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We enjoyed this holiday immensely. It gave us an insight into a beautiful country and its people, history, geography and development. Much of this was made posible by an exceptional leder,Ruwan Balasooriya who managed to combine organisational skills and knowledge with a pleasing sense of humour. Walking companions proved good company and generally accommodation, travel and food were up to expectations. It was one of our best-ever holidays.
Glencairn tea plantation - its location, general ambience, including winderful views Trek to Horton Plains and World End Visit to a 'tsunami' family Views too many to mention
Exceptional. See above. We were a group but he found time for us as individuals.
Exodus covered the ground well enough
A really varied trip in a very beautiful country, giving a great mix of culture, walking and nature amid some stunning scenery. Coming from the UK winter, the lush greenery and fabulous flora and fauna of Sri Lanka was a joy, and the leader and other local staff ensured everything ran like clockwork and everyone was well looked after and kept happy.
Getting to the top of Adam's Peak for sunrise, hiking in the remote Knuckles mountain range, and seeing about 8 blue whales on the optional coastal excursion - definitely a 'must-do' option for anyone travelling in the right season.
Ruwan was an excellent leader, full of local knowledge of all aspects of local culture, food, flora and fauna. He kept everything running smoothly at all times, was always available, and always patient even when asked the same questions many times. Also a friendly guy with a sense of humour.
Really varied bird life, so worth taking a small pair of binoculars and a bird book. Take the optional whale watching trip if there in migration season. The first 3 months of the year seem a great time to visit for whales, weather and pilgrimage season up Adam's Peal
Exhausting, exhilarating, exceptional, exciting.
Almost every day brought us an inspirational moment from seeing Leopards to the scenery to tasting authentic Sri Lankan food, but for me the wow moment was seeing an elephant strolling through a lake of water hyacinths chomping to his (her?) hearts content oblivious to our presence.
Kingsley the guide was exceptional. Not only did he know his stuff about wildlife he could spot creatures that I would have walked past, but he also took the time to take an interest in what everyone in the group was interested in and helped us get the most from the trip.
A combination of altitude, heat and humidity can take it out of you if you are not used to this type of environment. It's difficult to prepare for these factors so be prepared to find things a bit hard going until you are acclimatised.
Once again I had a fantastic time on a trip with Exodus, this time to Sri Lanka. The guide was excellent, very informative and friendly, in fact he couldn’t do enough for us. The driver, co driver and luggage driver were also happy to help with anything we asked of them. The country is beautiful and full of amazing things to see, the people were extremely friendly and the local guides were very helpful. I would recommend this trip to anybody.
All the hotels we stayed in were lovely, the staff were friendly and the food was great.
There were to many to choose from really. The Buddhist temples were beautiful and very peaceful, the jungle walk and mountain climbing was lovely and it was great to be able to go whale watching and we were lucky to see two blue whales and a white one.
Our guide was excellent, he had a big group to look after (16) but he did it with ease. He was very proud of his country, very informative and very friendly and good fun. He couldn't do enough for us. I would recommend him as guide of the year.
I think this has been mentioned by others but the trip notes suggest walking sandals but I would strongly suggest walking shoes or boots because of the terrain and the leeches in the jungle. Please do not be put off by the mention of leeches, they do not do any harm and the local guides carry a solution to get rid of them immediately.
The perfect combination – a wonderful walking tour visiting some of the many and varied splendid sights of Sri Lanka followed by a few days winding down in the Maldives! Sri Lanka lived up to its name “Resplendent Island” and the places visited, walks walked, sights seen, people met and food eaten, all backed up by a first class leader, made this an adventure to remember and recommend to others.
Where to start? Just when you thought it couldn't get better, Sri Lanka had a surprise for you just around the corner. I can't decide - pick any one moment from these; wild elephants up close, arriving at the summit of Adam's Peak, a soaring eagle, a refreshing swim in a river, the sights and sounds of the jungle, whales spouting, amazing historic artefacts and the most incredible local food!
Group Leaders are the face of an adventure company and leaders of the calibre of Sampath Kulathunga put Exodus in the forefront. The complete unflappable professional, Sam ensured that the group was always safe, well informed, entertained and extremely well fed (despite many special dietary requirements within the group). Longish coach journeys were far from boring, with Sam providing great commentaries on a wide variety of relevant subjects. Thanks to Sam, I felt that I hadn't just visited Sri Lanka, but had been totally immersed in its culture, history and geography. One of the very best Leaders I have come across.
Sri Lanka - Whilst the trip notes state walking sandals, light boots/trainers are better for the time of year we went (very wet underfoot at times and leeches abound). Expect your kit to get damp due to high humidity so packing in waterproof bags helps. Although the overall trip is graded Moderate, the temperature and humidity can make some of the walks e.g. Adam's Peak, feel harder (but very rewarding). Maldives - you can't take alcohol into the Maldives; don't try and cheat, your bags (hold baggage too) WILL be Xrayed and checked by customs on arrival and alcohol is taken from you on arrival and returned as you leave - be prepared for this if you have developed a taste for Sri Lankan Arrack like I did!
