STORY BY – CLAUDE GUNASEKERA
Sri Lanka will once again host Raid Amazones, the world’s only all-female itinerant adventure race, when the event returns to the island from 2–10 November 2026. Main event related activities are scheduled to run from 1–11 November. Deputy Minister of Tourism Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe said events of this kind help position Sri Lanka as a destination where adventure, nature, culture and community intersect, while raising the country’s profile with international visitors. Registration for the November 2026 edition is open through the event’s official channels, with teams typically competing in pairs or groups of three over daily stages covering 10–18 kilometres depending on terrain and elevation.
“This year’s edition will take place in the coastal district of Kalutara, marking the country’s eighth time hosting the competition since 2004” said Maxime Wickramasinghe, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Thema Collection & Connaissance De Ceylan. He said the 2026 edition moves to Kalutara, as a district known for its beaches, rivers, wetlands, forests and rubber plantations while the route will give competitors the chance to experience local cuisine, traditions and hospitality alongside the physical challenges.
Connaissance de Ceylan has served as Raid Amazones’ official ground handling partner in Sri Lanka since the event first arrived on the island, a relationship stretching back to year 2009. When the organising committee for the race arrived in Sri Lanka in September 2009 ahead of that year’s event, teams from both Sri Lanka Tourism and Connaissance de Ceylan welcomed them, with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Connaissance de Ceylan Chairman Chandra Wickramasinghe to receive the group. The company, which specialises in tours for the French market, saw the event as a way to promote Sri Lanka’s tourism potential to the world. That role has continued into the most recent editions. By 2023, Connaissance de Ceylan was on board as the event’s official ground handling partner, and SriLankan Airlines worked together with Connaissance de Ceylan to ensure participants experienced the best of Sri Lankan hospitality. Maxime Wickramasinghe described Raid Amazones as the largest women-only adventure challenge in the world, and noted that even during the unrest of March 2022, the event received strong support from the Sri Lanka Army, the Ministries of Defence and Tourism, and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
Connaissance de Ceylan will oversee ground operations, of the 2026 Kalutara edition, while participant safety will be managed by Raid Amazones’ international medical and logistics teams working in collaboration with Connaissance de Ceylan. Wickramasinghe said the event has become a valuable destination-marketing platform, with international media coverage and content shared by participants continuing to highlight Sri Lanka’s natural beauty, culture and travel experiences to global audiences.
Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s leadership and support has carried through to the present day with its involvement from 2009 edition. Raid Amazons Sri Lankan tour will be delivered through a collaborative partnership with SriLankan Airlines. The Airline first partnered with Raid Amazones in 2022, shortly after resuming operations to Paris, and returned as presenting partner for the Raid Amazones 2023 edition, its second consecutive year backing the race. The SriLankan Airlines said the airline believed in fostering long-term partnerships that deliver returns in the form of ongoing opportunities to market both the airline and the country, and looked forward to further years of collaboration with the event. For the 2023 edition, the airline flew participants from Paris to Colombo on an aircraft carrying custom livery dedicated to Raid Amazones.
Turyaa Kalutara has come forward as the official accommodation partner for the 2026 edition, a new addition to the partnership roster reflecting the race’s move to the Kalutara district on the southwestern coast.
Founded in 2001 by French adventure sports specialist Alexandre Debanne, Raid Amazones has become closely associated with Sri Lanka, which has hosted the event more often than any other destination — in 2004, 2009, 2018, 2019, twice in 2022, and most recently in 2023, when competitors raced through Passikuda, Kalkudah and Thoppigala in the island’s east. Debanne has noted that Sri Lanka has become the event’s most frequent host country.
SThe 2023 edition, held in Kandy, featured roughly 250 participants across mountain biking, canoeing and trail-running challenges, and was supported by SriLankan Airlines as presenting partner and Connaissance de Ceylan as ground handling partner — a partnership that has continued into the 2026 edition, with SriLankan Airlines having backed the race since 2004.
Past editions have generated significant global publicity for Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, with organisers citing hundreds of international media mentions across television, print and online platforms following previous races, and past partners estimating tens of millions of euros in publicity value from the coverage generated in Europe.
