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Best budget tour packages in Sri Lanka

Sanjeewa Padmal (Seerendipity)
Bentota holidays, Sri Lanka Tour Holidays, What is the best program for Sri Lanka itinerary 5 days

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Best budget tour packages in Sri Lanka

Who does not like to travel, and have a holiday? No one! Everyone likes to enjoy life and travelling is one of the most popular methods of rejuvenating your body and mind. According to the WTO, the number of holidaymakers is constantly increasing throughout the world. However, monetary constraints have emerged, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. These monetary constraints act as an obstacle for some people and hold them in their hometown. Therefore, the budget tour is a hot topic in the world at the moment. As more and more travellers are in search of budget holiday packages around the world, some of them are interested in Sri Lanka trips. We as a local tour operator receive a large number of inquiries for Sri Lanka vacation packages and some of those inquiries are directly involved with budget tours in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is one of the most affordable holiday destinations in the region. Therefore even a very thrifty traveller can have an enjoyable and comfortable tour in Sri Lanka. However, choosing the right local partner is key to the success of your Sri Lanka budget tour package. Here are 3 popular budget tour packages from Sri Lanka organized by Seerendipity tour.

Below mentioned 3 tours are short trips in Sri Lanka planned for budget-conscious travellers. However, all these tours include private transportation in a car in order to save time for the sightseeing, while accommodations are provided in the standard, good, clean hotel in order to avoid any health-related issues.

1. BUDGET TOUR PACKAGES IN SRI LANKA TO CULTURAL TRIANGLE 3 DAYS

Sri Lanka cultural triangle budget tour is a very popular tour among foreign travellers. Visiting the cultural triangle is the main priority of the Sri Lanka trip. A large number of travellers are happy with the trip as it makes a comprehensive picture of the rich historical past of Sri Lanka. This is a 3 days budget tour and includes important tourist attractions like Sigiriya rock fortress with paintings, Dambulla golden temple, Polonnaruwa ancient site, and tooth relic temple.

The scenic cultural triangle of Sri Lanka encompasses many important historical and cultural places and many natural attractions such as Minneriya national park. However, the cultural triangle is included in most Sri Lanka road trips due to the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, and Dambulla, all of which are UNESCO world heritage.

There are many long weekends this year and one can reach the cultural triangle after 5 hour’s drive! So plan your trip to the cultural triangle to experience the rich historical past of Sri Lanka.

The tour includes visits to dozens of Buddhist religious sites. You need to have special attention to a few rules and regulations that prevail at every temple.

All visitors to these sacred places are supposed to dress in a particular manner to uphold their religious values. There is a set of rules that every visitor to religious sites observes while visiting sacred places in Sri Lanka. If you are wondering what these rules are, check out this article “13 RULES TO OBSERVE WHILE VISITING SRI LANKA BUDDHIST TEMPLE, SRI LANKA TEMPLE DRESS CODE TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH DRES’ CODE“.

Transportation: The journey from Colombo to the cultural triangle lasts around 5 hours via Dambulla. There are many places to visit within the cultural triangle and they are spread across a large geographical area.

Therefore travellers need to cover a large distance to reach one place to the other. For instance, it would be around 100km from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa and the drive takes around 2 hours. It is highly recommended to base in the Sigiriya and Habarana (in the middle of the cultural triangle), while you explore the attractions in the cultural triangle, thereby you can reach important places within a short period of time.

Accommodation: Accommodation facilities are plenty in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. But most hotels and other accommodation facilities are to be found in Sigiriya and Habarana area, as it is centrally located within the cultural triangle. A Large number of hotels, guest houses, rest houses, and dormitories are providing economical accommodation for travellers, who wish to explore the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka.

Places to Visit: Must visits in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka includes, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya rock fortress, Dambulla cave temple, Pidurangala temple,  to do are – Buddhist temples, farmhouses, visit the Sigiriya museum, making a safari tour.

Suggested Duration: 3 Days and 2 Nights

Travel Calculation: Approx. USD 350 per couple

Interesting Tips: It is highly recommended to base in Habarana/Sigiriya for at least 1 night to explore the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. There is a large distance to cover the places in the cultural triangle and also there is a large distance to cover within the historical places; therefore it is best to have private transport with a local driver-guide!

