Morning
Land at CMB
Bandaranaike International at Katunayake. Negombo is the closest beach town to the airport, about twenty minutes north - skip Colombo on night one.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Jetwing Beach
Ethukale, Negombo. Sea-facing rooms a few steps off the sand, and a pool that is the whole point after a long haul.
Hamilton Canal by tuk-tuk
A Dutch-era waterway finished under the British to move cinnamon down to Colombo. The towpath runs past lagoon fishing shacks and stilt nets.
St Mary's Church, Negombo
Grand Street. One of the island's largest Catholic churches - the painted ceiling panels are the reason to step in out of the heat.
Evening
Sunset on Negombo Beach
The west coast sits in its dry season in February, so the sunsets are reliable. Walk north from Ethukale past the outrigger boats.
Dinner at Jetwing Beach
Ethukale. Ask for the rice and curry spread rather than the international buffet - it is the better introduction to the trip.
Morning
Lellama fish market
On the Negombo lagoon front, about 5 km from Ethukale. The boats land at first light; by nine there is nothing but drying racks.
Drive to the Cultural Triangle
Negombo to Dambulla, roughly 150 km on the A6 through Kurunegala. Allow four hours - it is single carriageway almost the whole way.
Afternoon / Day
Dambulla Cave Temple
Five caves cut into a rock 160 m above the plain, holding 153 Buddha statues and 2,100 sq m of murals. Fifteen minutes of steps, then barefoot.
Check in: Heritance Kandalama
Kandalama, Dambulla. Geoffrey Bawa's 1994 masterpiece, grown into a cliff above the tank on a 211-acre forest reserve.
Evening
Kandalama tank at dusk
The hotel terrace looks straight down the reservoir. Cormorants and egrets come in to roost and Sigiriya sits on the skyline.
Dinner at Heritance Kandalama
Kandalama. The rice and curry counter rotates village dishes nightly - ask which jackfruit or breadfruit curry is on.
Morning
Sigiriya Rock at opening
Be at the gate when it opens. The 180 m climb passes the fresco gallery, the Mirror Wall and the lion's paws - the Central Cultural Fund is the authority that ticketing runs through.
Sigiriya Museum
At the west entrance and included in the rock ticket. The model of the water gardens finally explains what you just walked through.
Breakfast back at Kandalama
Kandalama, twenty minutes from the rock. String hoppers, pol sambol and a lot of coffee after a 5 AM start.
Afternoon / Day
Drive to Polonnaruwa
About 60 km east on the A11, an hour. Hire a bicycle at the entrance - the ruins are spread over several kilometres of shaded lanes.
The Quadrangle and the Vatadage
Polonnaruwa. The densest cluster in the ancient city - the circular Vatadage relic house, the Hatadage and the Thuparama image house.
Gal Vihara
North end of the Polonnaruwa site. Four Buddha figures cut from a single granite face, the reclining one 14 m long. Shoes and hats off.
Evening
Dinner at Heritance Kandalama
Kandalama. Back west by dark after the hour's drive; the infinity pool stays floodlit late if the legs need it.
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Morning
Drive south to Kandy
About 90 km on the A9 through Matale, three hours with a stop. The road climbs steadily out of the dry zone into tea and spice.
Aluvihare Rock Temple, Matale
On the A9 just north of Matale. The cave temple where the Pali Canon was first committed to ola-leaf manuscript in the 1st century BC.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Amaya Hills
Heerassagala, about 6 km above Kandy. Hillside resort looking out over forested ridges; the town is a ten-minute drive back down.
Lunch at Amaya Hills
Heerassagala. Eat before heading down - the temple ceremony runs into the evening and Kandy traffic crawls at dusk.
Kandy Lake loop
The artificial lake the last king of Kandy made in the middle of town. The path round it is flat, about 3 km, and shaded most of the way.
Evening
Evening thevava at the Temple of the Tooth
Sri Dalada Maligawa. The drummers open the relic chamber around 6:30 PM. Shoulders and knees covered, shoes off, airport-style security at the gate.
Dinner at Amaya Hills
Heerassagala. Late by the time you climb back up; the terrace looks out over the lit valley.
Morning
Breakfast at Amaya Hills
Heerassagala. Go early - Peradeniya is best before the coach parties arrive mid-morning.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya
5 km west of Kandy. 147 acres and over 4,000 species; the orchid house and the cannonball tree planted by George V and Queen Mary in 1901.
Afternoon / Day
Picnic lunch on the Great Lawn
Peradeniya. Buy short eats at the gate and eat under the Javan fig on the Great Lawn rather than losing an hour leaving the gardens.
Udawattakele Forest Reserve
Just north of the Temple of the Tooth. Royal forest, a reserve since 1856 - shaded loop trails, macaques and giant squirrels ten minutes from the lake.
Kandy Municipal Central Market
Off Station Road. Produce downstairs; the upper floor is where the Ceylon tea, cinnamon quills and slabs of kithul jaggery are sold.
Evening
Kandyan dance and drumming
Several halls near the lake run a nightly hour of Kandyan drumming, mask dance and fire-walking from about 5 PM. Tickets are sold at the door.
Dinner at Amaya Hills
Heerassagala. Last night before the train - pack a jumper on top, the hill country drops to single figures at night.
