Nine islands in one
Destinations
Golden coasts, cloud forest, ancient citadels and big-cat country — inside a drivable week.
Explore by region
Seven regions, one island
Sri Lanka changes character roughly every two hours of driving.
Rock fortresses, cave temples and the ruins of three ancient capitals.
5 places · 1 guide
Sigiriya
A fifth-century sky palace on a granite plug, reached past frescoed maidens and a mirror wall still glossy after fifteen hundred years.
Read the guide
Dambulla
Five caves under an overhanging rock, painted end to end and holding some 150 Buddha images — the finest surviving temple murals on the island.
Guide in progress
Polonnaruwa
The medieval capital, compact enough to see by bicycle: audience halls, a man-made sea, and the serene colossi of Gal Vihara cut straight from the granite face.
Guide in progress
Anuradhapura
The island's first great capital and still a living pilgrimage city, where the Sri Maha Bodhi has been tended by hand for more than two thousand years.
Guide in progress
Habarana
A crossroads village of tanks and scrub jungle that makes the most comfortable base in the Triangle — Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa and the elephant parks all inside an hour.
Guide in progress
Photography credits
- Dambulla Cave Temple, Cultural Triangle · কালো ভ্রমর · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Polonnaruwa, Cultural Triangle · Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ruwanweliseya, Anuradhapura · Thisaru Tharuka · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hurulu Eco Park, Habarana · Jakub Hałun · CC BY 4.0
Destination guides
Read before you go
The places we've written up properly — what to see, when to come, how long to give them.
Begin the journey
Can't choose? You don't have to.
Tell us what excites you most and we'll thread four or five of these into one route.