Sri Lanka 3-day tour with Sigiriya rock fortress, Dambulla golden temple Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya

2. BUDGET TOUR PACKAGES IN SRI LANKA TO HILL COUNTRY

This is a 2 days budget tour in Sri Lanka that takes you through the breathtaking tea garden in Sri Lanka’s upcountry. You will be visiting Kandy and Nuwara Eliya along with a large number of hot tourist attractions such as the tooth relic temple, the royal botanical garden Kandy, and Gregory lake.

By far Nuwara Eliya is the most popular hill country resort in Sri Lanka. It attracts travellers for many centuries mainly due to its healing climate and breathtaking scenery. Nuwara Eliya and its neighbourhood lie well above 1000 meters above sea level and are dominated by tea plantations, mountains, and patches of forests.

Nuwara Eliya is the perfect spot to become an urban adventurer. This cultural melting pot was founded by Governor Edward Barnes in early the 18s. Over the last several centuries Nuwara Eliya has become a destination for migrants from many parts of the island who had set on the banks of the Gregory Lake. Today inhabitants of Nuwara Eliya is consisting of Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslims as well as many other ethnic minority groups.

There is no other better place to take a glimpse of picturesque cascading waterfalls in Sri Lanka. Everyone is talking about Nuwara Eliya “Vasantha Udanaya” which takes place in the month of April, parallel to the flowering season of the city.

Most foreign tourist head to southern or western Sri Lanka for a beach tour from here. While some others are heading southern coast to explore important tourist places such as Rekawa beach, Yala national park, Mirirssa, and Galle.

Transportation: Nuwara Eliya can be reached within a 4-5 hour drive from Colombo and beach resorts on the west coast such as Bentota or Kandy. Nuwara Eliya is a popular city and connected to most major cities with public transport such as trains and buses.

If you travel to Nuwara Eliya it is highly recommended to have a train journey, which is the best way to travel to Nuwara Eliya as it allows you to have one of the most scenic train journeys in the world.

Accommodation: There is a scarcity of accommodation facilities in Nuwara Eliya, therefore the accommodation cost is on the upper side compared to most other holiday destinations in the country.

Low supply and high demand push the accommodation cost around 20%-30% higher than most other places in the country. It is best to book accommodation before arriving in the city due to the high demand; especially during the peak holiday season (November to April), as you will not be able to get rooms at the last moment.

Places to Visit: Most places that are worth your attention are natural attractions except a few Hindu religions connected to Ramayana.

How much does cost this trip: Approx. USD 250 per couple

Suggested Duration: 2 Days and 1 Night

Interesting Tips: Gregory Lake is one of the beautiful places to hang around with many activities for kids as well as for elders. Here you can do horse riding, cycling, etc. There are many trekking sites around Nuwara Eliya so don’t forget to get a pair of shoes that suit trekking.

Venture on a Southern Sri Lanka tour to see the important tourist attraction on Sri Lanka’s south coast such as Wildlife parks, beaches, forts, museums, parks, and town

3. EXPLORING RICH WILDLIFE ON BUDGET TOUR PACKAGES IN SRI LANKA

Sinharaja rain forest tour, Udawalwe safari, Whale watching trip, and elephant safari Minneriya are some of the popular activities for wildlife enthusiasts in Sri Lanka. Yala national park tour with southern Sri Lanka is also included in this list. Yala is a popular 2-day trip place in Sri Lanka.

2 days budget tour package to Yala national park is an ideal Sri Lanka tour package for wildlife enthusiasts. Yala is the most popular national park on the island for wildlife safari and is visited by many thousands of tourists every day.

This 2 day Sri Lanka budget tour also allows you to scratch southern and western Sri Lanka. Therefore, exploring important tourist attractions along the beaches is also a part of the trip and you will be visiting Forts, beaches, museums, and boating in Rivers.

Yala safari is one of the best budget trips in Sri Lanka and is loved by nature lovers. Also known as Ruhunu national park, Yala is the most popular national park on the island of Sri Lanka. The park lies in a remote corner of southern Sri Lanka. Yala features a dry zone forest, a wet zone forest, and a thorn bush. Yala is the 2nd biggest national park in the country and travellers are able to spot many rare species of animals such as leopards, elephants, crocodiles, and bears during the Yala safari.

Transportation: The distance to cover from Colombo to Yala is 260 km and the drive takes around 4 hours. It is recommended to have an overnight stay in a nearby city such as Tissamaharama in order to have the best experience on this trip to Yala. However, Yala national park trip can be booked as a one-day trip from Colombo. The tour starts early morning from Colombo city.

Accommodation: The options for accommodation in Tissamaharama (the nearest city to Yala national park) are endless. Travellers can find a wide range of accommodation facilities such as dormitories, hotels, luxury boutique hotels, rest houses, and guesthouses.

Places to Visit: Yala national park, Bundala national park, Kataragama temple, Udawalawe national park.

Travel Calculation: Approx. USD 200 per couple

Suggested Duration: 2 Days and 1 Night

Interesting Tips: the best time for the safari is either in the morning or evening. Usually, the afternoon safari starts around 2.00 PM while the morning safari starts around 05.00 AM.

This nature tour includes rainforest trekking, white water rafting, safari, hiking, and trekking. This adventure tour also includes whale watching based in southern Sri Lanka. If you

PLANING THE BEST SRI LANKA BUDGET TOUR PACKAGE

Travelling needs a lot of research and study to find the perfect holiday destination to have an enjoyable holiday. Particularly, when you travel to long-haul destinations. Attractions, accommodation, cost, and availability of time are some of the key factors to consider when choosing a holiday destination. Particularly, the cost of the holiday needs to be dealt with care, because your holiday can be very embarrassing if it exceeds your travel budget.

With the prevailing economic environment, most people are inclining not to spend lavishly on their holidays. Average people are feeling economic restraints with the increasing living cost. On the other hand, the holidays are also getting more expensive every day. Lodging, airfares, and food all are matters of increasing holiday cost.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST FOR THE SRI LANKA BUDGET TOUR PACKAGE

In this post, I’m going to talk about the cheapest holiday destination in Asia namely Sri Lanka. Do you believe that a budget tour package in Sri Lanka costs you only around US$10 per person a day? You need only US$10 per day to have a tour package in Sri Lanka, of course without luxury and correct planning, just to have basic accommodation with local food in an average restaurant and travelling by public transport, you need only 10$ a day.

Visit 4 tourist hotspots – Peradeniya botanical garden, Pinnawala elephant orphanage and tooth relic temple, and Tea gardens in one day from USD 35

INTERNATIONAL ACCOLADES

Sri Lanka is the best winter holiday destination in 2019 according to USA Today. It is another endorsement of the superiority of Sri Lanka as a holiday destination. The best destinations for cold winter vacations in 2018, according to WalletHub.

Sri Lanka has been chosen, by lonely planet, as the hottest destination to travel to in 2019. Cost-effectiveness is one major reason for Sri Lanka, was selected as the most favoured holiday destination in 2019 by lonely planet. According to the CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER survey in 2022; Sri Lanka is one of the travellers’ friendliest countries in the world.

WHAT SRI LANKA OFFERS TO TRAVELLERS

Sri Lanka is not only cheap but also offers a large number of places to explore such as historical sites, wildlife reserves, primaeval rain forests, and pristine beaches. This Asian country has one of the oldest continuously inhabited civilizations in the world.

This budget tour plan does not include the entrance fee for attractions. The cost of entrance to popular places is expensive and differs greatly depending on the attraction. But there is a large number of attractions on the island, that can be visited free of charge.

This 7 days beach holiday package is based on a 4-star beach resort on the west coast of Sri Lanka. The beach holiday package includes arriva1/departure transfers on a luxury vehicle, daily breakfast, and dinner as well as all government taxes.

BUDGET SRI LANKA TOURS: VISITING BEACHES

Sri Lanka is becoming one of the most famous holiday destinations in southern Asia. Sri Lanka is a beautiful island (former Ceylon) surrounded by the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka is surrounded by more than 1600 km of clean beautiful beaches.

