Special Education teacher of Learning Resources at The Cathedral and John Connon School.
An Architects dream comes true! Tour the Isle of Sri Lanka visiting as many of the famous architectural marvels of world renowned Sri Lankan architect
Join with us to discover the creations of Geoffrey Bawa with the "Bawa Brilliance" round tour, we hope to let you experience the wonders which this brilliant architect created, others could dream of such creations, but Bawa made it a reality...
Arrival at the Colombo International Airport will be met by a representative of our company and transfer to Wattala (Mid-way between the Airport & Colombo) On arrival in Wattala and check into your hotel
Light Breakfast at the Hotel
After freshening up, sightseeing of Colombo, and visiting some of the works of Bawa.
Colombo is the hub of commerce and administration of Sri Lanka. Colombo was a fort city during the times of occupation by successive European powers and architecture of buildings is a blend of the past influences. Highlight places of visit include the Colombo Museum, the Independence Square, and Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Town Hall and Parliament
Lunch at Sri Lankan Restaurant After lunch continue our exploration of Bawa Brilliance by visiting
33rd Lane Colombo, 1960-1970
The house in 33rd Lane is an essay in architectural bricollage. In 1958 Bawa bought the third in a row of four small houses which lay along a short cul-de-sac at the end of a narrow suburban lane and converted it into a pied-à-terre with living room, bedroom, tiny kitchen and room for a servant. When the fourth bungalow became vacant this was colonised to serve as dining room and second living room. Ten years later the remaining bungalows were acquired and added into the composition and the first in the row was demolished to be replaced by a four-storey tower.
The final result is an introspective labyrinth of rooms and garden courts which together create the illusion of limitless space. Words like inside and outside lose all meaning: here are rooms without roofs and roofs without walls, all connected by a complex matrix of axes and internal vistas.
If the main part of the house is an evocation of a lost world of verandahs and courtyards assembled from a rich collection of traditional devices and plundered artefacts, the new tower which rises above the car port is nothing less than a reworking of Corb's Maison Citrohan and serves as a periscope which rises from a shady nether world to give views out across the treetops towards the sea.
After Breakfast we proceed to Anuradhapura for sightseeing tour
Anuradhapura is the most celebrated of Sri Lanka’s ancient ruined cities. The city’s greatest treasures are its dagabas constructed of small sun-dried bricks and hemispherical in shape. The most notable of these dagabas are the Ruvenweli which dates back to the 2nd Century BC and is 300ft in diameter, the Jetawanarama is 370ft and the Thuparama which enshrines the collarbone of the Buddha. The city’s most renewed relic is the sacred Bo Tree which is said to have grown from a branch of the tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment. It was planted 2250 years ago and is the oldest historic tree in the world
Lunch in Anuradhapura
Evening check in at the Hotel
After breakfast proceed to Galle.
En route visit the Dambulla cave temple and Spice Garden in Matale
Dambulla - is famous for the five cave Temples on a rock. The first 03 caves are better, older and larger than the other two. Some caves dates to 1st C.B.C. All the 5 cave walls and ceilings are covered with Buddhist murals and there are more than 130 Buddha statues, statues of Gods and Kings are also found here.
Proceed to Heritance Kandalama for an inspection tour and lunch at of one of Bawa’s magnificent creations.
After lunch proceed to visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was started in 1975 to house abandoned and wounded elephants. The sanctuary covers 25 acres of lush vegetation with an approximate population of about 77 consisting of both adult and baby elephants. The best time to visit is the feeding time and the bathing time; when all the elephants are taken to the river close by.
Continue Onwards to the southern city of Galle
You will begin your trip to Galle, the southern capital of Sri Lanka. Visit the famous Dutch ramparts in the Galle Fort with a Portuguese emblem on the southern wall. This fort now houses most of the offices of the government like the old post office, the beautiful Dutch church over 350 years old and other colonial style buildings now monumental of the architectural patterns that prevailed in that era. You will also be able to visit The Ruhunu University, yet another creation of Bawa.
Late this evening you will be transferred to your hotel in Hikkaduwa
After breakfast proceed on an excursion to see the Corals in Glass Bottom Boat Safari. The rest of the morning is at leisure to relax by the hotel pool or sunbathe on the glorious white sands of Hikkaduwa
After lunch proceed to Bentota to visit the Lunuganga.
This is one of the more famous Bawa’s creation Villa.
The garden at Lunuganga sits astride two low hills on a promontory which juts out into a brackish lagoon lying off the estuary of the Bentota River. In 1948, when Bawa first bought it, there was nothing here but an undistinguished bungalow surrounded by ten hectares of rubber plantation. Since then hills have been moved, terraces have been cut, woods have been replanted and new vistas have been opened up, but the original bungalow still survives within its cocoon of added verandas, courtyards, and loggias.
Lunuganga was conceived as a scenographic sequence of spaces. A narrow country leads from Bentota to a narrow causeway over a neck in the Dedduwa Lake from where a first, distant view of Lunuganga’s northern terraces can be glimpsed. The road then performs an almost full circle before connecting with a narrow track which crosses a paddy field and climbs up a steep wooded hill to arrive at the southern entrance court.
This evening you proceed to your hotel in Kalutara.
Breakfast at the Hotel
Transfer to the Blue Water Hotel (One of Bawa’s best) for an inspection followed by lunch.
The afternoon is at leisure on the beach
After breakfast proceed to Colombo for shopping tour
Lunch at Indian Restaurant in Colombo
Afternoon leave for Colombo International Airport in order to connect to your departure flight back home