Tastes of Sri Lanka, 13 Day Gastronomy Tour

Hotels & restaurants

Amaya Hills – Kandy
A majestic palace, set in the hills overlooking the historical city of Kandy, is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the area. Its 104 luxurious beautifully decorated rooms and suites have sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and perfectly manicured gardens with opulent flora all year round. Facilities include an expansive swimming pool, a well-appointed gym, and a squash court. A Panchakarma Ayurvedic Spa that combines age old healing traditions with the rich heritage of Ayurveda also offers a range of treatments.

In the two stylish restaurants, the award-winning chefs take you on a gastronomic adventure serving everything from the very best Sri Lankan to Western and international cuisine. The Dumbara Bar serves, bites, snacks, beer, spirits, and crafted cocktails, and its Le Garage nightclub is the most popular in Kandy.

Galle Face Hotel – Colombo
One of the oldest hotels east of the Suez, this iconic landmark is situated in the heart of Colombo, along the seafront and facing the famous Galle Face Green is a fusion of historic charm and modern convenience.
The warmly decorated rooms have free Wi-Fi and minibars, along with flat-screens and safes. Suites add sitting areas and upgraded suites offer access to the Long Room lounge serving hot snacks.

The hotel takes pleasure in presenting some of Colombo’s finest cuisine in unique locations throughout the colonial gem. There are 3 refined restaurants, ranging from fine dining in ‘1864 Limited Edition’ to a spectacular Cuban experience at ‘King of the Mambo’, along with 3 vibrant bars. Other amenities include an outdoor beachfront pool with a deck and sun loungers, beach access, a gym, and spa treatments. There is also a cultural museum, a library with chess and backgammon, and a croquet lawn.

Grand Hotel – Nuwara Eliya
In a sprawling English country-style manor with a half-timbered facade, this chic hotel offer a choice of accommodation in understated rooms with colonial-style furnishings that overlook the countryside or landscaped gardens. All rooms come with flat-screen TVs and minibars. Suites include sitting areas and/or separate living rooms, and Room service if required.

The 9 restaurants and bars provide cuisines to please every taste and an ambience for every occasion. Those include the splendid Barnes Hall, named after Sir Edward Barnes, the founder of this luxury resort, and the Tea Lounge a stylish semi-outdoor venue serving the very best teas. Other amenities include an indoor pool, a shopping arcade, a gym, wellness and mindfulness centres, and a billiards and snooker room.

The Heritage – Galle
This luxury hotel full of Dutch charm is situated inside the historic Dutch Fort, in the heart of Galle. The Heritage originally a shop, named ‘Kotuwa Kade, was converted into the Castle in the Dutch Fort’ some 300 years ago, by well-known Sri Lankan architect Vidyajothy Ashley De Vos. The two storey hotel with disabled access to all parts has an open-air restaurant serving some of the finest Sri Lankan and international cuisine.
The 15 generously spaced deluxe, well-appointed ensuite rooms with a wardrobe, flat screen TV, free Wi-Fi, and a minibar are air conditioned, with open verandas and views of the Indian Ocean and rampart walls. The two suites with Dutch Architectural values are decorated in a tasteful colonial style with classic and modern furnishings. Each suite has a wardrobe, flat screen TV, free Wi-Fi, a minibar, and is air conditioned with a private sitting area that overlooks the ramparts and the Indian Ocean.

The Other Corner – Habarana
Set amidst a natural greenery, this unusual retreat hotel offers a peaceful and unique holiday experience. The 9 air-conditioned rooms come with thatched straw roofs and windows that provide natural light.. All offer modern amenities and feature wooden furnishings, The bathrooms en suite and there is free wi-fi.
Make the most of the delightful outdoor pool that is shaded by trees and then relax in the restaurant serves a variety of Sri Lankan specialities or have a refreshing drink in bar/lounge. Guests can go on a fishing trip or simply enjoy a relaxing barbecue outdoors. Bicycle rental and travel bookings can be made at the tour desk.