We have just returned from the late January / early February slot and had an excellent time. The tour ran as per the itinerary with no disruption as a consequence of the heavy rain back in December, and offered a good balance between walking and culture / sightseeing. The Group all got on well together and we enjoyed plenty of laughs. We were looked after incredibly well by the whole ‘crew’ throughout our stay.
The trip had many highlights but we particularly enjoyed the walking in the Knuckles Mountains which are well off the tourist trail. The walk at Horton Plains is also very enjoyable, albeit quite busy. On the cultural side the caves at Dambulla are exceptional as are the very early wall paintings at Sigirya. For those interested in wildlife, the range of birds seen on the various walks was unexpected.
Rewan was an excellent guide - very knowledgeable, always helpful, well organised, sociable and everything was done with a smile. His talks on the bus journeys on a variety of subjects including the history of Sri Lanka were fascinating. In addition to Rewan, mention should also be made of our bus driver who was very accomplished and showed great skill in manoeuvring the bus around some tight roads.
The kit list suggests walking in trekking sandals and has walking boots listed as optional. In my view walking boots are essential given the terrain of some of the walks in the Hill Country and to offer protection against the leeches that exist on the damp forest paths. I would also recommend taking a lightweight pair of waterproof overtrousers as when it rains it can be very heavy and the mountain weather is unpredictable.
My first hiking tour, my favorite walks were the jungle walks and those through the rice patty fields in the small villages. Amazingly beautiful and very old Buddhist art work in the Dambulla Caves. The Sri Lankan people are friendly and welcoming, the country has an old world feeling, very green, very laid back, the land of elephants and coconuts.
Making it to the top of Adam's Peak. I never thought I would actually make it.
Sampath Kulatunga was an excellent guide. Very patient, friendly, very knowledgeable about his country and birds. He definitely loves his job. My first singing tour leader. I struggled during the first few days of the tour with painful knees and adjusting to the hot climate, he was very supportive and patient. I was very very greatful for his assistance.
Definitely bring walking sticks and a sports cream for the sore calves, I wished I did.
I don’t want to sound like the traveller just complaining because the weather wasn’t very kind, but this trip was very badly effected by torrential rain, landslides, cancelled walks, waterlogged hotel gardens (the route from room to restaurant), all-night amplified religious chanting 50m from hotel room, a riverside campsite virtually under water, a cancelled train ride (line swept away by rain), a cancelled town tour (due to a political rally), power cuts, illness within the group, etc. etc. Add to this that some accommodation was terrible and the bus was far too small for a walking group of this size (all with back-packs, poles, etc) and you’ll see that this tour was not a complete success – but it was an experience though!
I think it was about day ten when it finally stopped raining and the group actually cheered the sight of a small glimpse of blue sky! It didn't last long though.
Rowan is an excellent tour leader and I firmly believe that he personally learnt a lot from this tour - even by Sri Lankan standards, these conditions were extreme and nothing like anything Rowan had needed to deal with before. That said, he coped extremely well on the whole and even found us a few alternative activities when items in the itinerary needed to be cancelled. He was always helpful and informative, polite and efficient.
Don't let our experiences put you off going to this very beautiful island, but be aware that it does have a tropical climate and personally I would leave it for a while - the last few months of 2014 saw a lot of rain damage to the islands infrastructure which will take them a long time to recover from - many roads are now in a terrible state caused by numerous landslips and the Ella railway line will probably not be repaired for a long-time. Yala NP has also been very badly effected, now resembling a building site in places where roads have been washed away and with very few animals to see (just birds really) as they have mainly migrated north apparently.
We are sorry that Phil’s time in Sri Lanka was impacted upon by the poor weather and that aspects of the itinerary were affected; regrettably the weather conditions his group experienced were exceptionally bad for that time of the year. A tour leader who has completed this trip since Phil’s departure has assured us that the routes have undergone repair work and services have returned to normal. We are confident that future Exodus clients will not be as disappointed.
Simon Clifford – Trip Manager for Sri Lanka
There is a lot packed into this holiday, some stunning walks and a chance to see some great historical sites. It’s a fantastic holiday destination.
When I was young (!) I heard Richard Murphy in Newcastle reading his poems about the mirror wall at Sigiriya - and it didn't seem possible that I would ever see these haunting paintings. So that was great. But I also loved the tea plantations at Dickoya, the locals celebrating Buddhist new year in Ella and the honeypot that is Galle.
Our tour leader was really helpful in lots of ways though in all honesty he didn't seem so keen on the walking.
I spent my free day in Galle rather the whale watching and totally enjoyed fantasising about which of the few derelict properties would be my new home.
what a wonderful way to see the real sri lanka. The walks were fun and scenic, the locals warm and friendly. Our guide was perfect, and we had enough time to ourselves to really enjoy the tour.
This was not a shopping tour, and that’s what made it so very special. There were parts of the trip that were just so unique! You will love the bungalow!
sitting on the top of sigyria rock
I thought he was very special. I felt looked after withoput the constant overbearing of some tour guides. He really was a very quiet, special man.
wind down to sri Lankan pace, or you will not enjoy your holiday