Sri Lanka
Elephants, tea hills and turtle beaches - the full circle of the Emerald Isle.
InternationalWhy travellers love it
Sri Lanka may be small, but the Emerald Isle packs in hill country, sacred cities, tea estates, wildlife and golden beaches - all within a single unhurried circuit from Colombo through Kandy and Nuwara Eliya to the coast at Bentota and back.
The hill capital of Kandy brings gentle giants at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic, a working tea factory and a cultural show by Kandy Lake. Climbing into the misty tea country of Nuwara Eliya past the Ramboda Waterfall, the journey takes on a legendary dimension: Hakgala Gardens, the Anjaneyar Temple and the Sita Amman Temple are key stops on the Ramayana trail.
The coast offers a different rhythm - the Kosgoda Turtle Conservation project, a boat ride through the mangroves of the Madu River and lazy beach time in Bentota - before Colombo wraps things up with its colonial forts, Cinnamon Gardens, Galle Face Green and bags full of Ceylon tea.
What you'll remember
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
- Temple of the Tooth Relic and a cultural show by Kandy Lake
- Ramboda Waterfall and Nuwara Eliya's tea country
- Ramayana trail - Sita Amman Temple, Anjaneyar Temple and Hakgala Gardens
- Kosgoda Turtle Conservation and a Madu River mangrove boat ride
- Colombo's forts, Cinnamon Gardens and Galle Face Green
