19 Mar 2023
Absolutely amazing day. Early start to pack everything in but definitely worth it, you also get to see small towns with no tourists and how the locals live.
We started off going to Dambulla, on the way there was an optional stop at a herb garden! Was very interesting and you have the option to buy herbs, spices and creams at the end. It's free to do but you don't have to do it. Dambulla was incredible, a wonder to behold. You will need to have you shoulders covered going in to the temple itself and bare in mind between 10.30 and 10.45 the caves shut
After that we went to Sigiriya. Wow! Amazing. There was a big queue when we arrived with locals but there's a separate queue for tourists so don't be conned by the touts saying they can take you up quicker!
After we stopped off for lunch which was a sri lankan style buffet.
Then we headed to the safari, we were very lucky and saw many many elephants! Once in a lifetime close! Our driver had his daughter with us who was adorable and they were both so lovely.
Our driver Fazeel was quite frankly the best! He chatted with us along the way, answered many questions we had and told us about local traditions and customs. He was punctual and polite. We also had another trainee driver with us who was also just as lovely. They both really made our day perfect. Thank you!
Aaliya tours were easy to deal with, we sent them a message via WhatsApp and they replied quickly and did the booking directly through them.
Would 10/10 recommend this day