Small island. Impossible variety.
Beaches, leopards, 2,000-year-old cities and mountains of tea — all within a few hours' drive of each other. Your driver knows when to arrive at each one to beat the crowds.
Sigiriya
The 5th-century Lion Rock fortress — Sri Lanka's single most iconic climb, best at dawn before the heat and crowds.
Kandy
Home of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and gateway to the tea country; the cultural heart of the island.
Ella
Backpacker-favourite mountain village: Nine Arch Bridge, Little Adam's Peak, and the island's most beautiful train ride.
Galle
A perfectly preserved Dutch fort town of cobbled lanes, ramparts, cafés and boutique hotels.
Mirissa
Whale watching capital and palm-fringed beaches — the classic south-coast finish to any Sri Lanka tour.
Yala National Park
Sri Lanka's premier safari — the highest leopard density in Asia, plus elephants, sloth bears and coastal lagoons.
Nuwara Eliya
'Little England' at 1,900m — colonial bungalows, a racecourse, golf and endless emerald tea estates.
Trincomalee
Deep-water bays, Pigeon Island coral reef and the quieter side of Sri Lanka — best May to September.
Anuradhapura
2,300 years of sacred city — vast dagobas, the world's oldest documented living tree, and living Buddhist worship.
Arugam Bay
Sri Lanka's surf capital — world-class point breaks, a laid-back bay and wildlife on the road in.
Jaffna
Tamil culture, causeway island-hopping and the least-touristed corner of Sri Lanka.
Udawalawe National Park
Sri Lanka's most reliable wild elephant sighting — herds of hundreds on open savannah around a reservoir.
Can't pick? You don't have to.
Tell us what you love — wildlife, food, hikes, beaches — and we'll thread the right places into one route.