Cultural Orientation Week Sri Lanka

If you want to gain a head start on your projects and feel comfortable in your new surroundings, before you begin, this week is a fantastic way to do just that! It gives you time to adjust before your project begins, to explore the local area and to learn more about the culture and customs. This can greatly help you to communicate with the locals on your projects. 

• Accommodation
• 3 meals p/day weekdays / 2 meals p/day weekends
• Arrival airport transfer (Sat/Sun arrivals)
• Filtered drinking water, coffee & tea
• 1 day orientation
• Daily transportation to project
• In country 24/7 support & emergency assistance
• Fundraising support
• University course credits (where applicable)
• Certificate of Completion

• Airfares
• Travel Insurance
• Tours, Souvenirs & spending money

Programs begin every Monday, and volunteers are required to arrive the day prior, for orientation before the project. Your accommodation on the Sunday is included in the program fees.

A free airport pickup is included when arriving to Bandaranayake International Airport (CMB). You must arrive between the hours 05:00 to 21:00 on Sunday.

If you arrive outside the pickup times, you can book a private transfer for an extra fee.

If you want to book any extra nights before or after your program, you can do this for an extra fee.    

Alternatively, if arriving early you could wait at the arrival’s terminal for the pickup time, book accommodation at the airport and meet us during the pickup times or make your own way to the project (we will advise on how to do this).

From the airport to the Kandy accommodation, it takes around 3-4 hours by road and to the Ambalangoda accommodation, around 3 hours.  

Monday

After a welcome meeting and collecting the necessary documents, we have a basic language lesson. After lunch you will have a cultural lesson before a tour around Kandy city. Later you will watch a colourful cultural show and have a delicious dinner afterwards.

Tuesday

After a delicious Sri Lankan breakfast, we visit a herbal and spice garden, where we will discover natural spices and traditional remedies. We then visit a factory and gem museum in Kandy (Sri Lanka is famous for its blue sapphire). In the afternoon, we take a relaxing boat ride around the beautiful Kandy lake.

Wednesday

Today you have a traditional Sri Lankan cooking experience, a fun experience where you can taste what you cook! We also visit a temple to learn some of the Buddhist religious rituals practiced by Sri Lankans. Get in touch with mind and soul with a soothing meditation session.

Thursday

Today we have an early start to visit to a family practicing traditional Batik painting. Here, you’ll take part in a fun-filled, creative workshop and challenge your artistic thinking, making an original Batik design of your own. You will be creating your design using vibrant colours, techniques, tools and dyes. We then have a traditional lunch with the family.

Friday

Today we explore some of the surrounding temples, one being a sacred temple in a small forest and the other, a holy Hindu temple. An Indian lunch awaits you in Kandy city, followed by a soothing Ayurvedic massage later on.

*Schedule possible to change due to the project and community needs at the time. Volunteer flexibility and adaptability is important to a positive volunteering experience. 

Here are a few things you can do in Sri Lanka!

Royal Botanical Gardens

The Botanic Gardens are situated around 5. km to the West of Kandy. Once being only for the Kandyan royalty, they are now open to the public to wander around at their leisure. There’s 60 hectares of beautiful garden to explore, where you will see a huge Javan fig tree, pretty orchids and even monkeys!

Knuckles mountain range

This stunning mountain range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hosts many walking trails. You will find small villages, beautiful waterfalls, numerous native wildlife and rice fields. This is the perfect place for people who love the outdoors and adventurous hiking trails.

Sigiriya (Lion Rock)

Another UNESCO World Heritage site, this ancient rock is situated around 91km North from Kandy and is very popular with tourists, who can climb up to the top for some seriously stunning views. Along the way you will see antient rock carvings and paintings on the walls of this sacred rock. It will take roughly just over an hour to climb up.

Yala National Park

Located on the South coast of Sri Lanka, this stunning park hosts one of the highest leopard densities in the world. Not only that, you can also spot elephants, monkeys, birds, buffalo and more. There are numerous tours in Yala, from day tours to over several days of safari.

Adam’s Peak

Around 91km South of Kandy you can climb to the top of this sacred sight, just as the locals do for pilgrimage. It’s a bit of a trek up in the dark but totally worth it to see the sun coming up over the clouds, mountains and lush forest. You will be greeted by stunning views to reward your efforts!

Hortons Plains National Park

You can trek through this beautiful national park to ‘World’s End’, a 9.5km round loop trail, taking around 3 hours. This is a pretty easy walk, but you will be greeted with amazing views out over the countryside and above the clouds! It’s best to visit here early (before 10am) as the clouds can roll in after that and block the incredible views.

Udawatta Kele Reserve

Situated near the Kandy lake, this nature reserve is complete with monkeys and birds- fantastic for wildlife and nature lovers. Here you will find wooded forests, over 400 species of plants and 70 bird species. You can trek through the forest for a relaxing break away from the city.

Tea Plantations

Kandy and Nuwara Eliya are both popular places to visit a tea plantation, for a refreshing taste of some of Sri Lanka’s best fresh tea! Not only do they produce great tea, the landscape is stunningly green, with endless hills rolling off into the distance.

• Volunteers below the age of 18 should have parental consent.
• Volunteers above the age of 65 should have medical clearance.

Additional Equipment

• Hiking Shoes
• Modest clothes for temple visits

With a population of 20 million, the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka, formally known as Ceylon is a tear drop shaped island off the south eastern coast of India. Steeped in over 2000 years of history, the culture is unique to Sri Lanka and known for it’s export of tea, holistic medicines, cinnamon and gemstones including a unique blend of music, dance and visual arts.

Colinised by the British, Dutch and Portugese, there is a multi-culturalism with distinct Sri Lankan flair that feels similar to India, only a whole lot more chilled out! Sri Lanka, better known as the “nation of smiling people” is predominently buddhist (approx 80%) with some Hindu, Muslim and Christianity.  

Sri Lanka has eight UNESCO World Heritage sites and given it’s size it’s easy to experience them all in a short period of time. From the world’s oldest living tree in Anuradhapura, to the colonial architecture of Colombo, to the white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters, to lush natural forest, picturesque cities, thousand year old temples, and ancient civilation ruins there are really so many reasons to visit this amazing land.  

Sri lanka has a tropical climate with distinctive wet and dry seasons. Temperatures vary and it can get much cooler in the mountains than it can on the beach.

On average temperatures in Sri Lanka vary from 28- 32 degrees, but in the mountain regions this can go to as low as 16 degrees. 

From mid-April to September the Southwest moonsoon rains come, affecting the West, Southwest coastline and the Hill Country. On the East coast, the monsoon rains start from November to March but are not quite as severe. 

December to March are the best months to visit the West or South coastline and the Hill Country. For the East coast or the North, the best time to visit is from April to September. 

Sri Lanka and known for it’s export of tea, holistic medicines, cinnamon and gemstones including a unique blend of music, dance and visual arts.

Colinised by the British, Dutch and Portugese, there is a multi-culturalism with distinct Sri Lankan flair that feels similar to India, only a whole lot more chilled out! Sri Lanka is predominently buddhist (approx 80%) with some Hindu, Muslim and Christianity.  

There are many festivals in Sri Lanka. Here are the dates for some of them!

• January: Duruthu
  Celebrates the Buddha’s first visit to Sri Lanka. During Duruthu, thousands of people attend colorful parades, which consist of three processions on the nights before the full moon. The processions consist of fireball performers, drummers, dances, decorated elephants and the most important – a gigantic tusker treading a white carpet.
• April 13th or 14th: Avurudda (New Year)
  Avurudda celebrates the Sinhalese New Year in Sri Lanka. According to Sinhalese astrology, the new year begins when the sun changes from Meena Rashi (Pisces) to Mesha Rashi (Aries).
• June: Poson Festival
  Poson Festival takes place on the full moon day of June and celebrates the arrival of Buddhism, which occurred when Arahat Mahinda, the son of the emperor of India, converted King Devanampiyatissa to Buddhism.
• October or November: Diwali (Festival of Lights)
  Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival that signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, hope over despair, and good over evil. It is celebrated with millions of lights shining over houses, temples, and buildings. 

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