Eco Team Bird watching tour |
PROGRAMME |
: Bird watching tour. |
DURATION |
: 6 Nights / 7 Days. |
PERIOD |
:Valid till 31-Oct-2008 |
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Highlights of the Tour
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- Bird watching in Muthurajawela & Bodhinagala - renowned bird watching sites
- Visit Singharaja – Rain Forest visit – where 95% of endemic bird species have been recorded
- Visit Udawalawe National park which is world famous for large herds of Elephants– for Safari & bird watching
- Visit Kalametiya sanctuary, Bundala & Yala national parks –Dry Zone Birding & Waders at it is best
- Horton Plains Nature reserve visit
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Our programmes are offered in the following 3 standards. Accommodation options have been selected after careful evaluation.
Value: Basic but clean. With a typical Sri Lankan touch , relaxed atmosphere and personalized service at Small family / enterprise run operations.
Standard: - 3 Star equal: Better comforts and facilities with extra comforts. Mostly large establishments with Standardized service.
Premium: High standards of quality, décor, service and much more, with many extra comforts and activities to indulge yourself. We have offered locations with a unique Sri Lankan individuality, measuring up to international standards. |
Day 1 - Waikkala / Negombo (HB) |
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| Arrival and transfer to a hotel in “Waikkala” or “Negombo”. |
 WAIKKALA
WAIKKALA is located in the Puttalam District, which falls into the dry zone category. Waikkala is in the midst of marine, coastal, estuarine, mangroves, marshland and man made habitat systems. All of these have contributed to the avifaunal diversity visible in the immediate surrounding. Much of the avifauna is characteristically wetland.
BIRDS IN WAIKKALA
More than 60 species of birds can be observed here.
Eg: Common sandpiper, little ringed plover, Purple coot, Painted stork, Stork-billed kingfisher and others. |
NEGOMBO
Bustling Negombo town is a historically interesting place strongly influenced by the Catholic Church. The narrow strip of land between the lagoon & the sea and the many can also make good exploring. The Dutch captured the town from the Portuguese in 1640, lost it in the same year and captured it again in 1644.
The British then took it from them in 1796 without a struggle. Neg ombo was one of the most important sources of cinnamon during the Dutch era, and there are still reminders of the European days. |
SCHEDULE
- Arrival & transfer to a hotel in Waikkala or Negombo.
- At leisure after along flight.
- Dinner & over night stay at Waikkala / Negombo.
- Accommodation
- Value – Hotel Sunset Beach or similar
- Standard – Ranweli Holiday Village or similar
- Deluxe – “The Beach” Hotel or similar.
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Day 2 - Waikkala – Bodinagala – Sinharaja (HB) |
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Morning Bird watching trails in a boat. Leaving to Sinharaja Forest after a late breakfast. |
BODHINAGALA
 This is a forest reserve belonging to the western zone category, with an extent of about 50 acres and is situated at Ingiriya in the Kalutara district. This small patch of lowland, being a natural rainforest, is home to many species of endemic flora and fauna. It is close to Colombo and therefore holds a specific importance.
The bird life of this area has the highest species diversity, with 151 being recorded, of which 9 are endemic. The most important record was the identification of the Green-billed Coucal, which is regarded as one the rarest endemic birds in Sri Lanka . We will see many more species including the Alexandrine Parakeet, Brown-headed Barbet and the Brown-breasted and Tickell's Blue Flycatchers. |
SCHEDULE
- After an early morning Bird Watching trail at Ranweli & breakfast, proceed to Sinharaja via Bodinagala.
- On the way visit “Bodhinagala ” Forest for a birding trail.
- Lunch on the way at a hotel or a restaurant
- Dinner & overnight stay in a hotel at Sinharaja.
- Accommodation
- Value & Standard – Sinharaja Lodge or similar
- Deluxe – Boulder Gardens or similar.
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Day 3 -Sinharaja (HB) |
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SOME OF THE BIRDS IN SINGHARAJA RAIN FOREST
Singharaja rain forest, which is a world heritage site, may be described either as a Tropical Lowland Rainforest or Tropical wet evergreen forest. Birding in this ecosystem is very interesting. 95% of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka have been recorded in Sinharaja.
