• Facilitated by Bluewater Consortium and Motor Racing Association in partnership with Walkers Tours and Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts

The brute machines will be back in August 2014 for a ride of a lifetime around Sri Lanka, when a group of Harley Davidson owners from the Middle East region arrive with their thunderous motorbikes. Just as it was last year, the upcoming Sri Lanka Ride will wind its way around Sri Lanka on a 9 day program covering over 1600km so that the riders can experience the country’s diversity of topology, weather, scenery, culture and its people. Those who know Harley Davidson bikes understand their sophistication, for these are bikes of classy craftsmanship which are priced higher than most cars on Sri Lankan roads.

The Harley Davidson Street Thunder Sri Lanka Ride will start on 8th August when the riders arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport and are transferred to Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. With all on-ground tour arrangements handled exclusively by Walker’s Tours, Sri Lanka’s premiere Destination Management Company (DMC) for over 45 years, the group will embark on a site seeing ride in Colombo visiting key landmarks in the city on the first day. The official hospitality partner for the tour is Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts.

The actual tour begins on the morning of the 9th of August, when riders take to the road and make their way to Kandy. En route they will stop at several places including Imbulgoda, Cadjugama and Pinnawela before reaching the hill capital by nightfall. The evening in Kandy will be spent at the Esala Perehara giving the foreign visitors a taste of the majestic Sri Lankan culture at its best.

Day three will take the riders to Anuradhapura via the A9 highway with a stopover at Matale to discover Sri Lankan spices in Matale. After sightseeing around the city, the riders will proceed to Habarana for an overnight stay at the Cinnamon Lodge.

On day 4, the riders will connect from Habarana to Nuwara Eliya via Gampola. They will stop for lunch and a dip at the scenic Ramboda Falls. The Harleys will certainly be revving up and down the hills and valleys of this hill station with the riders enjoying the colonial aura of “Little England” and the surrounding green hills.

An interesting ride will take place the following day, when day 5 will take the tour on a 275km plus ride to Udawalawe via Kitulgala. On this leg, the ride will pass through Ginigathena, Kitulgala, Yatiyantota, Ratnapura, Pelmadulla, to end at the Udawalawe Safari Camp.

After a game drive of the Udawalawe Park, the riders will be back on their bikes roaring their way down to the southern coast, stopping for lunch at Unawatuna. In the evening they will be riding to Chaaya Tranz Hikkaduwa to mingle with the local crowd.

The ride will backtrack to Galle and go around the Galle Fort as well as do a round in Galle town before heading back north to end in Bentota, where they will be accommodated at Bentota Beach Hotel. This part of the ride may well take an interior route to add more mileage as the Harley bikers are here to ride.

On 15th August or the last leg of the tour, the riders will travel from Bentota to Mount Lavinia. The route may be through the interior rather than the short direct coastal route. In Colombo, the Harley Ride ends and there will be a beach party at the Mount Lavinia Hotel which is an event by itself called HARLEY DAVIDSON STREET THUNDER SRI LANKA 2014 BEACH PARTY.

Overnight stay by the riders:

. Victoria Golf and Country Resort – Digana, Kandy

. Cinnamon Lodge - Habarana

. Ramboda Falls Hotel - Ramboda

. Mahoora Safari Camp - Udawalawe

. Chaaya Tranz - Hikkaduwa

. Bentota Beach Hotel - Bentota

. Mt Lavinia Hotel – Mt Lavinia

Video and Still Cameras will roll through the entire ride capturing footage of the ride.

The Partners for Harley Davidson Street Thunder Sri Lanka 2014 are:

Official Travel Partner - Walker Tours

Official Hospitality Partner – Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts

Official Airline Partner – Mihin Lanka

Official Insurance Partner – AIA Insurance

Official Media (TV & Radio) Partner – MBC Networks

Official Magazine – Motor Magazine

Official Duty Free Partner – Flemingo Duty Free

Official Logistics (Export) – Ceekay Shipping, Dubai

Official Logistics (Import) – Trico International

Official Beverage Partner – Wild Elephant (Elephant House Beverages)

Official Pilot/Safety Car – ‘Ford’ By Future Automobiles

Official Motorcycle Specialist – Ceylon International Motor Co.

Official Clothing Partner – Hercules Tailors

Official Restaurant Partners – Barista Sun & Sea Unawatuna & TGIF

Official Event Partner – Center Stage Events

Photo caption: Dileep Mudadeniya - Head of Brand Marketing at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts

[caption id="attachment_4034" align="alignnone" width="600"] Prabath Harshakumar - Head of Business Development, Asia, Middle East, Eastern of Leisure Inbound[/caption]