Villa Hundira- Negombo
Cocooned by the skirts of the lagoon and the canopies of the trees- Villa Hundira becomes a hidden paradise to anyone who prefers an ample, private ambiance as an escape from the chaos of life. The rooms, inspired by tropical modernism, are tastefully decorated with handpicked furnishing and an eclectic combination of the bright summer shades of “Thimble” linen. Suites add sitting areas and 4-poster beds, some provide lagoon views.
Dining is always a pleasure, so whether you want to nibble on some tapas, gorge signature Swedish meatballs or a spicy island spread, the kitchen is dedicated to satisfying your appetite there is no menu as such, you choose what takes your fancy and the cooks will turn whatever you bring back into delightful dishes with bags of flavour. Other amenities include an outdoor swimming pool, garden and spa.

Dutch Burgher Union – Colombo
This lunchtime experience at the Dutch Burgher Union VOC Cafe is centred upon Lamprais, a culinary creation of the Lansis, the Dutch Burghers, an ethnic minority in Sri Lanka. Lamprias or “parcel of food” is a mix of ingredients wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. Once a snack for the Dutch Burgher ancestors, who carried packs of Lamprais with them on long journeys, they are now eaten as a main meal. During the VOC Café visit their chefs take you through the preparation and making of this favourite Dutch Burgher community dish, before serving your Lamprais Lunch.

Ministry of Crab Restaurant – Colombo
Sri Lanka’s premier restaurant run by celebrity chef Dharshan Munidasa and cricket legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. This is the holy grail of Sri Lankan crab and a fitting way to end your gastronomic journey with a feast of the best lagoon crab available along with other unique side dishes such as lagoon prawn and accompaniments. You will have special backstage access to the kitchen to witness the preparation of these world class dishes.

Places & attractions

Cinnamon Plantation
A local host guide will take you on a walking tour through the working cinnamon plantation and visit the factory where the processing and packaging take place. On this comprehensive cinnamon experience, you witness the process of cinnamon peeling, learning from the workers whose nimble hands speedily peel the cinnamon stick, you have a go at it yourself.

Colombo Street Food
Colombo is a cosmopolitan city that has been influenced by multiple cultures, faiths, and traditions over the years. In Galle Face and Aluthkade the culinary destinations, you dive deep into the city’s street food culture. This is a terrific way to truly experience the colours, flavours and culture of a vibrant city that is home to wonderfully resilient people. The variety of food on offer is truly mind-blowing and your guide will explain what each dish is and how best to combine them.

Cultural Dance Performance
This is the best way to experience the music and dance culture of Sri Lanka, especially the Kandyan traditions. The cultural dance show in Kandy provides an insight into the array of dances and playing of drums linked to Sri Lanka’s ancient traditions with the participants dressed in their decorative costumes. Each costume, dance and act signified a story, and the performances will take one on a visual and sensual journey through time and space.

Dambulla Cave Temple
Famed for its Royal Rock Temple, this cave monastery has been a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries and is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka.  The major attractions are spread over five caves of varying size and magnificence which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life although many other statues and paintings have been added over the centuries. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. which includes the 15 metre long sculpture of the dying Buddha in the Cave of the Divine King.

Galle Fort
Located at the extreme southwest corner of the island where the shoreline turns east towards Matara and Tangalle. The fort, is built on a small rocky peninsula, belonging to the sea as much as to the land and dates back to the 16th Century when the Portuguese built an earthwork structure with palisades covering the northern inland side with a rampart and three bastions. The Dutch, who took over the Fort in the 17th Century decided to fully encircle the entire peninsula by building impregnable fortifications which is how it remains today.

Hansa Coffee & Chocolate Experience.
During the visit to Sri Lanka’s first gourmet coffee company in over 150 years you leam about the process of coffee roasting and how they create the various blends. The beans they use are sourced from local forest gardens, hand sorted, blended and then roasted in small batches to produce some of the world’s best coffee. Described by coffee tasters as smooth, chocolaty, and rich, it has many fans across the world.

This coffee experience is combined with the process of making chocolate from coconut sugar and pure cocoa, which are home grown by ethical local farmers. This coffee and chocolate experience tour ends with tasting various blends of coffee paired with freshly made chocolate.

Kithul Treacle Production – Ramboda
During this visit, you will see how sap, liquid jaggery, from the Kithul tree, also known as the fishtail palm and jaggery palm is boiled for many hours until it turns into the thick, dark treacle. Unique to Sri Lanka, Kithul treacle or syrup, locally known as KithulPani, is used as a sweetener in both Sri Lankan and Western cooking.

