Luxury Sri Lanka – 12 Days

Your chauffeur-guide welcomes you at the airport and you head straight inland to the heart of the Cultural Triangle. The drive passes coconut estates, paddy fields and roadside fruit stalls – stop for a fresh king coconut on the way. Check in to your hotel near Sigiriya, surrounded by forest and lakes, and spend the evening by the pool while the rock fortress glows on the horizon.

Meals: Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: 4 hrs (160 km) · Distance: ~160 km

Start early (7:00 am) to climb Sigiriya before the heat and the crowds. The 5th-century citadel of King Kashyapa rises 200 m above the jungle: walk through the symmetrical water gardens, see the famous cloud-maiden frescoes and the mirror wall, pass between the giant lion paws and reach the palace ruins on the summit for a 360° view. After lunch, visit the Dambulla Cave Temple (UNESCO), five caves filled with over 150 Buddha statues and painted ceilings. Return to your hotel for a relaxed evening.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: 40 min each way · Distance: ~45 km

Explore Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka's medieval capital (UNESCO), by bicycle or by car. Highlights include the Royal Palace, the Quadrangle with its Vatadage, the Parakrama Samudra reservoir and the Gal Vihara – four Buddha figures carved from one granite rock. In the afternoon, join a jeep safari in Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park. From July to October hundreds of wild elephants gather on the old reservoir beds in what is known as 'The Gathering'.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: 1 hr to Polonnaruwa · Distance: ~135 km

Drive south to Kandy through Matale. Stop at a spice garden to see cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and pepper growing and learn how they are used in Ayurveda and Sri Lankan cooking. Continue to Kandy, check in and in the evening watch a traditional Kandyan dance and fire-walking show. Then visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (UNESCO) for the evening puja, when drummers and pilgrims bring flowers to the golden shrine.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Kandy · Travel: 2.5 hrs (90 km) · Distance: ~95 km

Begin with a private blessing ceremony and conversation with a Buddhist monk, followed by the Royal Botanic Gardens and a private tour of the Kandy Lake area.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Kandy · Travel: City sightseeing · Distance: ~30 km

Drive into the tea country and check in to a restored tea-planter's bungalow with butler service. Afternoon tea-tasting masterclass.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Hatton · Travel: 3 hrs (77 km) · Distance: ~75 km

Walk through the estates with the planter, enjoy a spa treatment, or simply relax on the veranda with a pot of estate tea.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Hatton · Travel: — · Distance: ~30 km

Take the most famous section of the hill-country railway from Nanu Oya to Ella (about 3 hours). Lean out of the doorway (carefully!) for views of tea-covered hills, waterfalls and villages. Your driver meets you in Ella. In the afternoon, walk to the Nine Arch Bridge and try to time it with a passing train.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Ella · Travel: Train 3 hrs · Distance: ~90 km

Descend from the hills, stopping at Buduruwagala to see a 16 m Buddha figure carved into the rock face in the 10th century. Arrive in Tissamaharama/Yala for lunch. At 2:30 pm set off on a jeep safari in Yala National Park, which has one of the highest densities of leopards in the world, as well as elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles and water buffalo.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Yala / Tissamaharama · Travel: 2.5 hrs (100 km) · Distance: ~105 km

Spend the whole day in the park with a packed breakfast and lunch, taking the time to wait patiently at waterholes and rocky outcrops where leopards rest. Full-day safaris reach quieter areas of the park and give the best chance of sightings.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Yala / Tissamaharama · Travel: Full day in the park · Distance: ~70 km

Drive west along the coast to a heritage villa in Galle Fort. Guided fort walk at sunset followed by a private chef dinner.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Galle / Unawatuna · Travel: Local · Distance: ~150 km

Enjoy a final morning by the sea before the transfer to Bandaranaike International Airport via the Southern Expressway (allow 3 hours).

Meals: Breakfast · Overnight: — · Travel: 3 hrs to airport · Distance: ~150 km