Singharaja is the best location to observe the flock behaviour of birds We will be looking for Sri Lanka Spur fowl, Sri Lanka Jungle fowl, Green-billed Coucal, Red-faced Malkoha, Blue Magpie and Spot-winged Thrush, Endemic White-faced Starling, Sri Lanka Myna amongst others. Also keeps an eye out for the endemic purple-faced leaf monkeys moving through the canopy, and the impressive grizzled Indian squirrel.
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SCHEDULE
- We take an early breakfast and a packed lunch and set off to the Singharaja Forest for a long Bird Watching Trail.
- After a tired but exhilarating day we are back for the night at a place of our choice.
- Accommodation:-
- Value & Standard – Sinharaja Lodge or similar.
- Deluxe – Boulder Gardens or similar
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Day 4 -
Singharaja / Udawalawe |
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| Leaving Singharaja Rain Forest to Udawalawe. |
 BIRDS IN UDAWALAWE
This 30821 hectares dry zone game park was declared as a protected national park in 1972. It has an annual rainfall of 1524 mm and an average temperature of 29.40C. This park is world famous for it’s elephants. You will see whole herds of them, adults and young, bathing and playing in the water or feeding.
The safari will also be an unforgettable bird watching experience as Udawalawe has a wide variety of birds. The endemic Red-faced Malkoha, has its favourite habitat in this parkland. Serpent Eagles, Hawk Eagles, White-bellied Sea Eagles, Black Eagles, Black Capped Bulbuls, Racket-tailed Drongos, Malabar Pied Horn Bills, White-necked Storks, OpenBills, Ibis, Shama (the Forest Nightingale), Stork-billed Kingfishers and Peacocks are found in fair numbers.
Among the migrant birds are the Forest Wagtails, Indian Pitta, Whiskered Terns, Osprey Sand Pipers and Terns.
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 SCHEDULE
- Finishing breakfast, proceed to Udawalawe National Park.
- Arrival at Udawalawe in time for lunch.
- After lunch & a Short break, leave camp for an evening Safari & Bird Watching at the park.
- Dinner & Overnight stay at Udawalawe / Embilipitiya.
- Accommodation:-
- Value – Centauria Hotel or similar
- Standard – Standard Camping
- Deluxe – Luxury Camping
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Day 5 - Embilipitiya – Kalamitiya – Bundala – Yala (FB) |
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Leaving Udawalawe to Yala via Kalametiya & Bundala. |
KALAMETIYA
Kalametiya sanctuary is situated in the Hambantota District and falls into the dry zone category. Major habitat types are lagoons, mangroves and scrublands. These lagoons support breeding colonies of pelicans, herons, egrets and open-billed stork and large wintering populations of migratory ducks and shorebirds. |
 BIRDS IN BUNDALA
The high species richness of birds in the Bundala National Park resulted in it being declared as Sri Lanka’s first Ramsar site in 1990, a wetland of international importance for migratory waterfowl. The park consists mainly of dry thorny scrubland and lagoons. The highlight of Bundala is the migratory Greater Flamingo, which visits in large flocks of over 1000 individuals, from Rann of Kutch in India. In particular we may find Indian Cormorant, Yellow Bittern, Black-crowned Night and Purple Herons. The area is also famous for crocodiles.
YALA PARK lies 24 kmnortheast of Tissamaharama and 290km from Colombo on the southeast coast of Sri Lanka and spans Southern and Uva provinces. The park consists of 97,878ha. The altitude is 90m from sea level. The vegetation in this park comprises secondary forest, possibly a few hundred years old at the most. It is predominantly semi-arid thorny-scrub, interspersed with pockets of fairly dense forest. Small patches of mangrove vegetation occur along the costal lagoons. Yala is renowned for the variety of its wildlife and its fine coastline and associated coral reefs. A large number of important cultural ruins bear testimony to earlier civilizations and indicate that, much of the area was populated and well developed. |
SCHEDULE
- Arrival at Kalametiya & Bundala for a bird watching experience.
- Packed lunch will be provided.
- After lunch proceed to Yala for a Wildlife & Bird Watching tour.
- Dinner & Overnight stay at Yala / Tissamaharama.
