Destinations

Nine islands in one

Few places on Earth pack this much variety into a drivable week — golden coasts, cloud forests, ancient citadels and big-cat country.

Explore by region

Seven regions, one island

Sri Lanka changes character roughly every two hours of driving. This is how we group it — and what we'd take you to see in each.

Choose a region

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. Climb it at opening, before the heat and the crowds find the staircase.
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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. The golden temple below is modern; everything worth the walk is above it.
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. Come at dusk, when white-clad pilgrims outnumber visitors.
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