Excursion d'une journée à Polonnaruwa de Kandy en Aaliya Tours

What an amazing way to spend a day seeing three world heritage sites from Kandy! My guide Ifran was genuinely amazing — he made the whole tour and journey as comfortable as can be (his driving was top tier!), and was super friendly and kind. From Kandy we visited the biggest Hindu temple in Sri Lanka in Matale, had yummy veggie pastries, Dambulla (an amazing cave with Buddhist statues made from stone and wood), stopped for a quick snack at a fruit hut and had the sweetest mango with chili and salt, hiked up the massive Sirgirya and saw breathtaking views of Kandy’s rolling hills (I learned that Kandy is an evolution of the Tamil word for ‘mountain’), then had the most delicious curry and rice I’ve ever had in my life (the tilapia and eggplant with extra spice was amazing) and walked amongst Hindu ruins at Polonnaruwa (where I saw loads of monkeys playing around and jumping in one of the old ruin’s pools). Ifran was so knowledgable about each site and shared with us the amazing history of his country. The tour itself was about 15 hours long but totally worth it. Be sure to bring a water bottle, hat and/or sunscreen though — that Sigirya hike was no joke!

The driver and guide shamin was very good organizer and the trip went very smoothly. It was a long and busy trip and thank you for this long day

Mr Fazeel took great care of us. The tour was great, he was able to spot elephants, peacocks and monkeys on our way to the visiting sites. Highly recommend the tour!

The service level is beyond imagination, additional to the mentioned itinerary, the guide, Irfan, stoped at some pass by points along the road, like the spice garden and a local fruit shop, he even kindly offer some snacks and water for us. Of course he has the professional and abundant knowledge. However, the pace of the itinerary should be sped up, like we start at 7:00 am, finished the last point at 18:30, and back to the hotel at almost 22:00. Actually some spots we can speed up if needed. Hope the schedule can be better arranged, like tell us in advance how long it takes, to help the visitors get better control of the time schedule. 服务水平极佳，会给我们沿途停留很多行程外的点、请我们吃小零食，且具备专业丰富的知识。 但是，行程有些拖后，很多沿途参观的香料店等可以更少时间。 希望之后提前告知游客时间节奏，能够更好管理行程

This is a great tour of three world heritage sites, Dambulla, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa. It is a very long day, leaving at 06:00 and we got back around 19:00. If you are based in Kandy, it is worth making the effort, as all three sites are spectacular, and once you're deep in the cultural triangle you might as well see them all. Leaving early also means you get to Dambulla before the crowds. We had a guide and a driver, and our guide pointed out many other interesting aspects of life in Sri Lanka, past and present along the way. When we got to the sites, he explained them from outside but did not accompany us inside, so if you are expecting a detailed tour of the finer aspects of the sites, you don't get that. You can hire guides at an extra cost in all the sites. It will get pretty hot at Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa, so bring plenty of water. At Sigiriya there is a drinking water refill station midway up the climb, so you don't have to bring large bottles. Our instructions told us to bring water and snacks, so we did, but the driver stopped along the way to get some extra drinks and bannanas. It's a bit of a nitpick, but since we were well organized we didn't need it, and it just took up an extra 15 minutes. On such a long day I would have appreciated that time back.

Great tour from start to finish Mohamed Irfan our tour guide/ Driver for the day picked us up at 06:00 was fantastic from the start. Gave lots of information about his country’s history and all the things we were seeing. Even managed to find some elephants walking down the road. All in all a long but beautiful day. A++++++

A trip to Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa with Mr. Irfan was truly unforgettable. His driving skills were excellent, he knew everything about the area and never got bored going or going back. I would love to ask him to drive and guide me when I come to Kandy again.

Superb site to visit on polonnoruwa!! The driver was top and professional Thank you I recommend

We had an absolutely amazing day with Mr Shamin! He went over and above expectations and arranged a lovely customised day for me and my mother. He shared knowledge about the local areas we visited and was very kind and accommodating. If we already hadn’t pre-booked our other tours, we would have preferred to go with Mr Shamin.

Polonnaruwa should be on your to do list if you visit Sri Lanka. It is a large single site that you can either bicycle around, walk/hike, tour bus or by car. It is mainly flat, level ground with multiple locations to see this incredible history. I had Mr. Irfan as my driver for this activity who was courteous, flexible and knowledgeable. Be prepared for the drive though, it is roughly 3-4 hours each way and you can easiy spend 2-3 hours looking at the site so it can be a long day, especially for younger children.