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View all Sigiriya toursSigiriya to Nuwara Eliya Private Transfer with Dambulla and a Spice Garden
A private transfer from Sigiriya or Dambulla up to Nuwara Eliya, taking in the Dambulla cave temples, the Matale spice garden and a pause in Kandy on the way into the tea country.
Highlights
- The whole climb from the dry-zone plain to 1,900 metres in one day
- The Dambulla cave temples fifteen minutes from Sigiriya
- A Matale spice garden with cinnamon, cardamom and pepper growing together
- A stop in Kandy roughly halfway
- Drop-off at your Nuwara Eliya hotel in the tea country
Sigiriya to Nuwara Eliya Private Transfer with Dambulla and a Spice Garden: Key Facts
| Price | From $110.5 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
This is the long climb — from the dry-zone plain at around 100 metres to Nuwara Eliya at 1,900, crossing the entire middle of the island. The landscape changes three times and it is worth stopping to notice.
Dambulla is the first stop, fifteen minutes from Sigiriya: five caves under a granite overhang painted continuously for two thousand years, with around 150 Buddha images. The approach path is steeper than it looks.
Matale is spice country. The gardens grow cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, nutmeg and vanilla together, and a guided walk makes the differences obvious in a way that reading about them does not.
Kandy is roughly halfway and the stop is short — the lake and the outside of the Temple of the Tooth, unless you want to add an hour and the fee to go in. From Kandy the road climbs and does not stop, and around Ramboda the forest gives way to tea.
You reach Nuwara Eliya in the afternoon, at 1,900 metres, where the air is cold and the town still has the racecourse, the golf course and the mock-Tudor post office the British left behind.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup
From your hotel in Sigiriya or Dambulla.
Dambulla cave temples
The five painted caves.
Matale spice garden
A guided walk through the plots.
Kandy
A short stop at the lake.
Ramboda
Into the tea country.
Nuwara Eliya
Drop-off at your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "07:30", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Six hours of driving spread across the day."}, {"time": "08:00", "title": "Dambulla", "description": "Steep approach, an hour inside, shoes off."}, {"time": "11:30", "title": "Kandy", "description": "A pause rather than a visit."}, {"time": "15:30", "title": "Nuwara Eliya", "description": "Drop-off at your hotel."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup in Sigiriya or Dambulla, all stops, drop-off at your Nuwara Eliya hotel, luggage carried throughout.
Excludes
- Entrance fees at Dambulla and elsewhere, meals and drinks, spice purchases, gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Sigiriya or Dambulla; confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts