Sri Lanka: the cultural triangle, the hill country and the south
Ancient capitals, a rock fortress, the most beautiful train ride in Asia, leopards in Yala and a southern coast of surf and stilt fishermen — two weeks on an island the size of Ireland.
Negombo
Land and stay near the airport rather than driving to Colombo tired. Negombo has a fishing beach, a Dutch canal and a fish market at dawn that is the best introduction to the island there is.
Anuradhapura
North into the cultural triangle. Anuradhapura was the capital for over a thousand years and the site is enormous — dagobas the size of small hills, monastery ruins and the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting of the tree the Buddha sat under and the oldest recorded planted tree in the world.
Polonnaruwa
The second capital, more compact than Anuradhapura and best seen by bicycle. The Gal Vihara rock carvings — four colossal Buddha figures cut from a single granite face — are the finest sculpture on the island.
Sigiriya
A granite monolith rising 180 metres from the plain, with a fifth-century royal citadel on top, frescoes of women part-way up and a gateway that was once a lion whose paws still stand. Climb at seven; by nine the stairs are a queue and the heat is serious.
Dambulla and Minneriya
The cave temples at Dambulla hold 150 Buddha images under painted rock ceilings across five caves. In the late afternoon, Minneriya or Kaudulla — from roughly July to October, hundreds of elephants gather on the receding tank bed in what is called the Gathering.
Kandy
South into the hills to the last royal capital, on a lake with the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic on its shore. Attend the evening puja rather than the daytime visit. The Peradeniya botanical gardens outside town are excellent and largely ignored by visitors.
The train to Ella
Seven hours through tea country on a line built by the British to move the crop — through Nanu Oya, Haputale and over the Nine Arch Bridge. Book a reserved second-class seat weeks ahead, or take third class unreserved and stand in the doorway, which is what everyone actually does.
Ella and Little Adam's Peak
A short climb for a view down the Ella Gap to the coastal plain, and the Nine Arch Bridge below the town, which is now busy enough that dawn is the only sensible time. Ella has become the backpacker capital of the island and has the food and the crowds to match.
Horton Plains and World's End
A pre-dawn drive up to 2,100 metres for a nine-kilometre loop across montane grassland to an escarpment that drops 870 metres. The cloud closes it by about nine in the morning, so the early start is not optional. Cold enough for a fleece, which surprises people.
Tea country
A working estate tour — plucking, withering, rolling, oxidation and grading — and an honest conversation about the Malaiyaha Tamil workforce brought from South India in the nineteenth century, whose descendants still pluck the leaf and whose wages have been the subject of repeated national disputes.
Yala or Wilpattu
South to the coast and a national park. Yala has the highest leopard density recorded anywhere and correspondingly heavy jeep traffic in Block 1; Wilpattu in the northwest is larger, quieter and harder. Go at dawn and pick a driver who does not chase radio calls.
The south coast: Mirissa and Weligama
Beach country. Mirissa runs blue whale trips from November to April — the continental shelf is close inshore here and the sightings are among the most reliable anywhere. Weligama is where everyone learns to surf and the stilt fishermen are mostly posing for money now, which is worth knowing.
Galle
A Dutch fort on a headland, UNESCO-listed, with ramparts you walk at sunset and a grid of colonial houses inside now full of galleries and guesthouses. The lighthouse, the Meeran mosque and the cricket ground beneath the walls are the set pieces.
Colombo and depart
Two hours north on the expressway. Colombo repays a half day — the Pettah market, the Gangaramaya temple, Galle Face Green at dusk and a curry at a place that does not have an English menu. The airport is north of the city and the expressway avoids the traffic.
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Everyone needs an ETA, applied for through the official government portal before travel — use only that site, since commercial lookalikes charge several times the fee. A car with a driver for the whole trip is the standard way to do Sri Lanka and costs surprisingly little; it is not a luxury here, it is how the island works, and the driver becomes the guide. Trains are excellent for the Kandy–Ella leg specifically and reserved seats sell out weeks ahead. The island has two monsoons on opposite schedules: the southwest coast and hill country are wet from May to September, the east and north from October to January. That means there is always somewhere dry — December to March suits this route, and July and August work if you swap the south coast for the east. Dress modestly at temples, remove shoes and hats, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image, which is an offence people have been deported for. The economic crisis of 2022 has eased and fuel and power are stable again, but prices have risen sharply since.
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From Ella, continue east to Arugam Bay for surf from May to September and on to Trincomalee and Nilaveli. This is the dry side during the southwestern monsoon and the reverse of the standard route.
Three or four days north of Anuradhapura to Jaffna — Tamil, Hindu, culturally distinct, and only accessible again since 2009. The islands off the peninsula and the road to Point Pedro are among the quietest travel on the island.
Between December and May, the overnight climb of 5,500 steps to Sri Pada, timed to reach the summit for sunrise alongside Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian pilgrims who all claim the footprint at the top. One of the great walks in Asia.