Explore two of Sri Lanka’s UNESCO-listed highlights on a privately guided day trip to Dambulla and the Sigiriya Rock from Kandy.

You start your tour at 07.00 hrs from your hotel in Kandy, where your chauffeur choices you up. Ensure that you bring a packed breakfast with you if you are unable to have your meal at the hotel.

The first stop is climbing the 5th-century AD rock fortress, Sigiriya, where King Kasyapa ruled (Entrance Fee Per Person USD 35). Walk through the entrance framed by the paws of a lion that is quite appropriate for its name, 'the Lion Rock'. View the beautiful unfading murals that bring Sigiriya its fame. Climb the steep staircase to see the terraced gardens and still-working cisterns. Walk through the tunnels leading to the palace as you get a feel for times long past.

Your itinerary includes visiting Sigiriya Rock, which you will reach by approximately 09:00 hrs (Travel Time: 2 to 2 ½ hours). After exploring Sigiriya, at around 11:30 hrs, you can either have lunch at a place of your choice (at your own expense) or take a village tour (entrance fee per person: USD 20, including village activities and lunch). If you wish, you can then go on a safari at Minneriya National Park, where you will have a 2-hour safari in a jeep and may see Asian elephants (USD 50). You will arrive at Dambulla Cave Temple by 16:00 hrs to visit the temple (Travel Time: 35 to 45 minutes).

Near-vertical walls soar to a flat-topped summit that contains the ruins of an ancient civilisation, thought to be once the epicentre of the short-lived kingdom of Kassapa. View Sri Lanka’s countryside and villages as you journey to the atmospheric Dambulla Cave Temple, a Cliffside cave complex packed with Buddha images and frescoes. Enter the historic caves of the Golden Temple of Dambulla, dating back to the 1st century BC. View the ancient murals depicting the life storey of Lord Gautama Buddha. Look at the hundreds of figurines of Buddha and other deities scattered throughout the five main caves. Visit the Cave of the Divine King, Cave of the Great King, and the Great New Monastery. See the giant golden Buddha Statue just a little distance outside the cave complex.

You will finish the tour at 17.00 hrs and return to your hotel in Kandy by approximately 19.00 hrs. En-route, you may stop at a restaurant of your choice and have dinner.