Sri Lanka, the resplendent isle. Like a pearl hanging from the southern tip of India, the island of Sri Lanka is home to a population of 20 million, a mix of Buddhist Sinhalese, Hindu Tamils and others. They have a rich cultural heritage, with a dense network of temples and ancient ruins throughout the island. The capital city, Colombo is a bustling modern metropolis, but much of the countryside remains given over to labour-intensive rice cultivation, plantations and forest. Sri Lanka is also well known for its spectacular scenery and fabulous terrestrial wildlife, with wild Elephants being the largest of all.

What is less well known is that Sri Lankan waters are home to some of the best whale and dolphin watching in the world. At the right place and time, Blue Whale sightings are all but guaranteed. Sperm Whales and Bryde’s Whales are also present in good numbers, as are a variety of dolphins, including Spinners, Bottlenose, Indo-Pacific Bottlenose, Risso’s, Spotted and Striped.

Day 1

‍Arrival in Sri Lanka. Transfer to hotel near airport.

Day 2

‍Head North. After breakfast, drive north to Anuradhapura, near Wilpattu National Part. Evening bird walk in the hotel gardens.

Days 3-5

‍Game drives in Wilpattu National Park to look for Leopard, other wildlife and a host of birds. One afternoon visit the ancient city of Anuradhapura.

Days 6-7

‍Head to Habarana, then on to Trinco. Visit Sigiriya rock fortress and a local site for Elephants.

Days 8-10

‍Whale-watching. Three days of whale-watching, with a 4-6 hour boat excursion every morning. In the afternoons there will be opportunities to visit local cultural and natural history sites, or to relax at the hotel.

Day 11

‍Head West. After breakfast, drive back across the island to the International Airport.

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Note There is an optional 3-day extension at Trinco for those who would like to spend more time with the whales

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CETACEANS

The big attraction of cetacean-watching in Sri Lanka is the abundance of large whales. Both Blue Whales and Sperm Whales are common. We see Blue Whales on 90% of our days at sea, typically singly or in pairs, but we have seen up to 14 together. Sperm Whales are seen less frequently, on perhaps 50% of our days at sea, but in larger numbers: pods of about 10 are typical, but off Trinco we have seen superpods of up to 200. In total we have recorded 15 species on our Sri Lanka trips:

Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus

Bryde’s Whale Balaenoptera brydei

Eden’s Whale Balaenoptera edeni

Omura’s Whale Balaenoptera omurai

Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus

Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima

Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris

Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata

Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba

Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus

Indo-pacific Bottlenose Tursiops aduncus

Risso’s Dolphin Grampus griseus

Shortfin Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus

Cuvier’s Beaked Whale Ziphius cavirostris

Longman’s Beaked Indopacetus pacificus

Birds

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Destination

Sri Lanka

CETACEANS

Birds

Whale & Dolphin Company

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