Sri Lanka is a famous hideout among European from November – April (winter season). Not only Sri Lanka provides Sun, Sea, and Sand for the holidaymakers, but also thousands of years old culture and history, ruined cities, tropical vegetation, wildlife, Asian cuisine, water sports, and plenty of other recreation facilities.

BUDGET SRI LANKA TOURS: HOW TO SAVE MONEY

As far as accommodation facilities are concerned you have the possibility to choose to rent rooms, rent houses, annexes or dormitories. There are lots of local families living in the resorts that provide accommodation for tourists for a very cheap rate.

Sri Lanka still offers a lot of possibilities for people, who want to see this beautiful island. No matter how much you afford to pay, there is plenty of opportunities to have an enjoyable holiday.

There are plenty of small and medium hotels and other accommodation facilities at very affordable prices. Even though the prices are far less than the large hotels as far as facilities are concerned they are sometimes better than star-class hotels.

You are provided with all the services such as laundry, catering, and recreation too. Prices of these hotels will be around half of the same category of large properties. It is not difficult to find a good place to stay for about $ 15-20 a day.

Normally prices for goods in Sri Lanka are very low compared to prices in European countries.  Making the holiday you own will allow you to make use of the chance. You can get all the goods you need for a very cheap price.

DEVELOPMENT OF SRI LANKA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY

After the war now Sri Lanka has become the best country to live in South Asia and it is a very calm and safe place to enjoy your holiday. Tourists’ arrival in Sri Lanka increased significantly during the last few years and the number is still growing. With a higher number of arrival to the country services and facilities for foreigners are more expensive than they had been. Rates of some of the hotels increased 125% during the last few years. Almost all the hotels have increased their rates now.

FIVE TIPS TO SAVE MONEY ON BUDGET TOURS IN SRI LANKA

The below tips help you to save money not only when you book activities but also when you book accommodation, transportation, and sightseeing tours as well.

BOOK ACCOMMODATION DIRECTLY WITH HOTELS AND SAVE MONEY ON YOUR BUDGET TOUR OF SRI LANKA

In Sri Lanka, it is possible to book accommodation, activities, and all other bits and peace of the tour by yourself. Travellers can book their own with accommodation and activity providers by visiting their office, through the internet, or over the phone. Booking directly allows travellers to cut the middleman and save money. Usually, the Middleman (online booking portal) increases the total bill between 10% to 30%, which is the commission OTA.

Sri Lanka is a popular holiday destination with a well-developed tourism infrastructure. State institution Ceylon tourist board is helping foreign tourists, who need assistance with information to spend the holiday in Sri Lanka. There is a number of possibilities with regard to arranging accommodation on the island.

It offers you the possibility of a luxurious star-class boutique hotel with cheap homestay accommodation. Presenting yourself at the hotel or any form of accommodation enables you to save a big chunk of money that is originally meant for tour operators in Sri Lanka and abroad. Other than saving money, you have the option to choose the best place for your holiday among several possibilities. By doing so you may be able to save nearly 50% of the accommodation cost of the holiday package.

ENTRANCE TICKETS ON BUDGET TOUR IN SRI LANKA

Visiting tourist attractions such as historical monuments, wildlife parks, and botanical gardens is a costly part of Sri Lanka vacation packages. The cost of entrance fees in Sri Lanka is high compared to most countries in the region. Cultural sites, historical temples, national parks, and botanical gardens all are charging more than 10 USD per person. Therefore if you can omit those expensive sites during your Sri Lanka vacation packages, it might save you a lot of money but on the other hand, you will miss some of the interesting tourist attractions too. Most of these expensive sites are maintained by the government and no discounts are offered.

Therefore whether you like it or not you have to visit if you still wish to experience the rich, history, culture and, nature of Sri Lanka. Entrance tickets can be bought at the entrance of the site.

In this blog post, we are not going to discuss the historical places of the island nor the cultural or natural attractions of the island. We have already published many blog posts covering tourist attractions in our previous blog posts. In this blog post, we are concentrating mainly on how to curtail your budget in this 10-day Sri Lanka tour to 350 USD.

