14-Day Private Sri Lanka Tour: Sigiriya, Ella Train & Yala Safari

Your driver meets you inside the arrivals hall with a name board bearing your name, then a twenty-minute run to the hotel — deliberately no long drive on arrival day. Negombo Lagoon has an easy walk past the outrigger canoes and the drying racks as the day's catch comes in. Your driver stays with you throughout

Five caves cut into a granite overhang: 150 Buddha images and ceilings painted with two millennia of murals. Shoes off at the gate, socks help on hot paving, shoulders and knees covered.

You eat what you cook — this is dinner, and good company on your first night inland.

The 12th-century capital, entered before the heat with a professional site guide. Royal Palace, the Quadrangle, and Gal Vihara — four colossal Buddhas carved from a single granite wall. The toque macaques here have been studied for fifty years.

Herbal oil massage or a full body treatment at a proper clinic, not a spa menu. Female or Male therapist arranged as standard

First entry at the gate with a site guide. 1,200 steps past the mirror wall and the frescoes to a palace on the summit — about two hours up and down, and blessedly cool at that hour.

n front of you

Forty to two hundred elephants gather at the tank by dusk. If the herds have moved to Kaudulla that week your driver takes you there instead.

The relic chamber opens to drumming and horns, with pilgrims carrying lotus buds. Loud, crowded and the most alive place in Kandy. Visited with a site guide who can read the ritual for you

Drums, masks and a fire-walking finish

A spiralling white tower on a peak above Gampola, with a 360-degree view over the hill country. The last stretch of stair is narrow and open to the drop — worth knowing before you start.

147 acres, a giant bamboo grove, an avenue of royal palms and a colony of flying foxes overhead. Flat, shaded and the easiest walking of the whole trip

A 109-metre fall right beside the road, worth the twenty-minute stop.

Into the field with the plucking gang, basket strapped on. Two leaves and a bud — they will correct you, kindly, several times. This is a working estate, not a demonstration line.

The red-brick Old Post Office, Victoria Park and a turn around Gregory Lake as the mist comes down.

Three and a half hours through tea estates, nine tunnels and a run of viaducts, with the hill country falling away below. A reserved seat booked the moment they release, so you have a window rather than a doorway. Your driver takes the car round by road and meets you on the platform.

One long street of cafés and craft shops, busy and well lit. Dinner wherever smells right.

A famous stone railway bridge in the jungle, built in the colonial era without steel. We time the visit so you can see a train cross.

An easy 45-minute walk up a path to a viewpoint surrounded by tea fields and mountains. Best in the morning before it gets hot.

An afternoon jeep safari in Yala, known for leopards (sightings not guaranteed). You may also see elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, buffalo, and many peacocks.

A calm, shallow bay that is good for swimming. Relax on the beach for the afternoon.

A famous viewpoint with palm trees on a cliff over the sea, a short walk from the beach.

We use a licensed operator that keeps a safe distance from the animals.

Walk the old Dutch fort walls, see the lighthouse, and explore streets of colonial houses, cafés, and shops. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Learn how turtle eggs are protected and see baby turtles. If the timing is right, you can watch a release at sunset.

See the traditional stilt fishermen at sunset, one of Sri Lanka's most photographed scenes.

A driving tour of Colombo: Galle Face, the Fort area, Independence Square, the Old Parliament, and the busy streets of Pettah.

A working Buddhist temple beside Beira Lake, with a shrine hall, a Bodhi tree, and a museum of gifts from pilgrims. Please cover shoulders and knees.

End the day on the seafront with local street food like isso wade (prawn fritters) as the sun sets.

Free morning for shopping or relaxing, then a transfer to the airport (about 45 minutes) with plenty of time for check-in.