10 Days Sri Lanka Tour: Yala Safari & Mirissa Whale Watching – 4-Star Hotels

Breakfast is early, and by the time most visitors arrive you are already on the stairs. Sigiriya lies 30 to 40 minutes from Dambulla and rewards the early start with softer light and cooler air.

The story behind the rock is a royal one. In the fifth century King Kashyapa chose this isolated mass of stone, rising roughly 200 m above the forest, as a palace and refuge. Visiting it today means moving through his design in order. You cross the symmetrical gardens first, then reach the boulders and the winding staircases, where the polished Mirror Wall, once reflective enough for the king to admire himself, runs along the cliff. A small spiral stair leads to the frescoes, a gallery of painted women in rich colours, sheltered from the weather in a hollow of the rock. Higher still, the Lion's Paws mark the former mouth of a giant lion gateway. The final stretch is around 1,200 steps in all, ending at the ruins of the royal palace and a wide view over the plains. Local people call the site the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Midday is for the hotel, a swim and a late lunch. Climbers deserve a long rest.

As the sun drops you drive to Minneriya, whose reservoir dates back to the third century and which draws wild elephants to its shrinking shoreline in the dry season. Herds of several hundred have been counted there in good years, with calves sheltering between their mothers. Your open jeep stays at a respectful distance and the light turns golden. Entry and jeep fees are paid separately.

You return after dark, when you can choose between the hotel restaurant and a nearby place for dinner.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

You travel to Kandy today, but not before a slow, hands-on morning in a farming village close to Sigiriya. This is where the great rock stops being a monument and becomes a neighbour.

It begins among rice paddies, from where you travel by bullock cart along narrow lanes. At the village lake you climb into an outrigger canoe, a simple dug-out kind of boat, for a short, quiet paddle among the lilies. A farmer shows you a chena, a seasonal forest-edge field cleared and planted in rotation, and talks about how the village lives from the land. Then you step into a family home to watch a cooking demonstration: coconut scraped by hand, curries simmered over a wood fire. You sit down and eat what was cooked, a proper rice and curry lunch with plenty of small dishes.

After lunch the road leads south for about two and a half to three hours in total, with a stop in Matale. The spice gardens here lie some 25 km from Kandy, and they are set up as a learning stop as much as a shop. You are shown cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, cloves and vanilla growing, how they are harvested and dried, and what role they play in traditional herbal medicine. A farmers' cooperative runs the processing, so what you buy goes some way towards fair prices, and there is no obligation.

You arrive in Kandy by early evening and settle into your hotel for two nights.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

The last royal capital of the Sinhalese kings, Kandy sits in the hills around a quiet lake, and it is worth a whole day. You start at a gem museum and workshop, where a replica gem mine shows how stones are dug from the ground, and a short film follows rough pieces through cutting and setting into jewellery. Sri Lanka has been known for sapphires since ancient times. You can look as long as you like and leave with nothing.

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya fill the afternoon. About 5 km from the city and some 460 m above sea level, the gardens lie in a loop of the Mahaweli river, and cover 147 acres. More than 4,000 species grow here, with an orchid house, a spice section and wide avenues of towering palms. The history goes back to 1371, when a king held court nearby, and the layout of the present garden was begun in 1821. During the Second World War the grounds hosted an Allied headquarters for Asia. Allow a couple of hours at an easy pace.

In the late afternoon you visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. A relic of the Buddha is said to have reached Sri Lanka in the fourth century hidden in a princess's hair, and it remains the most cherished object in the country's Buddhist life. Shoes come off, shoulders and knees stay covered, and offerings of lotus flowers are normal.

The evening ends with a Kandyan dance performance, with drummers in tall headdresses, acrobatic dancers and a fire-walking finale.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

Climbing out of Kandy, the road enters tea country, and the air cools with every bend. The drive to Nuwara Eliya takes about three to four hours without stops, though today you will make several.

A visit to a tea estate and factory comes first. Ceylon tea is a colonial invention in the best and worst senses: the British saw that the central highlands suited the crop, converted large areas to plantation, and spread the industry from Kandy to places like Hatton and Bandarawela. The first bush came from China. Inside the factory, the sequence is plucking, withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and grading, and you smell each stage. Finally you sit with a cup of freshly made tea and look down over the terraces.

Further up, Ramboda Falls drops in several tiers beside the highway, and nearby a colourful Hindu shrine to Hanuman has a statue about 18 feet tall. Both stops are brief and make good places to stretch.

Nuwara Eliya, at about 1,900 m, is a hill station with the flavour of an English village: lawns, flower beds and old bungalows. If you arrive with time to spare you can walk by Gregory Lake, stroll Victoria Park or visit the market. The Hakgala Botanical Gardens, with their roses, tree ferns and orchids, and the Seetha Amman Temple, linked to the Ramayana epic, lie close by and can be added as options. Nights here are cold. A warm layer is not optional, and a hot dinner, whether at the hotel restaurant or a nearby place, will feel welcome.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

Today is a journey day with two halves. In the first, your driver delivers you to Nanu Oya station, the stop for Nuwara Eliya, and you board one of the great train rides of Asia while the vehicle drives ahead to meet you at Ella.

