Despite being poor himself, Upul is a great philanthropist who helped
the Volunteer Sri Lanka Project in the early days when we were building
the Tsunami Memorial Library. He helps many small projects in Sri Lanka
whilst at the same time working as a tourist guide and chauffeur.
Upul is very reliable and completely ethical. If you go to Sri Lanka,
he will help you arrange a tour to suit your needs or you could take
one of his pre arranged tours. You can join a group if one is going at
that time or safely travel alone with him as some volunteers have. All
you need to do is contact him through his website, discuss where you
would like to go, the grade of accommodation you would like and he will
work it all out for you. With his extensive knowledge, he is sure to
have additional suggestions to augment your ideas, too!
His tours will include anything you wish, cultural and historic sites,
temples, villages, botanical parks, elephant rides, climbing mountains,
hiking, beaches and wildlife viewing of animals and birds in the
National Parks – everything up to leopards!
The monk's house where the elephant came to get food. Fishermen setting out to sea.
A first year class at Tissamaharama school A ward in a hospital 
Elephants in Yala National Park The Temple at Kirinda - the site of a previous Tsunami 
A leopard in the Yala wilderness Painted storks at Bundala National Birdlife Park
One of the many beauties of booking with Upul is that there aren't any
middle men taking extra slices of money at your expense and you know
that you are directly benefitting local Sri Lankans.
Upul will pick you up from the Colombo airport to go straight on tour
or if you go somewhere else first, he will pick you up from there and
return you to the airport for your flight home. So, the best way to
arrange this is, in plenty of time, prior to leaving for Sri Lanka
email him telling him how you know of him and with your tour
ideas and requirements. He will then get back to you to discuss it all and when you have finally decided on your itinerary he will give you a
price. It is always better to ask for a HB hotel arrangement and a
complete price that includes the entrance fees. Also stipulate the quality
of hotel you want as in Luxury, Medium or Budget so that he knows if
you can’t afford too much.
Upul Wijesuriya's email address is: haka@sltnet.lk
Mobile phone number: +94714879046 or Haka Lanka Tours (Haka Sri Lanka)Landline +94112817360
Next time I go to Sri Lanka, I will be touring with him again. I have managed to find a few places I haven’t been to before to go to with him that time! So, come back again to see the new photos.