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View all Kandy toursKandy to Trincomalee Transfer via Sigiriya Rock and the Dambulla Caves
The move from Kandy to the east coast with both cultural triangle sites built in: Sigiriya rock and the Dambulla caves on the way, then on to Trincomalee for drop-off at your hotel.
Highlights
- Both cultural triangle sites done on the way rather than as a separate day trip
- Sigiriya climbed early, before the heat
- The Dambulla cave temples fifteen minutes further on
- Drop-off at your Trincomalee hotel with the sightseeing already done
- Reaching the east coast, which is dry from May to September
Kandy to Trincomalee Transfer via Sigiriya Rock and the Dambulla Caves: Key Facts
| Price | From $78 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Kandy to Trincomalee is a long drive with the two best sites in the country sitting almost exactly on the route, which makes doing it as a plain transfer a genuine waste.
Sigiriya comes first and early. The fifth-century citadel on the granite plug is 1,200 steps up past the mirror wall frescoes and the lion's paws, with symmetrical water gardens laid out below that still work after fifteen hundred years. Climbing it in the morning is the difference between a good hour and a hard one.
Dambulla is fifteen minutes away: five caves cut under a granite overhang and painted floor to ceiling for two thousand years, holding around 150 Buddha images. Cool and dark, which by mid-morning is welcome.
From Dambulla it is about two and a half hours northeast to Trincomalee, and the landscape flattens and dries out as you go. Trincomalee has one of the finest natural deep-water harbours in the world, the Koneswaram temple on a cliff above it, and the beaches at Uppuveli and Nilaveli — which are on the dry side of the island from May to September, exactly when the south coast is unswimmable.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Kandy
Collection with luggage, then north.
Sigiriya rock
The climb and the summit.
Dambulla cave temples
The five painted caves.
Drive northeast
The road to the coast.
Trincomalee
Drop-off at your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "05:30", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Luggage travels with you all day."}, {"time": "08:00", "title": "Sigiriya", "description": "Two to three hours. No shade above the lion's paws."}, {"time": "11:30", "title": "Dambulla", "description": "A steep approach, an hour inside, shoes off."}, {"time": "16:00", "title": "Trincomalee", "description": "Drop-off at your hotel or at Uppuveli/Nilaveli."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup in Kandy, both site visits, drop-off at your Trincomalee hotel, luggage carried throughout, fuel and parking.
Excludes
- Entrance fees at Sigiriya and Dambulla, meals and drinks, gratuities, personal expenses.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Kandy; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts