The Great Whales are a source ofwonder and fascination to most of usland-based humans, as we struggleto comprehend their alien, unfetteredexistence roaming the mysterious depthsof the world's oceans. Indeed, we seem topossess a seemingly insatiable desire tosavour the experience of being close tothese magnificent creatures and, whereverfeeding or breeding imperatives bringnumbers of whales to congregate in aparticular area, there will invariably be localboatmen taking visitors to enjoy a fewprecious moments sharing the ocean withthese leviathans. The largest of all thecetaceans, indeed the largest of allmammals, the Blue Whale has alwaysbeen something of an enigma, a trueocean wanderer living a pelagic lifestylewhich rarely brings it with any predictabilityclose to land. Gradually, however, scientistsare beginning to gain some understandingof the enormous migrations undertaken byBlue Whales and one discovery has beentheir regular appearances close to thesouth coast of Sri Lanka betweenNovember and April. It is this annual eventthat we will be taking advantage of duringthis popular new tour in a country that haslong been a Naturetrek favourite.Arriving in the capital, Colombo, we headsouth, skirting the towering escarpments ofthe central Hill Country before travellingthrough a landscape of palms, ricepaddies and roadside ponds to the IndianOcean coast where we stay for four nightsat a comfortable resort hotel. Doubtlessthe excellent amenities of theestablishment will be a welcome diversionduring our spare time, but each morningwe will undertake a whale-watching cruisefrom a nearby port. During these 4-hourexcursions we will sail up to 12 kilometresoffshore and, whilst seeing wild creaturescan never be guaranteed, we expect tohave multiple sightings of Blue Whales. Never a gregarious creature, the sightingsare usually of single animals, or perhaps acow and calf, but it is possible to encounteras many as 10 whales during these outingsand the expertise of the captain will be animportant element in finding our quarry.Despite averaging 25 metres in length andreaching a weight in excess of 100 tons,Blue Whales can be surprisingly elusive,but in these calm waters the mighty 9-metre high blow is often the firstindication of their presence near thesurface. Whilst concentrating each day onobserving Blue Whales, other smallercetaceans are also likely to entertain us.These may include Bryde's and PilotWhales, and Bottlenose, PantropicalSpotted, Striped and Spinner Dolphins, thelatter regularly appearing in pods of severalhundred individuals. Although theoccurrences of Blue Whales in Sri Lankanwaters have been known to researchers formany years it is only now that opportunitiesexist for visitors to see these impressiveanimals and, in 2010 and 2011, ourNaturetrek groups were rewarded by closeencounters in this most idyllic of settings.After this ultimate in whale-watchingexperiences we return to dry land to seekanother highly impressive mammal in Yala National Park. In recent years diurnalLeopards have been a regular attraction in this superb reserve and we will travel by jeeps for early morning and afternoon game drives, with thepossibility of suddenly coming upon a Leopard adding an exciting frisson toevery visit. Wildlife abounds in Yala andeach drive is likely to produce sightings ofIndian Elephant, Wild Boar, Spotted Deer,Sambar, mongooses, crocodiles andlizards as well as a stunning profusion ofcolourful birdlife. No visit to Yala everdisappoints, but it is the sight of asomnolent Leopard draped across thebranches of a tree or padding along atrack before disappearing into theundergrowth that creates a memory to lasta lifetime. During the final three days of thetour we will be staying at a verycomfortable hotel just outside the park and with no fences to constrain theinhabitants it is by no means unusual tosee a Wild Boar wander through thegrounds or even to find an elephantbrowsing in the garden! Yala is a magical place and a perfectvenue in which to complete a tour thatcombines the best of Sri Lankan wildlife,both marine and terrestrial, with the mostcomfortable of accommodation. It will bewith some reluctance that we will finallydepart from here and return to Colombofor a return flight back to colder climes;but, for those unwilling to leave, variouscombinations of tour extension can bearranged on request.Sri Lanka - BlueWhales & LeopardsA 10-day holiday in search of Blue Whales off Sri Lanka's south coast, as well asthe Leopards and other wildlife of Yala National Park.Saturday 11th February - Monday 20th February Cost: £2,395Saturday 3rd March - Monday 12th March Cost: £2,395Saturday 10th March - Monday 19th March Cost: £2,395Saturday 17th March - Monday 26th March Cost: £2,395Saturday 31st March - Monday 9th April Cost: £2,395Saturday 24th November - Monday 3rd December Cost: £2,395Saturday 22nd December - Monday 31st December Cost: £2,595Book direct on 01962 733051or see page 280 for Booking InformationANURADHAPURA MIHINTALE SIGIRIYA KANDY MIRISSAYALA NATIONAL PARK COLOMBO INDIANOCEANBAY OF BENGAL SRILANKAOutline itineraryDay 1Depart London.Day 2Arrive Colombo; transferMirissa.Day 3/5Whale-watchingexcursions from Mirissa.Day 6/8Yala National Park.Day 9Colombo.Day 10Fly London.AccommodationComfortable tourist hotels; allrooms have private facilities.FoodAll included in the price.GradingA. Easy day walks only.FocusBlue Whales, Leopards, othermammals and birds.LeaderDammithra Samarisinghe, SusanthaWeerappulli or Sunil de Alwis.Single room supplement£285.Web quick search:LKA06255LeopardBlue Whale

The verdant tropical island of Sri Lankais a paradise for lovers of naturalhistory, and the setting for thisexciting tour. Our itinerary will provide athorough introduction to the island's birdsand wildlife, as well as incorporating somesightseeing in the 'Golden Triangle' ofarchaeological sites. Although situated justa short distance from the southern tip ofIndia, Sri Lanka has many zoologicalaffinities with south-east Asia and much ofthe flora and fauna is unique to the island,including 33 species of endemic bird. Thisholiday offers the obvious attraction ofexchanging a British winter for the tropicalwarmth of Sri Lanka, but this tour has theadded advantage of coinciding with thevisit to Sri Lanka of large numbers ofwintering birds, including waders fromSiberia and passerines from the Himalayanregion. To enjoy all this we have chosen a selection of good quality hotels, many of them situated close to the prime wildlife areas.Our tour begins with a glimpse of theisland's past at Anuradhapura, one ofseveral former capitals used during thereign of the Sinhalese kings. Remains ofthe city dating from 4 BC are remarkablywell preserved and are set amid acres ofparkland frequented by Indian Rollers,Ashy Swallow-shrikes, sunbirds and manyother Dry Zone species. Birds are never faraway in Sri Lanka, even in the midst ofarchaeological sites, nor are the ubiquitousGrey Langur Monkeys which loiter amongthe ruins waiting for hand-outs fromtourists. At nearby Mihintale there is ahuge dagoba at the place where Buddhismwas first introduced to the island, and wewill also visit the towering rock fortress atSigiriya, famed for its ancient wall frescoesand an impressive panorama for thoseenergetic enough to reach the summit. Travelling south through the island's mainspice-growing region we continue to Kandyfor a 2-night stay. Once the capital of anautonomous kingdom until captured by theBritish in 1815, Kandy marks our ascentinto the picturesque hill country, and issurrounded by forests in which we shouldfind such endemic birds as the charmingSri Lanka Hanging Parrot and Layard'sParakeet. Close to the city are PeradiniyaBotanical Gardens which contain over4,000 species of plants in a beautifulriverside setting and provide a day-timeroost for a large colony of Indian FlyingFoxes that hang like giant fruits in theirfavoured trees. We penetrate deeper into the hills to stayfor two nights at Nuwara Eliya, a favouritehill station of the British as evidenced bythe Victorian architecture, race track andgolf course. This area is the heart of theisland's tea industry and we will visit one ofthe many estates en route from Kandy towitness the production processes andsample the finished product. Yet moreendemic birds occur at this increasedelevation, and even a small park in themiddle of Nuwara Eliya can provide us withviews of Yellow-eared Bulbul, Hill White-eyeand such winter visitors as Blyth's ReedWarbler and Pied Ground Thrush. We will spend one day exploring the wildexpanses of Horton Plains which epitomisethe uniqueness of the hill country with itsstrange forests of stunted trees festoonedin bromeliads, and stretches of moorlandleading to the aptly named World's Endwhere a sheer escarpment drops to theplains far below. This is the haunt of the handsome highland race of the Purple-faced Leaf Monkey and a greatdiversity of plants and birds including the endemic Arrenga, Blue Magpie and Sri Lanka Woodpigeon.Descending to the arid south of the islandwe next visit a number of freshwater 'tanks'or lakes, crowded with birds, beforereaching the endless palm-fringedbeaches which characterise the IndianOcean coastline. We will spend a half-dayinside the vast Yala National Park hoping tosee one of the resident Leopards, but evenif we fail to locate one of these elusive catsthere will be adequate compensation in theform of Indian Elephants, Wild Boar,Spotted Deer, Sambar, Marsh MuggerCrocodiles, Peacocks and an abundanceof other birds. Sri Lanka Junglefowl areparticularly numerous here, and during theearly mornings they emerge from cover todisplay their gaudy plumage.More herds of Elephants are in prospectduring a tour of Uda Walawe Reserve nearEmbilipitiya before the final highlight of ournatural history tour, a visit to SinharajaForest. Now preserved as a BiosphereReserve, Sinharaja is the largest and mostimportant lowland forest remaining on theisland. Almost everything about it isspecial; over 80% of the island's endemicbird species occur in the forest, 60% of thetrees are found nowhere else in the world,and most of the other flora and fauna has asimilarly high level of endemism. Residentbirds include the spectacular Blue Magpie,Red-faced Malkoha and Orange-billedBabbler, providing an exciting conclusion toa memorable holiday.Sri Lanka - Wildlife& History A 17-day birdwatching and wildlife holiday which also includes visits to the ancient city of Anuradhapura and the rock fortress at Sigiriya.Saturday 17th December 2011 - Monday 2nd January 2012 Cost: £2,595Saturday 11th February - Monday 27th February 2012 Cost: £2,595Saturday 10th November - Monday 26th November 2012 Cost: £2,595Saturday 22nd December - Monday 7th January 2013 Cost: £2,795Outline itineraryDay 1Depart London.Day 2/3Anuradhapura.Day 4/5Sigiriya.Day 6/7Kandy.Day 8/9Nuwara Eliya.Day 10Tissamaharama.Day 11/12 Yala.Day 13/15Uda Walawe andSinharaja Forest.Day 16Return to Colombo.Day 17Fly London.AccommodationComfortable tourist class hotelsand lodge, all with private facilities.Food All included in the price.Grading A/B. Mostly gentle birdwatchingwalks but a couple of longer walksincluded.Focus Birds and mammals with elementsof the island's history andarchaeology.Leader Paul Dukes, Deepal Warakagoda,Lester Perera or Uditha Hettige.Single room supplement£325.Web quick search:LKA02256Call now or visit www.naturetrek.co.uk for your free Trip ItineraryANURADHAPURA MIHINTALE SIGIRIYA KANDY NUWARA ELIYA RATNAPURA DRY ZONE HORTON PLAINS SINHARAJA FOREST UDA WALAWE NATIONAL PARK YALA NATIONAL PARK COLOMBO INDIANOCEANBAY OF BENGAL SRI LANKA Yellow-fronted BarbetYala National Park