Negombo Lagoon & Lellama Fish Market
At the Lagoon local crab fisherman will take you to their crab traps to fetch some of the best live mud crabs which will be hand picked by the chef for freshness, size and appearance. Lellama is the largest fish market in Sri Lanka where all the days catch is brought for auction and sale. Here you can explore the variety of seafood on sale and witness the busy life of the fisher community in Sri Lanka.

Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantation
The visit to the Pedro Tea Factory is an enlightening experience. You get to see the whole process of tea manufacturing, learning how tea is grown and harvested to produce the fragrant contents of a packet of Ceylon Tea in the factory. You meet local tea workers and learn about their history, culture, and way of life before a hosted tea tasting experience.

Nuwara Eliya Tea Experiences
These are enjoyed at the Grand Hotel in Nuwara Eliya, after check-in you will enjoy an English style high tea. In addition to a range of choice teas, it includes several snacks and a selection of Sri Lankan favourite “short eats” such as – Chinese Roll, Fish Bun, and Patties.
On the second night of your Grand Hotel stay the dining highlight will be a dinner focused on tea. You will savour a tea infused dinner, specially prepared by the chef along with some tea based cocktails.

Rockland Distillery, Marawila & Rockland Coconut Estate, – Chilaw
These combined visits are all about the distilling and production of the best Arrack in Sri Lanka. At the Rockland Distillery, you learn about the process of making this coconut spirit from a master blender. At the Rockland Coconut Estate, you will witness how the Toddy of the coconut palm is extracted, taste this mildly alcoholic brew, and finish with an Arrack tasting session and paired lunch.

Sigiriya
The magnificent rock fortress built in the 5th century AD has been named as a UNESCO world heritage site and is world-renowned for as the best-preserved city centre in Asia from the first millennium. Rising dramatically from the central plains, the enigmatic rocky outcrop of Sigiriya is perhaps Sri Lanka’s single most dramatic sight. Near-vertical walls soar to a flat-topped summit that contains the ruins of an ancient civilisation. Top of this rock contains ruins of an ancient palace complex, built during the reign of King Kasyapa and surrounding rock is the Royal Garden. Ruins of various chambers, stairways and pools can be seen at the top of this rock. There is a stone stairway leading from the base to the top of the mountain. About half way to the top, there is a giant pair of lions paws which is in fact are the remains of a huge head of a lion whose open mouth served as the entrance to the royal palace. Surrounding the palace complex are the ruins of a garden complex consisting of two moats and various pools, some with water fountains still functioning after 1500 years.

Spice Garden Visit – Matale
No gastronomy tour would be complete without a trip to one of these herb and spice gardens which provides a visitor with a firsthand experience on how these amazing treasures are grown and prepared. Some of the herbs and spices can include Sandalwood, Margosa, Cocoa, Citronella, Almond, Jasmine and Coconut and spices such as cloves, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and saffron are grown in these gardens.

Traditional Village Experience
Venture deep into a remote village for a special village experience where you join the local villagers who will take you to a “Chena” cultivation where they grow many types of vegetables. You get to pick the freshest vegetables and head to the village kitchen where your hosts will prepare an unforgettable “Farmers Lunch” with various types of vegetable curries, as well as preparations of various forms of lake fish from Thilapia to Gant Snakehead prepared in different forms from curries, stews, deep fried and made in dry salted format.

General tour information

Here is some background on Sri Lanka and the places you visit on your journey although with such stunning scenery to admire it is often the travel from one to another that is the real highlight.

Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, separated from India by the Palk Straight. For those wanting to appreciate the beauty of nature, Sri Lanka has it all. Tropical rain forests, towering cliffs, lush plains, spectacular landscapes and endless golden beaches make the perfect backdrop for any holiday.

Lying just north of the equator Sri Lanka enjoys a delightful climate with cooling sea breezes taking some of the heat and humidity out of the tropical climate. The monsoon season in the North lasts from October to January and in the South from May to July which is why we arrange our holidays at certain times of the year.

