Sri Lanka Spice Trails

We cover a total of 594 km over 9 cycling days. On days 4 and 10, the longest days of the tour (94 km and 103 km respectively), options for shorter rides are available. Some days we cycle hotel-to-hotel, while on others, we include a transfer at the start or end, allowing us to avoid busy main roads, keep the distances manageable, and focus on the most enjoyable routes. Our rides take us along a mix of paved and gravel/dirt roads through the Sri Lankan countryside. With the exception of days 2 and 9, which are primarily flat, all cycling days involve some climbing — especially on days 7 and 8, as we venture into the hilly central highlands. The scenery constantly changes, from coastal vistas and coconut plantations to rice paddies, large reservoirs, dense jungles, small villages, bustling towns, and tea-covered mountains.

While cycling is the main focus of the tour, we also visit some of Sri Lanka’s most iconic cultural sites, including the Dambulla Caves, Sigiriya Lion Rock, and Polonnaruwa Ancient City. These are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites and at each of these locations, a local guide will provide insight into their fascinating history. A chance to see wild elephants during a wildlife safari on day 9 is a highlight too! For many riders, the most memorable moments on tour are encounters with Sri Lanka’s incredibly welcoming locals, always eager to wave hello and cheer us on.

Accommodations range from deluxe, character-filled hotels to more basic lodgings, but all are comfortable and often among the best available. We enjoy all breakfasts and most dinners at the hotels, with a mix of Sri Lankan and Western options, while lunches along the route offer a chance to sample more rustic, local cuisine.

The trip is fully supported, and your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This is an active level tour and riders can expect to be challenged by the route and terrain in a variety of ways. The first four days feature mostly flat and mildly undulating terrain (min +164 m, max +541 m). After a rest day in Kandy, the central highlands offer steeper, longer climbs, with the biggest elevation gains on Day 7, reaching +1639 m. The last three riding days are again relatively flat and gently undulating, offering a balanced progression of difficulty over the whole 9 days of cycling, perfect for riders who want a challenge without continuous tough climbs. Daily distances vary, with some shorter (min 41 km) and some longer (max 103 km) rides. The main challenge of the tour is keeping up stamina over back-to-back riding days and cycling in the tropical heat. Navigating gravel, sand, and cratered country roads requires some handling skills but does not involve technical maneuvering. While riders with less experience are welcome to join, a good level of physical fitness, comfort on a mountain bike, and adept handling skills enhance the enjoyment of the tour. A support vehicle is available at all times to provide refuge for weary riders.

Biking Conditions: On this tour, riders can expect around 85% of the route to be on paved surfaces, consisting of good-quality tarmac as well as broken, bumpy, and cratered roads. The remaining 15% is made up of vehicle-width gravel and dirt roads. While much of the route is on quiet countryside roads with minimal traffic, we will regularly share the road with cars, motorbikes, buses, tuk-tuks, and, of course, cows! There are a few unavoidable sections along busier main roads, particularly when entering and exiting cities or near popular attractions. Rain is not uncommon in Sri Lanka throughout the year. We generally ride rain or shine, but depending on the guide’s discretion or your comfort level, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure!

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section. If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a mountain, gravel, or hybrid bike in good mechanical order.

We also have E-Bikes available for hire, but they are limited in number & size - please send an email to us to check on availability.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary