Start your day excursion with a Colombo city tour, seeing the highlights of Sri Lanka's capital such as Galle Face Green with Galle Face Hotel and Old Parliament Building, Independence Square, Gangarama temple and Water Temple in Beira Lake. Afterwards, shopping opportunities include gems, spices, tea, and clothes.

In a suburb of Colombo we will visit the Kelaniya temple which is a renowned Buddhist institution, but also a Hindu place of worship and one of the major Ramayana Trail pilgrimage sites. It's the major Vibhishana shrine on the island of Lanka. Ravana's younger brother Vibhishana, who had supported Lord Rama in the Battle of Lanka, was appointed the new king by Lord Rama himself after the defeat and demise of Ravana.

On the way to Chilaw we stop at the impressive new Kataragama shrine in Madampe, which was erected on private initiative in honour of Lord Murugan also known as Skanda, son of Lord Shiva. This is one of the neatest shrines in South Asia.

Manavari Kovil to the north of Chilaw (Halavata) is only a small Hindu temple but of utmost significance for Hindu devotees, as this is one of the only two places where Lord Rama erected an Lingam in veneration of Lord Shiva, the other Ramalingam being that of the famous Rameshvaram pilgrimage island in India's Tamil Nadu state.

Munneshvaram Kovil to the east of Chilaw is one of the island's four major shrines devoted to Lord Shiva. Apart from Komeshvaram Kovil in Trincomalee, it's the most revered Shiva temple indeed. It's also a place of Rama worship on the Ramayana Trail.