Morning
Early breakfast at Amaya Hills
Heerassagala. Be at Kandy station thirty minutes before departure - the reserved carriages fill from the front and the platform is chaos.
Train to Nanu Oya on the Kandy-Ella line
Kandy station to Nanu Oya, roughly four hours of tea slopes, tunnels and open doorways. Reserve seats as far ahead as the booking system allows, and sit on the right.
Afternoon / Day
Nanu Oya up to Nuwara Eliya
The station sits 8 km below the town. Tuk-tuks and hotel cars wait platform-side; about twenty minutes uphill.
Check in: Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel Road, Nuwara Eliya. The colonial pile in the middle of town at 1,868 m - rooms have heaters for a reason.
Mini tea factory tour at Heritance Tea Factory
Kandapola, thirty minutes above town at over 2,000 m. A restored 19th-century factory; the tour walks the withering lofts and the rollers.
High tea on the Grand Veranda
Grand Hotel Road. The hotel's long-running high tea, taken on the veranda over the lawn. Order the estate tea, not the pot of Earl Grey.
Evening
Dinner at Barnes Restaurant
Inside the Grand Hotel. Buffet with a proper Sri Lankan corner, served under the old dark panelling.
Morning
Breakfast at the Grand Hotel
Grand Hotel Road. Eat early - it is twenty minutes back down to Nanu Oya and the platform crowds well before departure.
Train to Ella from Nanu Oya
The famous stretch of the Kandy-Ella line: Ambewela, Pattipola - the highest station on the network - then Ohiya, Haputale and Bandarawela.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Nine Skies
Demodera Estate, twenty minutes from Ella station. A five-bedroom tea bungalow in the hills above Ella - book a room or take the whole house.
Lunch at Nine Skies
Demodera Estate. Meals are cooked to order at the bungalow - ask for the estate curry lunch out on the veranda.
Nine Arch Bridge
Between Ella and Demodara. 91 m long and 24 m high, built from stone, brick and cement with no steel in it. Time it for a crossing.
Evening
Little Adam's Peak at sunset
Signposted off the Passara Road east of Ella. Forty minutes up, mostly steps, for the view straight down Ella Gap to the plains.
Dinner at Nine Skies
Demodera Estate. Dinner on the lawn if the mist holds off; the estate is dark enough for a real night sky.
Morning
Ravana Falls
On the A23 about 6 km below Ella, straight off the roadside. Go before nine - the coaches stop here from mid-morning and the layby jams.
Down Ella Gap to Tissamaharama
The A23 drops a thousand metres to Wellawaya, then the A2 runs south. About 110 km and three hours to the Yala side.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Cinnamon Wild Yala
Kirinda, on the park boundary near Tissamaharama. Chalets in scrub jungle - wild boar and peafowl wander the paths in daylight.
Tissa Wewa at dusk
The ancient tank in Tissamaharama, twenty minutes from Kirinda. Pelicans, painted storks and open-billed storks fill the dead trees at the water line.
Evening
Dinner at Cinnamon Wild Yala
Kirinda. Eat early - the safari leaves before dawn. Staff walk guests back to the chalets after dark for a reason.
Pack for the dawn safari
Layers for the cold first hour, muted colours, the long lens and a hat. Leave the hotel by 5:15 to be at the Palatupana gate for opening.
Morning
Dawn game drive, Yala Block 1
Enter at Palatupana. Block 1 covers 14,101 hectares and holds one of the highest leopard densities anywhere; Leopard Trails run drives with their own naturalists.
Breakfast back at Cinnamon Wild
Kirinda. Back around ten after four hours out. Eat, swim off the dust, then check out.
Afternoon / Day
Drive west along the south coast
The A2 through Hambantota and Matara to Galle, roughly 200 km and three and a half hours. The last stretch runs right beside the sea.
Check in: Fort Bazaar
26 Church Street, Galle Fort. A merchant townhouse behind the ramparts; cars stop at the gate, so travel light on the last leg.
Evening
Walk the Galle Fort ramparts
The Dutch rebuilt the Portuguese fort from 1649 with fourteen bastions over 52 hectares. Circle from the Moon Bastion round to the lighthouse.
Dinner at Church Street Social
26 Church Street, inside Fort Bazaar. Courtyard tables and a bar that runs late, on produce from southern farms and boats.
Galle Fort, Then Home
Morning
Breakfast at Fort Bazaar
26 Church Street. Eat in the courtyard before the fort heats up and the day-trip vans arrive from Colombo.
Dutch Reformed Church
Church Street, opposite the Amangalla. The floor is paved with grave slabs lifted from the old Dutch churchyard; the carved pulpit is the other draw.
Galle Lighthouse and Point Utrecht
South-east corner of the fort. The British put the present tower up on the Point Utrecht bastion, and the small beach below it is the only swimming spot inside the walls.
Afternoon / Day
Southern Expressway to Colombo
Join the E01 at Pinnaduwa outside Galle. About two hours to Colombo, then the E03 straight out to the airport.
Late lunch at Ministry of Crab
Old Dutch Hospital, Colombo Fort, in a 400-year-old Dutch building. Book ahead and order the pepper crab by weight.
Evening
Fly out of CMB
Bandaranaike International at Katunayake, about forty minutes north of Colombo on the E03. Long-haul departures cluster late evening.