The railway here was built by the British in 1864, and was laid to bring tea and coffee down from the estates to the ports. Today it is a favourite of travellers, as the train rocks slowly through tea fields, forest cuttings, tunnels and past waterfalls, for something like three to four hours. Windows and doorways are open, so you can lean out for photographs, though please be careful. Seats are basic and carriages can be full, and your guide takes care of tickets and timings.

In Ella the first stop is the Nine Arch Bridge at Demodara. A graceful viaduct of nine stone arches, it was completed in 1921 from stone blocks and cement alone, and curves across a gully of jungle. Time your arrival with a train, and you see it cross in a flash of blue against the green. A short wooded walk leads to the best viewpoint.

Ravana Falls follows, a wide waterfall right beside the road, about 82 feet high. According to local legend it is linked with King Ravana. It is at its fullest after rain.

The road then drops towards the plains, and the drive to Tissamaharama takes roughly two hours. Dinner and an early bedtime follow, before tomorrow's dawn safari.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

Wake in the dark. By about five you are on the road with a breakfast pack, and the first light finds you inside Yala, where scrub forest, rocky outcrops and open waterholes make good ground for a cat that hunts at dawn.

Yala is Sri Lanka's most visited wildlife park, and it carries one of the highest leopard densities recorded anywhere. A 4x4 jeep and a tracker take you along sandy tracks for roughly three hours. Your tracker reads alarm calls from deer and monkeys and checks the branches of shady trees. Sightings of a leopard are possible, and many mornings reward the patient, but nobody can promise one. Meanwhile elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, peacocks and many birds are regular companions. Dress in neutral colours, keep your voice low and wear a hat, because the sun grows strong by the end of the drive.

By late morning you are back at the hotel for a second breakfast and a long rest. The afternoon is open. You might swim, sleep, or take an evening trip to Kataragama, a pilgrimage town revered by Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims, where a daily puja takes place at the Kataragama Devale beside the Menik Ganga river. This outing is optional. Visitors are expected to be modest in dress and quiet in the temple precincts.

Park and jeep fees are paid separately, and your guide arranges them. Dinner is your own choice, with the hotel restaurant the simplest option, and tomorrow's drive is long, so an early night helps.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

The day belongs to the road west. Tissamaharama to Galle is about three hours, and when you arrive the sea is on your left and an old walled town on your right.

Galle Fort was begun by the Portuguese in 1588 and then greatly extended by the Dutch from 1649 onwards, with massive ramparts that still stand. The Dutch Reformed Church, a white lighthouse and a clock tower all sit within the walls, and the lanes between them are full of galleries, jewellers, boutiques and cafes. In past centuries the harbour traded spices, and merchants of many nations walked these streets. UNESCO protects the fort today. The best plan is to climb onto the walls and follow them around the point at a slow pace, letting the sea breeze do its work. Use sunscreen and a hat, as the stone gives little shade.

After lunch in a fort cafe, you continue along the coastal road towards Mirissa, about 45 minutes away. This stretch is among the prettiest on the island, passing palm-fringed beaches, surf breaks, fishermen on stilts and small bays where you can stop for a swim or a fresh king coconut. Your driver is happy to pull over wherever something looks good.

You arrive at your beach hotel in Mirissa in time to see the sun set over the water, and the hotel restaurant or a seafront place nearby is an easy choice for dinner.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

Nothing is fixed today, and that is the point. Mirissa is a curve of golden sand on the south coast, and after a week of driving it makes a restful base.

If you travel between roughly November and April, this is the day for whale watching. Boats leave early in the morning from the small harbour, and the trip lasts several hours, heading out to deep water where the sea floor drops away. Blue whales, the largest animals on earth, pass offshore, as do sperm whales, and dolphins are seen on many trips. There is never a promise of a sighting, since these are wild animals, and the swell can be lively, so eat lightly and take tablets if you feel seasick. The boat trip is an optional extra paid on the spot, and your hotel or driver can book it for you. Sit on the upper deck for the best view and bring a hat, sunscreen and a windproof layer.

If the season is closed or you prefer to stay on land, the bay offers plenty. Swim in the morning, walk along the sand to the quieter end, drink a fresh coconut and read. Nearby Weligama has a wide, gentle bay popular with beginner surfers, and a lesson is easy to arrange. Late afternoon belongs to the sunset, and a dinner of your choice, at the hotel restaurant or a seafront place, finishes the day.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide

After breakfast you check out and your driver takes the coast road north via Bentota to the airport. Allow about four hours for the whole drive, and more if you want a stop along the way.

We plan the departure around your flight time, leaving a generous margin, and your driver helps with luggage at the terminal. It has been a pleasure to guide you through the island. Thank you for travelling with Volata Travels.

Transport: Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver-guide