21 Jan 2025 - 31 Jan 2025 (11 days)
USD4,495 - No Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Carlos Bocos
Tour price (Per person): USD4,495 * GBP3,426 * EUR4,093 * AUD6,589
Single Supplement: USD620 * GBP473 * EUR565 * AUD909
17 Jan 2026 - 27 Jan 2026 (11 days)
USD4,700 - Spaces Available
Tour Leader: Quinton Paul Josop
Pricing notes : *Prices are estimated and dates may change*
Tour price (Per person): USD4,700 * GBP3,582 * EUR4,280 * AUD6,889
Our Sri Lanka birding and wildlife tour takes us to without doubt one of the world's most pleasurable birdwatching and game viewing destinations. This friendly island nation boasts verdant scenery, characterised by terraced tea plantations and forest patches, and is blessed with many surprisingly large national parks brimming with game and birds. These attractions, coupled with a fascinating history and vibrant culture, make this a truly exotic destination and a pleasure to explore. From the central highlands to the rich lowland rainforests, Sri Lanka is one of only a handful of magical destinations where it is possible to see every single country endemic in a well-planned trip such as this, making this extension a ‘must’ for the keen birder!
Sri Lanka Spurfowl; Sri Lanka Junglefowl; Sri Lanka Wood & Sri Lanka Green Pigeons; Green-billed Coucal; Red-faced, Blue-faced & Sirkeer Malkohas; Serendib Scops & Sri Lanka Bay Owls; Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl; Chestnut-backed Owlet; Sri Lanka Frogmouth; Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill; Yellow-fronted & Crimson-fronted Barbets; Red-backed & Crimson-backed Flamebacks; Layard's Parakeet; Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot; Sri Lanka Woodshrike; Sri Lanka Drongo; Sri Lanka Blue Magpie; Black-capped, Yellow-eared, Yellow-browed, White-browed & Square-tailed Bulbuls; Sri Lanka & Hill Swallows; Sri Lanka Bush Warbler; Sri Lanka Scimitar, Brown-capped, Orange-billed, Dark-fronted, Tawny-bellied & Yellow-billed Babblers; Ashy-headed Laughingthrush; Sri Lanka White-eye; Sri Lanka & Southern Hill Mynas; White-faced Starling; Spot-winged, Sri Lanka Whistling, Sri Lanka & Pied Thrushes; Dull-blue & Kashmir Flycatchers; Indian Pitta; Black-headed Cuckooshrike; Marshall's Iora; Jerdon's & Indian Nightjars; Slaty-legged Crake; Barred Buttonquail; Small Pratincole; Black-necked Stork; Lesser Adjutant; Black, Cinnamon & Yellow Bitterns; Legge's Hawk-Eagle; Grey-headed Fish Eagle; Malabar Trogon; Malabar Pied Hornbill; Orange Minivet; Loten's Sunbird; Black-throated Munia.
Leopard; Sloth Bear; Purple-faced Langur; Water Buffalo; Asian Elephant; Stripe-necked Mongoose.
lowland, hill & Montane forest, teak woodlands, lakes, coastal & inland wetlands, mudflats, saltpans
warm and humid in lowlands, cool in highlands, chance of rain in forest areas
6 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Mostly undemanding. Suitable for all birding & wildlife interest levels. Comfortable tour for the reasonably fit. A few very early mornings & long days. Optional owling.
Comfortable lodges and hotels
Moderate to easy. Most species provide good visuals in open conditions. A few trickier/skulking species. Not unusual to record all endemics on a single tour.
+-240
Yala National Park, Sinharaja Rainforest, tea plantations, Horton Plains & surrounding mountains
Good. No dedicated hides, ad hoc feeders.
"Both Peter K and local leader were great. Our local leader went so out of his way to find and stake out owls, he'd start roaming the forest at 2 and have reports for us at dawn when we would meet in field. We had all 9 available owls due to his work. He also knew each area so well we found all endemics as he had such intimate knowledge of location and back up sites for each key species. Amazing, he sure pulled some birds out of almost thin air. Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Sri Lanka Bay and Serendip Owls, etc. Also amazing with his knowledge of calls - my guess is Rockjumper has the country's best local guide - keep him happy! The bus was great, more room than we needed but that sure beats the alternative - made the long drives so comfy. Also had WIFI which added a real time killer to travel."
So much went right on this trip that it is difficult to summarise all of our positive thoughts. One highlight: some of our group had the Sri Lanka Field Guide to birds, while others including ourselves were not able to get it prior to the trip. While en route, we expressed interest in getting this book; soon after the bus pulled over, the guide, Stephan Lorenz, exited to talk to someone, and returned with brand new copies of the field guide for all who needed it. We were flabbergasted! I call that service above and beyond. Everything else worked out very well, from the excellent guiding to the food and accommodations. Thanks again for a great trip experience.
This was a fantastic tour and I attribute its success to the guides, Greg de Klerk and Stu Elsom. They are professional and skilled, both at finding birds and handling people, and I learned a lot from them. We saw all of the endemic bird species and had some great views of game, including a jungle cat. At the beginning of the tour, I thought that a group size of 12 was going to be too many, but I had better experiences seeing birds than I have on tours with half as many participants.
I have a great time on the Tour. This was my first time with Rockjumper Tours and I would 100% recommend to travel with them again. The Leaders always put the participants first in seeing the bird and made sure everyone could have time at the scopes. Very well organised and a pleasure to be on tour with. A sense of humor always is a plus and there was not shortage of that, lots of laughs and great memories. Go...Rockjumper, a real pleasure
Stephen Lorenz and our local guide were both great. Stephen's upbeat personality and unfazeable response to the unexpected are great assets to Rockjumper. We will travel with him again.
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game (Small Group) 2024 - January 2024
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game 2023 - November 2023
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game (Small Group) 2023 - January 2023
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game 2022 - November 2022
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game (Small Group) 2022 - January 2022
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game 2019 - November 2019
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game Exclusive 2019 - January 2019
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game II 2018 - November 2018
Sri Lanka - Budget Birding Tour 2018 - November 2018
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game I 2018 - January 2018
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game II 2017 - November 2017
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game I 2017 - January 2017
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game II 2016 - November 2016
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game II 2015 - November 2015
Sri Lanka - Endemic Birds & Big Game I 2015 - January 2015