Sri Lanka
ASIA · 6 PLACES
An island where you can climb a fifth-century rock fortress at dawn, ride a hill train past tea terraces by lunch and watch blue whales by Friday. The two monsoons decide everything.
Colombo
Land, adjust, eat crab, then get out before the traffic wins
Kandy
Tooth Temple, botanic gardens and the hills starting to bite
Sigiriya
Rock, cave temples, Polonnaruwa and a Minneriya elephant safari
Ella
Tea country hikes and the reopened Nanu Oya railway run
Galle
Dutch fort, courtyard cafes and easy beaches next door
Mirissa
Finish on the sand, with whales offshore November to April
One month here
Land, adjust, eat crab, then get out before the traffic wins
Rock, cave temples, Polonnaruwa and a Minneriya elephant safari
Tooth Temple, botanic gardens and the hills starting to bite
Tea country hikes and the reopened Nanu Oya railway run
Dutch fort, courtyard cafes and easy beaches next door
Finish on the sand, with whales offshore November to April
Three months here
Use it as a base: markets, galleries, day trips up the west coast
Whole Cultural Triangle, including Anuradhapura and Ritigala
Temples, the Knuckles Range and time the Esala Perahera
Hill country slowly: Haputale, Horton Plains, estates and waterfalls
Fort life, surf at Ahangama and the whole southwest coastline
Learn to surf properly, plus Udawalawe and Yala from here
Festivals worth flying for
Kandy Esala Perahera · July or August
Ten nights of tuskers, drummers, whip-crackers and torch dancers around the Tooth Temple
Vesak Poya · May
The Buddha's birth and enlightenment: paper lanterns, lit pandals and free roadside food stalls
Sinhala & Tamil New Year · 13-14 April
The island stops. Family rituals, oil lamps, games and almost everything closed for days
Thai Pongal · January
Tamil harvest festival, marked with milk-rice boiled until it spills over. Mainly north and east
Nallur Festival · August
Twenty-five days of chariot processions at Jaffna's Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil
Duruthu Perahera · January
Kelaniya's procession near Colombo, marking the Buddha's first visit to the island
In an emergency
Emergency number 119
119 police, 1990 Suwa Seriya ambulance (free, island-wide), 110 fire, 1912 tourist hotline in English. 112 is unreliable here.
Language
Sinhala and Tamil are official; English is widely spoken in tourist areas.
Money
Rupees. Cards work in hotels and cities; carry cash for tuk-tuks, markets, parks and small towns.
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