The Feather Trail Circuit

• Meet & assistance on arrival by a Travel Design by CDC representative; transfer to Chilaw.
• Check in and relax at the hotel for the remainder of the day.
• Dinner & overnight stay.

• After breakfast, visit Anawilundawa Bird Sanctuary – one of Sri Lanka’s six RAMSAR wetlands, its coastal, mangrove and freshwater mosaic supporting over 150 species of resident and migratory birds.
• Continue to Anamaduwa; check in and enjoy a birdwatching trail at the property.
• Dinner & overnight stay at the hotel.

Highlight Species: Brahminy Kite / Oriental Darter / Spot-billed Pelican / Grey Heron / Whistling Duck / Little Grebe

• Early morning safari at Wilpattu National Park – Sri Lanka’s largest, where ancient “villu” wetlands and forest support over 200 species, including many rare migrants.
• Depart for Mannar, visiting Thanthirimale en route.
• Arrive and check in for the night.

• After breakfast, an expedition around Mannar – salt pans, tidal flats, scrublands and lagoons along a major migratory flyway hosting over 300 species.
• Transfer to Sigiriya; check in and relax.
• After dinner, a guided night safari reveals elusive nocturnal species and, with luck, the rare slender loris.
• Overnight stay at the hotel.

Highlight Species: Whiskered Tern / Brown-headed Gull / Saunders’s Tern / Green Sandpiper / Marsh Sandpiper / Common Greenshank / European Roller / Indian Spot-billed Duck / Northern Shoveler

• After breakfast, climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress – a UNESCO World Heritage site whose surrounding dry-zone forests and traditional irrigation tanks support over 150 recorded bird species.
• Afterwards, a safari at Minneriya National Park.
• Return to the hotel for dinner & overnight stay.

• After breakfast, depart for Kandy – Sri Lanka’s second city, seat of its kings for over two centuries and home to the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Lord Buddha.
• Visit the Temple of the Tooth.
• Return to the hotel and enjoy a birdwatching trail on the property.
• Dinner & overnight stay.

Highlight Species: Jerdon’s Nightjar / Falcons / Alpine Swift / Fork-tailed Drongo-cuckoo / Spot-bellied Eagle-owl / Black-winged Kite

• After breakfast, visit Udawattakele Forest Reserve.
• Depart for Nuwara Eliya, the cool hill-country town known as “Little England.”
• A bird walk around Nuwara Eliya, including Victoria Park.
• Check in for dinner and overnight stay.

• Morning visit to Horton Plains National Park – a highland haven with over 90 species, including the endemic Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush and Yellow-eared Bulbul.
• Continue to Gal Oya; check in, with birdwatching at the property and free time.
• Dinner & overnight stay.

Highlight Species: Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush / Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush / Eurasian Blackbird

• Morning safari at Nilgala, a hidden gem with over 100 species of dry-zone and forest specialists.
• Afterwards, a boat safari on the Gal Oya reservoir.
• Return to the hotel to relax; dinner & overnight stay.

• After breakfast, take a guided jungle walk with the forest-dwelling Veddah community through Rathugala, including a visit to the Peella Kandura waterfall.
• Depart for Arugam Bay.
• Enjoy a lagoon boat tour and a tuk-tuk safari.
• Check in for dinner & overnight stay.

Highlight Species: Painted Francolin / Yellow-footed Green Pigeon / Jungle Owlet

• Morning visit to Kumana National Park – coastal lagoons, mangroves and dry forest centred on Kumana Villu, a key nesting and feeding ground for resident and migratory birds.
• Return to the hotel to relax; dinner & overnight stay.

• In the morning, depart for Yala.
• Check in and relax at the hotel.
• Afternoon: Experience a jeep safari to Yala national park.
• Dinner & overnight stay.

Highlight Species: Black-necked Stork / Eurasian Spoonbill / Blue-faced Malkoha / Jacobin Cuckoo / Blue-tailed Bee-eater / Little Green Bee-eater

• Morning safari at Bundala National Park, the first stopover on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and home to over 200 species, including flamingos and waders.
• In the evening, a village safari by jeep.
• Check in for dinner & overnight stay.

• A full day of birdwatching in Sinharaja Rainforest, home to over 150 species, including more than 20 endemics rarely seen elsewhere, and famous for its mixed-species flocks.
• Return to the hotel to relax; dinner & overnight stay.

Highlight Species: Sri Lanka Drongo / Yellow-fronted Barbet / Sri Lanka Blue Magpie / Sri Lanka Warbler / Barn Swallow

• Depart for Colombo.
• Visit the city’s Urban Wetlands, where over 100 species have been recorded – a model for urban biodiversity conservation.
• Check in for dinner & overnight stay.

• Transfer to the airport for the departure flight – your Sri Lanka birding circuit comes to an end.

Highlight Species: Black-naped Oriole / Sri Lanka Barbet / Pheasant-tailed Jacana / Grey-headed Swamphen