Devi Srilanka Trip

AIRPORT –NEGOMBO (Meals: X/X/X) Arrive in Sri Lanka. Meet and assist on arrival at Airport by ABZTOURSs Representative. (15 kms – Approx. 30 min drive) Special Welcome at the Airport Flower Garlands on Arrival Porters upon request (Payments Direct) Transfer to your hotel in Negombo. Proceed Negombo & Chilaw city tour. Negombo is a city on the west coast of Sri Lanka, north of the capital, Colombo. Near the waterfront, the remains of the 17th-century Dutch Fort now house a prison. Negombo Lagoon, lined with fishermen’s huts, feeds into the Dutch-era Hamilton Canal. The canal leads south to Colombo. Neoclassical St. Mary’s Church, completed in the 1920s, features a ceiling decorated with vivid religious paintings. Sri Munneswarama Devalaya Munneswaram temple is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka. It has been in existence at least since 1000 CE although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana, and its legendary hero-king Rama. Manavari Kovil Manavari temple is one of the important Hindu Temple located in Chilaw, Puttalam District of North Western province. There is a direct link between this Manavari Temple and the Ramayana Yatra Sri Lanka

Talaimannar Lighthouse Mannar Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Talaimannar on Mannar Island in northern Sri Lanka. Built in 1915, the 19 metres white lighthouse has a round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery. Thiruketheeshwaram Shiva Kovil The Ketheeswaram temple (alternatively called Thiruketheeswaram) is an ancient Hindu kovil located in Mannar, in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. It is one of the island’s Pancha Ishwarams (a group of five ancient coastal kovils that were built around the perimeter of Sri Lanka) that were dedicated to the Hindu supreme being Ishawara in the form of the god Shiva. Proceed to the city of Jaffna, En-route visit *Mannawari Temple Rama is believed to have installed a shiva lingam, an icon of Lord Shiva, at Manawari Kovil in Chillaw, which is about 60km from capital Negombo. It was a remedy to get rid of & lsquo Brahmahathi Dosham & rsquo; for having killed Ravana who was a Brahmin. *Munneswaram Kovil is one of the three celebrated ancient Isvarams of Lord Siva the other two being Thirukethiswaram near Mannar and Konneswaram in Trincomalee. It is situated about half a mile east of Chilaw. We first hear of this kovil in the Ramayana or the story of Rama and Sita, when Sri Rama Bhagavan is said to have found solace there of his heavily weighted conscience in respect of the many deaths that had been caused in the Ramayana episode. Jaffna Fort Visit *Jaffna Fort Situated on the south side of the Jaffna peninsula at the water’s edge of the lagoon, the ancient fort in Jaffna is the second largest existing fortin the Island. Originally built by the Portuguese in 1619 and rebuilt and expanded by the Dutch during the second half of the 17th and the 18th centuries to facilitate trading activities of Sri Lanka’s northern region indicate not only of Jaffna’s strategic importance to Europeans but its significance throughout Sri Lanka’s history. The five sided inner defense works consist of thick and high ramparts and bastions with a wide and deep moat around it

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Breakfast at Hotel. Thereafter leave for Trincomalee (232 kms – Approx. 4 ½ hrs drive) upon arrival to Trincomalee proceed on a city tour of Trincomalee. Koneswaram Temple - According to an inscription found on the doorway to the Fortress this Temple was constructed by King Kulokoddan in 3rd Kaliyugaya, with 1000 columns. Destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16 Century A.D. they threw all the columns down to the sea below. Three bronze statues were brought up by divers found among the columns in the sea and are now kept in the modern temple at the same site, within the Dutch Fort in Trincomalee. Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple - Keerimalai Naguleswaram temple, historically known also as the Thirutambaleswaram Kovil of Keerimalai, is a famous Hindu temple in Keerimalai, located north of Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka in the suburb of Kankesanthurai

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Breakfast at the hotel. Thereafter leave for Galle. (440 kms – Approx. 9 hrs drive) Galle - Sri Lanka’s most historically interesting town is Galle. It was a major port until about 100 years, but today still handles shipping and sailing boats in the natural harbour. Stroll around the lighthouse and harbour or visit the old town where you can see the traditional lace makers and wood carvers and purchase some the finest souvenirs. The Dutch Fort - Galle - The South Coast’s major city is Galle, whose oldest landmark is the massive Portuguese and Dutch Fort which is a “World Heritage Site” in which the central city is contained. But the city may be much older. Some scholars believe it to be the “Tarshish” of the Old Testament, to which King Solomon sent his merchant vessels, and to which Jonah fled from the Lord.

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Tondeswaram Tenawaram Tenavaram temple is a historic Hindu temple complex situated in the port town Tenavaram, Tevanthurai, Matara near Galle, Southern Province, Sri Lanka Continue to Colombo, city tour of *Colombo a drive through the city taking you to the busy commercial areas as well as the tree lined residential, Cinnamon Gardens, Visit Fort, the former British administrative centre and military garrison, Sea Street - the Goldsmiths quarters in the heart of Pettah, the Bazaar area, where is also a Hindu Temple with elaborate stone carvings, and the Dutch Church of Wolfendhal dating back to 1749. Also visit the BMICH, see the replica of Avukana Buddha & the Independence Square. Start *Shopping in Colombo, Visit ODEL, House of Fashion, Arcade Independence square, Race Course, and Beverly Street, visit bargain market in Colombo Pettah. After leisurely breakfast transfer to the Airport to connect the departure flight back home.

   Breakfast