- Accommodation :-
- Value – Tissamaharama Resort
- Standard – Elephant Reach
- Deluxe - Yala Village Hotel or similar
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Day 6 - Yala – Maha Eliya (Horton Plains) – Nuwara Eliya (HB) |
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After breakfast, we leave for Maha Eliya (Horton plains) National Park with packed Lunch. |
BIRDS IN HORTON PLAINS
 Horton Plains is one of the countries outstanding nature reserves. It covers the renowned World’s End, a sheer drop of 3700ft which offers an awesome view. Other attractions include Bakers Falls and Chimney Pool.
Horton Plains Nature Reserve is approximately 10,000 hectares in extent. A remote, high plateau, 2000m, supports grassland fringed and interspersed with patches of dense montane cloud forest. This locality is famous among bird watchers for the Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush. We will also be looking for the endemic Yellow-eared Bulbul, the Fantailed Warbler, the Ashy headed Babbler and the Sri Lankan Blue Magpie. There are three varieties of lizards located here including the Horned Lizard. |
SCHEDULE 
- Proceed to Horton Plains around 6am. (a 5hrs drive . approx)
- Arrival at Horton Plains around 11.00 am for the Bird Watching & Wildlife Trail.(soft trail for 6km)
- Lunch at Horton Plains.
- After lunch proceed to Nuwara Eliya.
- Evening at leisure after a city tour.
- Dinner & Overnight stay at Nuwara Eliya.
- Accommodation
- Value – Windsor Hotel
- Standard – St.Andrew’s Hotel
- Deluxe – Grand Hotel or similar
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Day 7 - Departure from Nuwara Eliya |
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| After breakfast guest will be transferred to the Airport or the next destination. |
- End of Tour - |
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| Our Rates - Please contact us |
No of Pax |
01 Pax |
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05 Pax |
Value (Rate per person US$) |
| Standard (Rate per person US$) |
| Deluxe (Rate per person US$) |
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Transportation Cost |
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- Transport in an air conditioned vehicle with a driver / guide. [ We have allocated 900 km for the tour which is quite sufficient and any additional running will be charged at 00.40 USD per km]
Birding Guide Fee US $ 420
(Guide’s Fee, Meals & Accommodation) |
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| Cost Includes: |
- Accommodation at the Hotels / camps on HB basis.
- Services of an English Speaking Bird Guide his accommodation plus skilled local guides at relevant locations.
- Entrance fees / Permits / Jeep Safaris at all locations.
- All Campsite fees and related fees when camping.
- All government taxes
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| Cost does not include: |
- Expenses of personal nature.
- Birding Guide Fee. (Given Separately)
- Transportation. (Given Separately)
- Tips and Porte rage at hotels.
- Any other services not specified above.
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| Payment policy: Full payment with confirmation. |
| Cancellation Policy: |
- 90 Days to 30 Days - 250 US $ Administrative fee.
- 14 Days to 29 Days - 250 US $ admin fee will be charged and 50 % of the tour cost will be kept to be utilized for a future booking. Balance will be refunded.
- 8 Days to 13 Days - 250 US $ admin fee will be charged and 75 % of the tour cost will be kept to be utilized for a future booking. Balance will be refunded.
- Less than 7 days - 250 US $ admin fee will be charged and 100 % of the tour cost will be kept to be utilized for a future booking.
Eco Team should receive the cancellation in writing. Tour start day is not considered for computation of the period. |
The above mentioned descriptions and programmes have been compiled after long, arduous, exploratory, and expensive work and hence is the property of Eco Team (Pvt) Ltd. Making use of these programmes/descriptions for any public or commercial programmes requires the permission of the said company. |
Naturally our ready made programmes will come cheaper than the tailor make programmes. How ever we are flexible enough to do minor changes to the ready made itineraries, with out any charge.? Please write to us
Do you own programme – Visit the location and activity pages on our site and you will come across mini tours in all of those pages. By combining them you can design your own tour. We will complete it by adding on the hotels and other cultural locations you may require.
Your tour will be handled by an experienced travel consultant who will provide a personalized service.
On certain occasions our standard programmes could be cheaper than a tailor made programme for a specific client. But rest assured that we are flexible enough to effect minor changes to a standard programme as required by you, our valuable clients & offer same at no extra cost. Please contact us at reachme@srilankaecotourism.com we will do the needful.
You also have the facility of designing your own programmes by visiting our location and activity pages on the website and accessing the mini tours segment in those pages & selecting an appropriate combination. Our experienced travel consultants will then add the finishing touches to the programme & provide a costing based on same. |
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