Almost all Sri Lanka tour packages follow more or less the same travel route. Starting from Katunayake airport just north of Colombo and then the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka in the north-central province, afterwards the travellers explore the mountains in the central province. And towards the end of the tour usually, guests explore southern Sri Lanka and beaches On the west or east coast.

SRI LANKA VACATION PACKAGES: BACKPACKING

There is a great amount of travelling in this self-guided Sri Lanka travel itinerary for 10 days. Therefore, It is recommended to put all your stuff in a rucksack. With backpacking, it will be easy to move around and you can pack yourself easily on buses and trains.

Try to keep your rucksack as small as possible, so it is easy to carry and you can move here and there without much trouble. Try to pack only the necessary items into the rucksack such as cloth, and medicine. All other stuff can be bought here and prices are also cheap.

USING THE INTERNET TO FIND ACCOMMODATION AND SERVICES FOR SRI LANKA VACATION PACKAGES

We recommend using google maps and navigation in order to find the right directions, places, and cities during this self-guided Sri Lanka tour. Google navigation will be very useful since you travel on your own. In order to surf the internet one can use the wifi connection that is freely available at most hotels, guest houses, and rest houses.

Usually, the internet facility is included in the room rates. If you have to collect some data using the internet for the next day’s program, you are recommended to do it on the previous night, because normally a wired line wifi connection is faster (most accommodation providers using it) than a wireless connection, in fact using the internet at the guest house cost nothing.

If you wish to surf the internet on the move best and cheapest option is to surf the internet through a Sri Lankan mobile connection. There is a large number of mobile service providers in the country and all of them provide a 4G  connection.

One can purchase a mobile sim card with data, and calling time upon arrival at the airport arrival lounge.  At the airport, it is sold as a bundle (data, voice calling time, SIM), which cost around 1500 LKR. Do not book any service or facility through the internet, it could increase your budget.

You can also buy a 4G SIM (with a high-speed connection) in outside communication centres in the city at 150 LKR and you have to add goods as consume data. A sim card can be bought at any telecommunication shop around the country. The applicant of the sim card should produce a valid passport in order to prove the identity of the user. SIM card will be deactivated if it is not used for several weeks. Make sure the SIM card is destroyed at the time you leave the country and never give your sim card to anyone else.

If you can manage English, still you can make it without the internet. You can speak to native people and ask for help, they will help you to find out where about the places you look for. The English literacy rate is fairly good among Sri Lankans. Names of the places, names of the roads, and all the wayside hoarding, signboards, and placards are written in 3 languages Sinhalese, Tamil, and English.

Choose the best vehicle for your one-day tour in Sri Lanka from a wide range of vehicles such as sedans, SUVs, mini-coach, micros, etc. We provide all kinds of vehicles at affordable rates.

SRI LANKA VACATION PACKAGES: TRANSPORT

Transport can be a very costly part of your Sri Lanka vacation packages. However, it largely depends on the nature of the Sri Lanka vacation package you plan, e.g if you plan a 2 weeks beach tour package your transport cost could be a fraction of the cost of accommodation. If you plan one of Sri Lanka’s vacation packages with sightseeing it would demand a considerable portion of your budget.

If you happen to book one of the Sri Lanka vacation packages with the tour operator, you will have to agree with the transport facilities organized by the operator. You will be put on a packed bus during the transfers and round tours. Individual transport provides you with privacy and comfort and it saves a lot of money as well. There are a number of methods that can be used to travel around the island, buses and trains are the cheapest and best in availability. The well-developed road network provides access to all parts of the island. Private Taxi, trishaw, seaplane, the helicopter is the other method of transport available for holidaymakers in Sri Lanka.

SRI LANKA VACATION PACKAGES: DRINKING WATER

It is recommended to drink only mineral water during the Sri Lank tour. And you might have to buy mineral water for drinking because some guest houses do not include mineral water in the room charges.

There are plenty of shops in the area selling mineral water and other grocery items. A 2-litre mineral water bottle costs around 100 LKR (price varies depending on the brand), which is more than enough for a day. Check for the SLS mark (government standardization) when you purchase mineral water, thereby you can make sure it is well-purified and safe to drink.

cooking crabs in the Sri Lankan way

TASTE DELICIOUS LOCAL FOOD ON YOUR SRI LANKA VACATION PACKAGES

One can easily find a local restaurant here and can have breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any other meal, there is a large number of eateries along the hotel road, providing all types of meals at an affordable rate. But we suppose to stick to local menus in order to keep the cost down not only in Negombo but also during the entire tour.

