The island, region by region
Five places for a first visit
Which tour goes where
How to plan your route around the island
Sri Lanka’s highlights sit in a rough loop. The Cultural Triangle with Sigiriya, Dambulla and Polonnaruwa lies in the dry centre-north. Kandy marks the start of the hill country, where tea estates, waterfalls and the train to Ella fill the landscape. To the south-east, Yala and Udawalawe are the main national parks, and the south coast from Galle to Tangalle has the island’s best-known beaches.
The east coast and the Tamil north around Jaffna are a different world again: quieter, less visited, and at their best in the summer months when the south-west is rainy. A first visit usually covers the loop; a second trip is the perfect moment for the north and east.
Which places to leave out
With two weeks you will not see everything, and that is fine. Travellers often try to add Adam’s Peak, Trincomalee and the Knuckles range to a classic route and end up spending half the holiday in the car. We would rather you spend two nights in fewer places and come back. Tell us what interests you most, and we will suggest where to cut.