Our Tour Leaders
All of our tours are led by academics and experts in their field who will share their passion and knowledge with you in lectures, talks and throughout the tour. Click on their profile to find out more about them.
Richard Mendis
A local of Colombo, Richard Mendis has been leading tours of his native Sri Lanka for the past 15 years. Educated in Germany and Austria, he is a fluent speaker of English and German in addition to his mother tongue Sinhalese. Richard has a wealth of knowledge of the history, culture, politics, cuisine, flora and fauna of Sri Lanka, and as a keen ornithologist, he is fully conversant with almost all of the 436 bird species found in his home country. A consummate professional, his local knowledge, enthusiasm and humour is second to none.
Testimonials:
“Richard is a fantastic tour leader…he has an incredible knowledge of the culture, history, plants and birds of Sri Lanka sharing all with wonderful enthusiasm. He would have to be the top tour leader I have experienced in over 50 years of travelling!”
Margaret T. | Serendipitous Sri Lanka, 2017
“I am sorry there isn’t another category beyond excellent to describe our tour leader Richard Mendis as he was the real highlight of the tour. Richard really made this Sri Lankan experience a wonderful one.”
Robyn and John C. | Serendipitous Sri Lanka ,2017
“Richard is an outstanding tour leader and a wonderful advocate for his country.”
Rosalie L. | Serendipitous Sri Lanka, 2017