A two-week long international jeep rally is scheduled to kick-off tomorrow tipped to provide a quality countryside travel experience from Galle to Dambulla.
Sri Lanka will play host to this different kind of tourism event for the first time titled the’ Ceylon Experience 2011’; with the aim of providing a unique country experience to its 42 Dutch participants, a media release issued by the organisers said.
The rally, which will take off from Mt Lavinia on Monday is scheduled to cover extensive terrain ranging from Galle to Dambulla and everything in between.
The 2-week rally is this year’s edition of a biennial initiative for a group of travel enthusiasts from Holland, as this group selects a different location from any part of the world.
Eco Team CEO Anuruddha Bandara explaining the details of the rally said, “They will travel via many spectacular routes running through the interior of the country. This rally is not really about speed, but more to experience nature and the culture of Sri Lanka. A ranking is achieved by checking the appropriate route, regularity stages and a number of tests.
We at Eco Team have the experience and knowledge to handle the concept of this event. We will use locally hired four-wheel drive vehicles, driving a relaxed touring rally via special routes that one would not venture to travel by oneself. There are a few nights stay in comfortable hotels and luxury safari tents with enough time to enjoy the surrounding nature and culture. There are also a number of rest days provided in exotic spots that would add value to the tour.”
Twenty one jeeps are scheduled to compete in the rally which will include locations such as Colombo, Galle, Belihul Oya, Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Dambulla as its pit stops. Each leg of the tour will feature sight-seeing opportunties to further enhance the experience, allowing the travellers to absorb as much as possible within the short time span.
Adventure rallies are not new to this group of eco-conscious tourists. They have previously organised rallies in Zambia’s colonial town Livingstone in 2007 and Oman in 2009. As both rallies were immensely successful, participants were encouraged to use this mode of travel again.
However, Eco Team has taken on the challenge of organising an event of this nature inspite of the numerous locations and immobile contestants that pose several logistical difficulties.
With an impressive portfolio of land and water based activities Eco Team services clients from Europe, North America, Canada and also India from where demand has been increasing in recent times. Nature and Adventure trekking, Caving, Mountain biking and Cycling, Hot air Ballooning, Camping, Rock climbing, Rain forest exploring, Wildlife Safaris, Cultural Festivals, Kayaking/canoeing, Snorkelling, Scuba Diving, Surfing, Turtle watching, Water skiing, White water rafting, Windsurfing, Island and deep sea fishing tours are all part of Eco Team’s activity spectrum. |