Published on Mar, 2025
Great customized tour with excellent communication with the operator. Since we had to be back on our cruise ship by 5pm, arrangements were made to meet our tour guide/ driver, Anas, at 6:30am for a private tour to go to several places that we wanted to see. Anas is a kind, mindful person and we enjoyed our time with him. I might mention, especially after riding in a taxi and a tuk-tuk the previous day, that his vehicle was nice, clean, and comfortable. First, we went to a red and white mosque in Colombo for pictures. Then we travelled to PINNAWALLA ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE, which is operated by the government. We were we able to see many elephants and feed an elephant a basket of fruit. We were also able to see some of the adult elephants crossing the road to go and bathe in the river; the police stopped traffic so that they could cross the road. Our next stop was at a tea factory. Sri Lanka is the 3rd largest producer of tea and are famous for their Ceylon tea. We saw the process and tasted different teas. After this, we travelled to Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Lots of interesting statues and monuments. The temple is situated by Kandy Lake, which is very pretty. On our way back to Colombo, we stopped for a view of what appears to be Sigiriya or Lion Rock, which is an ancient rock fortress known for its massive column of rock that reaches nearly 200 meters high - you can barely see it off in the distance. While we were taking pictures, a monkey hopped up on the fence to get in the photo. We made it back to the ship after about 10 hours from when we started. Anas is a great guide/driver; the drivers are fearless here. I should mention that my spouse had some motion sickness from the winding roads, but Anas stopped by a good pharmacy so I could purchase some medication, which was helpful. I would definitely recommend this tour to others, especially if you have special requests or just want a private, customized tour. Anas was very nice and even checked with us later (by WhatsApp chat) to make sure that we made it safely back to our ship as he had to drop us at the Port Gate (it’s a customs thing). It was a great day with a great guide. ❤️
