Not just the room,
the whole trip

The whole island in one arc: ancient rock fortresses and cave temples, leopards in Yala, tea country, and a slow finish on Mirissa's sand.

• —Climbing Sigiriya rock fortress at first light
• —Dambulla's painted caves, 150 Buddhas and counting
• —Village day: tractor, canoe and a home-cooked lunch
• —Jeep safari in Yala, leopard country
• —Tea tasting in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka's Little England
• —Three lazy days on Mirissa beach

World Heritage sites, elephant herds and the famous hill-country train. Marco Polo called this the finest island of its size in the world. He wasn't wrong.

• —Sigiriya and the jungle from 200 metres up
• —Minneriya safari, elephants by the herd
• —Bullock-cart village lunch and a lake canoe
• —The Temple of the Tooth and Kandy's dancers
• —The train through the tea to Nuwara Eliya
• —Releasing baby turtles at Koggala hatchery

Ancient cities and safaris first, then four nights on a Maldivian atoll an hour's flight away: culture and castaway in one trip.

• —Sigiriya, Kandy and a Yala safari in one sweep
• —The hill-country tea train
• —Seaplane arrival over the atolls
• —Four nights of reef snorkelling and sandbank picnics
• —One last sunset you'll measure others against