Sri Lanka is one of the best places in Asia to see wildlife, both in the outstanding National Parks and often in the wild. Elephants, leopards, water buffalo, crocodiles, sloth bears, monkeys, deer and the literally hundreds of species of birds vie for attention amid the dramatic landscape to make this a wildlife lovers paradise.

The rich and varied history of Sri Lanka will be a major attraction for culture vultures with timeless ruins of ancient indigenous civilisations and the remains of colonial rule all clamouring for attention. Whether it is a visit to the quintessentially English tea growing region to relive a bygone era or marveling at the 5th Century rock fortress at Sigiriya, there is something of interest at every turn.

Sri Lankan cuisine has an incredible diversity that draws on many historical, cultural, and other factors. From the Dutch colonialists who once ruled Sri Lanka and brought their own cuisines with them to foreign traders who brought new food items and the cuisine of Southern India, these have all helped to shape Sri Lankan cuisine of today. Another major influence has been Sri Lanka’s history as a spice producer and trading post over several centuries. It is truly a food lover’s delight.

Sri Lanka is well known as a holiday destination for those seeking sport and recreational activities. There are boundless opportunities to indulge in your favourite pastime both on land or in the water. What is less well known, and to date relatively undiscovered, is that it is also a golfer’s paradise. It is home to some of the oldest and best golf courses outside of the UK that offer a superb challenge amid some of the best scenery in the world.

Colombo
Colombo with its World Trade Centre is recognised as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. Once known as the ‘The Garden City of the East’ it still retains its colonial garden roots, with shady tree-lined boulevards and grand old mansions. Now there are far more than historical, cultural, and religious places of interest, this bustling city, with street hawkers in the noisy bazaars of the Pettah area, offers modern hotels, department stores, vibrant nightlife, and an array of dining experiences.

Dambulla
The second largest town in the Matale District with its famed Royal Rock Temple is an iconic Sri Lankan image. This cave monastery, a sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries with its five sanctuaries, is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist murals are a mixture of religious and worldly paintings are of particular importance, as are the 157 statues, which include the 15 meter long sculpture of the dying Buddha. The hub where all vegetables grown on the island are brought and distributed. A visit to this busy market is included in the tour itinerary.

Galle
Considered to be the most perfectly preserved colonial town in Sri Lanka, the streets around the historic Fort in the old Dutch town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are full of little boutique shops, cafes and hotels owned by local and foreign artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets. Other notable landmarks are the Groote Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church), the National Maritime Archaeology Museum, the Old Dutch Hospital, the Meeran Jumma Mosque, built in 1904, the Buddhist temple built at the site of the Portuguese Roman Catholic church, the All Saints Anglican Church built in 1871, the 1882 Clock Tower, the Clan House and the 1939 Galle Lighthouse.

Kandy
The hill capital and last stronghold of Sinhala kings against the British Empire, Sri Lanka is steeped in tradition and architectural delights. It’s the location of the most sacred of all Buddhist shrines – the temple of the tooth or The Dalada Maligawa, which holds the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, is surrounded by the charming Bogambara Lake, adding tranquillity into the hearts and souls of the thousands of devotees that flock the city each day. Amongst its many outstanding attractions are the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Kandy Cultural Show which features around 12 different folk and traditional Sri Lankan dances.

Negombo
A delightful coastal town with a lively fish market, colourful wooden boats, and old world colonial charm. A mix of land and water, the northern border is formed by the Ma Oya River which joins the Indian Ocean, its Dutch built canal flows into the heart of Negombo Town. The wide beach is the backdrop to the busy resort area and the Negombo lagoon with over 190 species of wildlife and birds in the mangroves. Scattered with many imposing churches and wayside Catholic shrines, it is fondly known as “Little Rome” having the largest Roman Catholic Community in Sri Lanka.

Nuwara Eliya
The City of Lights, also known as “Little England”, was the favourite hill station of the British. This scenic town is nestled in a valley more than 8200 feet above sea level, surrounded by misty mountain ranges covered in pine forests and tea plantations. Its salubrious climate is in stark contrast to the tropical climate experienced in other parts of the island. The mountains surrounding Nuwara Eliya are a carpet of tea bushes and the whole process of tea manufacturing, from green