The Kandy to Sigiriya day trip commences after the guests have their breakfast from their overnight hotel in Kandy. The tour consists of many amazing destinations; the first destination is the Matale Hindu temple. Matale Hindu temple is named the “Muthumariamman Temple”, the name Muthumariamman is a combination of the name Muthu means Pearl, Mari means rain, and Amman means mother. The temple was built devoted to the goddess Mariamman who is believed to be the goddess of rain and fertility. Both Buddhist and Hindu people worship this temple; often the Hindu people use the wedding hall in the temple to commence their marriages. The main religious event in the temple is the chariot festival, which is celebrated in March and is a very festive event to witness.

Then the tour takes you to the spice garden in Matale, spice garden is an enchanting place to wander the scented greenery and get a piece of useful knowledge about spices and their uses to enhance meals, cosmetics, and medicine.

Following that, the next location to come is the Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple also known as the Dambulla Golden Temple, which is a sacred pilgrim site for over 22 centuries. It is believed to be the largest preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka. There are mural paintings covering up to an area of 2100 m² and consisting of 157 status. The cave consists of five caves. The caves are built under a hanging rock about 150m tall. The cave temple is a geological wonder. In 1982, the giant 15m statue and pagoda were built after the conservation project. UNESCO listed the temple as a heritage site to protect it.

After the spice garden, the next destinations are the Sigiriya and Pidurangala rocks. The tourist can decide in the order to visit the two destinations. Those two locations are the main destinations of your Kandy to Sigiriya Day Tour. The Sigiriya (Lion rock) is an ancient ruin of a fortress built by King Kashyapa; it was selected to be his new capital. The rock is situated near the city of Dambulla; it has a height of 180m. Halfway up king, Kashyapa built a gateway that looked like an enormous lion this structure gave this massive rock its name. After the death of the king, the palace was abandoned and was later used as a Buddhist monastery until up to the 14th Sigiriya is a UNESCO-listed world heritage site.

Minneriya National Park and Safari Experience Then the final destination is the Minneriya National Park. It is a massive 8,889.4 hectares of wilderness. It was originally declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1938 and changed into a national park in 1997. It is home to many species, from butterflies to elephants. Research accounts for the number of elephants to be up to 700. Travel through the park will be on safari jeeps as they are built to spot animals easily. Elephants are the main attraction here, and they roam freely. They tend to migrate here because of the food and water here. The Minneriya tank is a hotspot in the park for spotting elephants. However, the rare encounters with Sri Lankan leopards are very exciting because they do not come out easily. A visit to the Minneriya National Park is a must if you love wildlife. Then we will be heading directly back to Kandy. There you will finish your Kandy to Minneriya day Tour with us!