Bentota City Tour from Negombo

Visit the strange and yet beautiful Lunuganga estate that was once the home of Sir Geoffrey Bawa, and take a river safari through the mangroves of Madu River.

Highlights:

• Witness Geoffrey Bawa’s creations at Lunuganga Estate
• Go on a lovely boat safari in Madu River.
• Visit Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery.

Includes:

• Transport throughout the tour in an air-conditioned vehicle
• Service of an English-speaking chauffeur
• Madu River Safari
• Hotel pickup & drop-off from/to Negombo
• 1 Liter of bottled mineral water per person
• All taxes & service charges

Excludes:

• Fish spa therapy
• Entrance Tickets (Lunuganga Geoffrey Bawa’s Country Estate, Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery,
• Food or Drinks.
• Gratuities (Optional).
• Expenses of Personal Nature.

Experience:

Your chauffeur will pick up from your hotel by 07:30 am. It will take approximately an hour or an hour and a half to reach Bentota. So you will arrive there before 9:00 am.

The first item in your itinerary will be Bawa’s estate in Lunuganga. Sir Geoffrey Bawa, the much-renowned lawyer turned architect, made the estate his country home from 1947 till his death in 1998. During his sojourn there he used the place as his experiment lab and made many architectural and interior additions. While visiting the estate you will get to see the beautifully designed gardens that are now open to the public. Some of the buildings of the estate are also now a country house hotel. The tour of the estate takes two hours.

Thereafter proceed to Kosgoda and visit Turtle Hatchery.

Here, you will be spending an hour getting to know about sea turtles and their conservation. The best part of the hatchery is the touch pools, deep tubs of seawater with baby sea turtles swimming in them. Visitors are allowed to pick up and handle then to some extent. There are also fully mature sea turtles of different kinds, receiving treatment for various ailments or wounds.

Thereafter proceed to Balapitiya and go on a lovely Boat Safari I Madu River. (Travel Time 20 to 30 mins)

Balapitiya is a little southern town lying in marshy wetlands. The area is a high biodiversity zone that relies on the lagoon created by Madu River as it flows into the Indian Ocean. Your safari will take you on a ride down the river. You will get to see the dense mangrove forest that grows along the marshy banks of the river and the forms of wildlife that call the roots home. Your guide will also take you some of the larger free-standing islands on Madu River. On one such island, you will find an old Buddhist monastery. Cinnamon harvesting is the main employment of the people of this area.

Another attraction of the safari is the famous fish massage. This ‘massage parlor’ is a hut standing on stilts in the middle of the river. A netted in the area contains the ‘massage fish’. You will be sitting on the deck of the hut with your feet in the water, while the fish work their magic.

After this relaxing boat tour, you will be returning to Negombo by 4:00 pm. You will get back to your hotel at 6:00 pm completing the tour.

Notes:

• Comfortable Walking Shoes Recommended for this tour.