In local restaurants, one can buy kottu, roti, hoppers, rice & curry, short eats, string hoppers, bread items, noodles, fish, meat, eggs, tea, coffee, etc. All of them are prepared to the local taste buds and you may find the curries a little bit spicy (only the curries). Try to have as little curry as possible if you’re not familiar with spicy meals.

One portion of chicken Kottu cost 250 LKR and it is more than enough for an average person. A chicken kottu is made of flour, chicken, vegetable, a pinch of salt, and some curry. Kottu is done spontaneously by adding separate components if you do not wish to eat spicy, in a Sri Lankan way, tell the waiter as you order it.

If you do not wish to have a heavy meal such as Kottu you can go for crispy and tasty hoppers and egg hoppers, noodles, or rice and curry. Whatever you order it should be within our budget of 250 LKR per person. Usually one can have a decent breakfast, lunch, or dinner by just paying 250 LKR.

What meal plan do you like to have most during the holiday? HB/half board (Breakfast and dinner included), FB/Full board (all three meals included), or BB/Bed and Breakfast (only the breakfast included), by selecting the correct meal plan allows you to save a lot of money that incurs during the holiday. Choosing the meal plan depends on several factors such as the cost of the hotel, availability of food outlets around the area, etc.

The cost of food and drinks in hotels are always higher than the normal prices in the market, for instance, a Beer that cost 50 cents Dollar outside the hotel cost around 5 dollars in tourist hotels, and the same theory is applied to everything you buy in the hotel. Normally in all places, where tourists are hanging around, small guest houses and restaurant provides food and drinks for much cheaper prices than the hotels.

If you have booked your accommodation on a BB basis, you have the most flexibility of engaging in various activities in the country, such as day excursions, tours, etc. if you kind of person who likes doing sightseeing tours and engages with the local community you must have the BB meal plan during the holiday. On the other hand, having FB will cost you more money for meals if you happen to be away from the hotel during the meal times and it is no way for claiming that money spends on meals.

Another disadvantage of having meals in the hotel is not being able to taste the typical local foods. If you happen to be in a foreign country you need to learn the culture, history, and living style of native people including their food and drinks. If you are planning your next holiday to this tropical island try to save some money by applying these three methods.

ESTIMATED COST OF THE BUDGET TOUR PACKAGES IN SRI LANKA?

  1. The cost for basic accommodation on Room only basis is 5$. You can find accommodation for 5$ in an economical accommodation facility such as a guest house, rest house, rented room, or homestay.
  2. The average cost for Breakfast in a local restaurant average 1$. This is the average cost for breakfast in a local restaurant. The prices of food and beverage differ depending on the restaurant.
  3. Cost of Lunch in an average local restaurant 1$.
  4. Cost for a dinner in an average local restaurant 1$.
  5. Bottle of water 2 litres 1$.
  6. Transport in public transport such as trains and buses, average 1$ per 20 KM. public transport is the cheapest method of transport on the island. Well-developed transport system allows you to reach any part of the country for a very reasonable price.

BUDGET TOUR SRI LANKA: WHY CHOOSE SEERENDIPITY

Serendipity Tour is an entirely locally owned travel company with a head office in Colombo. The highly experienced local staff is a key strength of Serendipity Tours, and they can plan your dream holiday to Sri Lanka.

The best price guaranteed for your Sri Lanka trip

When you book a tour with Serendipity Tours, you directly book the tour with the local company, which means there are no middlemen and therefore you can guarantee the best price. Simply get in touch with us and let us know when you travel and what you like to see.

Plan your best Sri Lanka trip with-expert

Our staff makes a personalised program for you, which you can change until you find the best Sri Lanka trip package for you. Visit www.sirilaktours.com to browse our existing tour packages, which you can customise to meet all your expectations. Write to us at admin@seerendipitytours.com, tel. 0094-77-440977, WhatsApp 0094-77-4440977.

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