Bird Watching Tour
13 Day |12 Night Tour
Sri Lanka has a high density of species of birds. A total of 440 birds have been recorded including migrants. No less than 33 species of are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. The mixed species feeding flocks in Sinharaja (the Sinharaja Bird Waves) are the largest in the world. It is easy to observe because many birds are not afraid of people.
Season November – April period 12night / 13days
13 Night |12 Day Tour
Day 01
Colombo to Talangama
Arrive in Bandaranayake International Airport in Colombo and check in to the hotel for one night. Scheduling an arrival in Colombo in the morning, means that you will have a chance for birding in the afternoon at the Talangama Wetlands. You will see many water birds and there has been a total of around 50 species of migrants & endemics recorded, especially from November through April. Highlights include Cinnamon, Black and Yellow Bitterns, while the endemic Ceylon Swallows may also be sighted, usually in the late afternoons. As it gets dark, look for the Brown Hawk Owl & Collared Scopes Owl
- Overnight at Jet wing Villa Talangama
- Meals offered: Dinner
Day 02
Talangama – Sinharaja
After breakfast, leave for Sinharaja for the next two nights. Enroute, visit Bodhinagala Forest Reserve for endemics. This reserve is a small tract of secondary lowland rainforest dominated by a thick undergrowth of bamboo. Bodhinagala is famous as the ‘Coucal Forest’ among birders as the rare endemic Green-billed Coucal is the highlight. Continue to Sinharaja Rainforest.
- Overnight at jansen’s bungalow Sinharaja rainforest
- Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 03
Sinharaja
Spend the morning & afternoon visiting Sinharaja Rainforest (a UNESCO world heritage site) for lowland endemics and mixed species bird flocks. Birding highlights.include Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, White-faced Starling, Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, the sub continental endemic Sri Lanka Frogmouth & also look for the endemic owls Chestnut-backed Owlet and newly discovered Serendib Scops Owl in day roost.
- Overnight at jansen’s bungalow Sinharaja rainforest
- Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 04
Sinharaja – Kitulgala
In the morning, do some local birding before leaving for Kitulgala for two nights. in the afternoon visit Kelani Valley Forest Reserve for another look for the lowland endemic species. The tour will take you across the Kelani River in a dugout canoe to enter the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, which is a lowland tropical rainforest, rich in endemic fauna and flora.
- Overnight at Hotel wild grass
- Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 05
Kithulgala
Continue enjoying the morning & afternoon, birding and owl watching at the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve for endemics.
- Overnight at Palm stone
Retreat Kitulgala - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 06
Kitulgala – Nuwara Eliya
After breakfast, leave for Nuwara Eliya for two nights.
In the afternoon, visit Victoria Park for highland species, such as the Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka Hill White-eye and Dull Blue Flycatcher. Also visit a nearby wetland for proposed endemic Black-throated Munia, Paddyfield Pipit, Pied Bush Chat, Pintail Snipes, Zitting Cisticola, Plain Prinia, Blyth’s Reed Warbler and if you are lucky, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler
- Overnight at Jetwing St
Andrew’s - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 07
Nuwara Eliya
In the morning, visit Horton Plains National Park for its cloud forests and rare montane fauna and also observe the endemic Rhino-horned Lizard. In the afternoon, visit Hakgala Botanical Garden for highland endemics. The real draw here for birdwatchers are the montane endemics like Sri Lanka Hill white-eye, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Ceylon Hill Mynah and Dull-blue Flycatcher.
- Overnight at Jetwing St
Andrew’s - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 08
Nuwara Eliya – Kandy
After breakfast leave for Kandy for one night. In the afternoon, visit Udawattakelle Forest Reserve. The endemics here, includes the noisy Layard’s Parakeet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Crimson-fronted Barbet, Black-capped Bulbul and Brown-capped Babbler, etc.
- Overnight at Cinnamon
Citadel Kandy - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 09
Kandy – Sigiriya
After breakfast, leave for Sigiriya for two nights. In the afternoon, visit Kaludiya Pokuna by Kandalama Lake for looking for the dry lowland endemic birds. Night safari
- Overnight at Cinnamon Wild
- Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 10
Sigiriya
After breakfast, visit Sigiriya (a UNESCO world heritage site).
Birding highlights include seeing a of Rose-ringed Parakeets which holds the lion’s share of the nest holes found on the tall Colon Trees (Adina cordifolia). You might also have a chance at seeing the Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, and the well-camouflaged Blue-winged Leafbird, etc.
In the afternoon, take a jeep safari at Minneriya National Park, which is dominated by the Minneriya tank. The tank provides water to 8900 hectares of paddy field and is thriving with fresh water fish. As well as providing water for irrigation, this tank and its environs have provided the necessary resources for various wildlife and plant.
Loris’s visit.
- Overnight at jet wing vil
uyana - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11
Drive Sigiriya to wilpaththu
Rest of the day at leisure explore on your own.
- Overnight at cloud
nine,wilpattu - Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 12
Leave for an early morning full day safari in Wilpattu National Park.
Wilpattu is one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka located in noethwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park lies within the north- western providences. The unique feature of this park is the existence of willus” (Natural lakes). As the park lies in dry zone rainfall is highly seasonal. Characteristic feature of the park is that majority of park area is covered with dense forest. Elephants, leopards, sloth bear, water buffalo and spotted deer are among the large mammals. Coastal belt and willus support abundant birdlife such as painted storks, black hedad ibis, Asian open bills, whistling duck, Eurasian spoonbill, cormorants, and kingfishers, apart from them serpent eagles, great racket tail drongo, Malabar paid hornbills, crested hawk eagles & Sri Lanka junglefowls are commonly seen. Both water monitors and mugger crocodiles can be seen in the willus.
- Overnight at cloud nine,wilpattu
- Meals offered: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 13
Katunayake
Transfer to Bandaranayake International Airport for departure.
- Meals offered: Breakfast
NOTES
- This is a bird watching tour. The local bird spotters will try their best to find birds of your choice, but as these are wild animals, there is no guarantee to be able to observe all the birds mentioned on this homepage.
- It may rain near the forests of Sinharaja. It is recommended that you bring your own rain gear (top and bottom) and rain protection devices or covers for your camera equipment.
- Since this is a bird watching tour, it will involve walking into the bush or densely vegetated forests. Protective long sleeved clothes, long pants and water proof shoes are recommended for daily wear.
- If you need a designated camera porter to help carry your photography equipment, we can arrange for that.
Customise Your Tour
We can Allow visitors to select their interests (e.g., adventure, culture, food) and customise their itinerary based on their preferences.