Dambulla

Days 12–13 · 2 nights

Day12
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 12: Kandy → Dambulla
Spice garden, Dambulla cave temple, evening leisure.
- Spice garden
- Dambulla cave temple
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Day13
Day 13: Dambulla
Morning Sigiriya, village trek, afternoon leisure, evening safari.
- Morning Sigiriya
- Village trek
- Evening safari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 7 · Colombo and the west

Negombo

Days 14–15 · 1 night

Day14
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 14: Dambulla → Negombo
Morning leisure, Negombo city tour, boat ride.
- Negombo city tour
- Boat ride
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day15
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 15: Negombo → airport
Negombo → airport.
- Negombo → airport
Meals
Breakfast
Pace
Gentle

What it costs

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

Comfort

$2,550

$170 a day · single supplement $690

A garden room at an established residential Ayurveda centre with resident doctors, a treatment wing and its own kitchen. Simple rooms; the money is in the treatments.

Fourteen nights full board on the prescribed diet
Daily consultation and doctor's rounds
Two treatment sessions daily, as prescribed
Morning yoga and meditation
Airport transfers both ways

Boutique

$3,980

$265 a day · single supplement $1,120

A sea-facing room at one of the older centres on this coast, the kind with a doctor who has been there twenty years and a waiting list in February.

Everything in Comfort
A sea-facing room and a private treatment room
A longer daily treatment allocation
A car and driver for two half days out
A named coordinator on WhatsApp for the duration

Luxury

$6,300

$420 a day · single supplement $1,980

A suite or private villa inside the centre's grounds, with your own therapist pair for the fortnight and meals cooked to your prescription in your own kitchen.

Everything in Boutique
A private villa and a dedicated therapist pair
A car and driver on call throughout
Airport fast-track both ways
A follow-up consultation by video three months after you leave

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.

Galle FortA living town; there is no ticket.
Free
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Yala National Park and jeep
$45
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Elephant transit home
$5
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Tea factory tour and tasting
$8
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
$12
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Dambulla cave temples
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Sigiriya rock fortress
$35
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeep
$40
In the price
Yes, we cover it

Entrance fees for The Ayurveda fortnight
Site	Fee	Included
Galle FortA living town; there is no ticket.	Free	Yes, we cover it
Yala National Park and jeep	$45	Yes, we cover it
Elephant transit home	$5	Yes, we cover it
Tea factory tour and tasting	$8	Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance	$10	Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic	$12	Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens	$10	Yes, we cover it
Dambulla cave temples	$10	Yes, we cover it
Sigiriya rock fortress	$35	Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeep	$40	Yes, we cover it

Covered by us: $175

Who this is for

Anyone who wants a residential Ayurveda course rather than a hotel spa treatment menu
People who would rather eat what the doctor prescribes than choose from a menu for two weeks

And who it is not

Anyone expecting alcohol, coffee or a flexible dinner time; the diet is part of the treatment and the kitchen will not vary it

Included

Private vehicle and driver-guide throughout
Fourteen nights accommodation
Breakfast and dinner daily
Ayurveda doctor check-up and the treatments of the Ayurveda plan (days 2 to 6)
Yala safari (day 7)
Haputale to Nanu Oya train (day 9)
Evening safari near Dambulla (day 13)
A coordinator you can reach in English throughout
All entrance fees marked included above
Airport transfers both ways

Not included

International flights
Travel and medical insurance
Visa or ETA
Anything the centre's doctor has not prescribed

Make it yours

This is a starting shape, not a fixed departure. The changes people ask for most:

Extend to twenty-one nights, which is the length most doctors would rather you booked
Move to an east-coast centre for any date between May and September
Add a companion who is not taking the course, at the centre's non-participant rate

Ask about this trip Talk to a trip designer