Paddle a section of the longest river in Sri Lanka on a 3-day self-sufficient canoeing expedition in the wild
Hike through the rainforest of The Knuckles Mountain Range and cycle around the ancient, UNESCO World Heritage site of Polonnaruwa
Whale watch on the Indian ocean and eyes peeled for herds of wild elephants and basking crocodiles on the river
Day 1
Travel to Kithugala in the middle of the rainforest, where your adventure begins. You’ll spend the next two nights staying at an eco-lodge perched on the top of a hill overlooking the Kelani River surrounded by mountains. Hang out by the campfire, get to know your fellow adventurers and listen to the rainforest come alive at night.
Day 2
Learn a bit about the Mahaweli River Expedition and practice handling your canoe, then it’s off to the mighty Kelani River – a natural water park. Wind your way through the jungle on your canyoning adventure, seeking out narrow side canyons that form huge plumes and waterslides. Slip and slide your way to the Lower Kelani and pick up your raft ready for the next challenge - 6.5km of white water. Tackle the Killer Fall and Butter Crunch rapids as you head downriver - sure to be a fun challenge - if you can hang on long enough!
Day 3
Head further into the rainforest and enter the rugged peaks of The Knuckles Range – named by the British due to their resemblance to a clenched fist. You'll be surrounded by mystical mountains that rise up to 2000m, cascading waterfalls and quaint villages hidden amongst terraced rice fields, as well as a huge variety of rare and elusive animals. Your guide will lead you along the best hiking trails and help you avoid leeches (irritating, but inevitable!) as you explore this lush, rich environment. Spend the night wild camping - a real wilderness experience.
Day 4
Catch the sunrise from camp and then set off for some more hiking. Keep your eyes peeled for wild buffalo, boar and the endemic Toque Macaque and Purple-faced Leaf Monkey. Leopards and elephants also live in this jungle, although you're less likely to bump into them! Reach your glamping spot for the night in time for lunch and choose between relaxing or heading out for some more exploration. Spend the night in converted safari tents that provide the perfect balance between comfort and nature. Just unzip the door for a full view of the mountain range.
Day 5
Transfer to Mahiyanganaya, starting point for your 3-day river expedition. The 335m long Mahaweli is Sri Lanka’s longest river and you’ll be canoeing your way along a 50km stretch of it - right through the Wasgamuwa National Park and your first rapids. Set up camp on a sand beach at the rivers edge and head off to gather firewood. As well as cooking, this will be used throughout the night as protection against possible elephant forays!
Day 6
Set out on a full days paddling and appreciate the silence, apart from the calls of birds (including raptors, hornbills and peacocks) howling monkeys and the buzzing of insects. With any luck, you’ll catch a glimpse of sunning crocodiles and thirsty elephants. It’s rare to see people here and the solitude is priceless.
Tackle a number of challenging rapids and then set up camp for the night - this time you'll be sleeping in full view of the elephant corridor: a jungle route that elephants cross to reach the river. On previous expeditions, your host has witnessed bulls sparing and herds of up to 100 crossing within sight of camp. Enjoy dinner under the stars and relax around a fire that your guides will keep burning throughout the night.
Day 7
If the bird song of the dawn chorus isn't enough to wake you, then the sound of elephants certainly will! Although sightings can never be guaranteed, you're in the perfect spot. If the elephants are around, sitting in your canoe and watching them pass by is an out of this world experience. Leave Wasgamuwa National Park behind and enter a section of river that’s ideal for viewing crocodiles on the beaches, before the dense jungle gives way to cultivated farmland.
Watch the lines of boats along the river banks mining the sand - a fascinating experience and an insight into an important part of Sri Lanka’s development. Having paddled into the heart of the Cultural Triangle, it’s time to jump into a truck and transfer to Polonnaruwa where a long overdue shower is waiting for you.
Day 8
Spend the morning cycling around the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this city is over 1000 years old and renowned as one of the most beautiful cultural sites in Sri Lanka. The terrain is also totally flat, so cycling is the perfect way to see the city and stretch your legs out after all those days in a canoe.
Take a road trip to the lively fishing town of Weligama on the Indian Ocean, with a stop at a roadside cafe for a fresh coconut and a rice and curry refuel. Check into your hotel in the late afternoon and head out for dinner. Weligama is a popular surfing spot, so there’s plenty of choice.
Day 9
Depending on the season, you’ll either whale watch or sea kayak today. For those travelling in whale-season (November-April), you’ll have the opportunity to see blue whales, sperm whales and orcas, as well as dolphins, turtles and whale sharks in their natural environment and far away from the crowds.
If you are travelling out of whale-season (May-October) you'll spend the morning sea kayaking and exploring the areas beautiful coastline, including reefs, small islands and completely deserted beaches. The afternoon is yours to spend snorkelling, surfing, paddleboarding or maybe just whiling away some time on the beach - you’ve earned it!
Day 10
After breakfast, head back to Colombo (approximately 2 hours) in time for your flight home.
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You'll spend 3 days canoeing down the Mahaweli River. This is a self-supported expedition, meaning you carry all you need for the 3 days in your canoe. You will be with a team of guides who will assist with the camp, but everyone (you included!) will need to pitch in to collect wood, put up the tents and get everything ready each morning. This is wild and remote Sri Lanka at its best, so you really are in the middle of nowhere and will get a full-on wilderness experience.
To learn more about the expedition, have a read of this article.
You will be in a small petrol-powered boat on a private expedition. These boats are quieter than the busy diesel-run public boats, to ensure that they don't impact the whales through noise.
You will also head out later in the day than the crowded public boats to avoid crowding the whales, meaning you often have the experience to yourselves. As the boats are small they also mobilise quickly when a whale is sighted.
Please note, that while it's very likely that you will see whales during the season (November-April), this can't be guaranteed. Almost all trips will see at least one whale, but it's important to remember that you are watching wild animals, so an element of uncertainty must be expected.
Clean drinking water will be provided throughout from 20ltr dispensers. Please pack your own reusable bottle, it will be well used.
Sure thing. If you don't want to move around with all your luggage/are carrying on with another trip after, our host will be happy to arrange a safe spot in Colombo to store your kit.
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will provide guidelines for you.
Of course, you are free to tip more or less and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
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All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre program, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 408kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
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