11 Days Sri Lanka: Habarana, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya & Wadduwa

After breakfast you leave the coast and head inland towards the Cultural Triangle. The whole journey to Habarana is long, roughly three and a half to four hours of driving from Negombo, so the day is organised around two substantial stops that break it into comfortable pieces.

The first is Pinnawala, about an hour and a half from Colombo on the road to Kandy. The orphanage was set up in 1975 by the Wildlife Department on a coconut estate of around twenty-five acres beside the Maha Oya river, to look after elephants found orphaned or injured in the forest. The aim is to give them something close to natural life, with a couple of exceptions: the herd is walked to the river for a bath twice a day, and calves under three years old are still bottle-fed by keepers and volunteers. Time your visit for the river walk, when the whole herd ambles down the lane and you watch from the bank. Bring a hat and some water.

Further on, at Dambulla, a flight of stone steps leads up to a Buddhist cave complex that is the largest and best preserved in the country. Five caves lie beneath an enormous overhanging rock that towers about 160 metres above the plains. Inside, you find 153 Buddha statues, three royal figures and four statues of gods, with painted scenes from the Buddha's life crowding the ceilings. UNESCO listed the site in 1991. Cover your knees and shoulders, and expect to leave your shoes at the entrance. An hour or so is enough.

By late afternoon you reach Habarana, a village surrounded by forest and lakes, and settle into the hotel that will be your base for three nights. Dinner is your choice, with the hotel restaurant the simplest option, and you can sleep soundly knowing you will not pack again tomorrow.

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

Sigiriya is only about 25 minutes from Habarana, so you can leave right after breakfast and reach the path before the sun is high. Local people sometimes call the fortress the Eighth Wonder of the World, and it is among the most visited sights in Sri Lanka, which is another reason for an early start.

The way up begins with the Water Gardens and then follows the Mirror Wall to the Lion's Paws gateway, where a steep stairway begins. Roughly 1,200 steps take you to the ruins of the royal palace on a summit about 200 metres above the forest. In the fifth century King Kashyapa chose this rock for his capital, and your guide's account of his short, dramatic reign makes the stone foundations much easier to picture. The view over the treetops is wide and green. Wear shoes with a good grip, carry water and go at whatever speed suits you. If the heat or the stairs are too much, the gardens and lower terraces are rewarding on their own.

Later in the day you swap stone for countryside with an outing to a farming village beneath Sigiriya. You glide past paddy fields in a bullock cart, paddle across the village lake in a traditional outrigger canoe and visit a plot where chena, the old slash-and-burn style of cultivation, is still practised. A family then shows you how rice and curry are cooked over a wood fire in a village kitchen, and you sit down to eat what you have watched being prepared. It is a gentle contrast to the morning's climb, and a chance to talk with the people who live here.

You return to Habarana before dark for a shower and dinner, either at your hotel or at a nearby restaurant.

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

Nothing is scheduled until the afternoon, so sleep a little longer and treat the morning as your own. Your hotel sits among forest and lakes, which makes the grounds a pleasant place for a walk, and birds are easy to spot early in the day. Others simply read by the pool and let the previous days sink in. This free morning is built into the route on purpose, since three days of ruins and early starts can feel like a lot.

After lunch, a jeep collects you for the late-afternoon drive to the Minneriya reserve, set around a reservoir whose history goes back to the third century AD. During the drier months the water level falls and wild elephants come down to the exposed shore to graze and drink. The event is known as the Gathering, and it is at its largest in roughly the drier months of June to September and into October, when hundreds of elephants may be in the park. Families with young calves are a common sight, and the low light is excellent for photographs. Later in the year the herds often shift to the neighbouring Kaudulla park, and your driver-guide will choose whichever is better on the day.

The drive lasts two to three hours in an open 4x4. Bring a hat, a light long-sleeved top against dust and insects, and binoculars if you own them. No sighting is promised with wild animals, but elephants are seen here very often. Park and jeep fees are paid separately on the day. You return to Habarana after sunset, with the hotel restaurant or a nearby place to choose for dinner.

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

Today you say goodbye to Habarana and travel south into the hills, a drive of roughly three hours without stops. The first break comes at Matale, about 25 km before Kandy, where the spice gardens are among the best on the island. Guides walk you through beds of cinnamon, pepper, vanilla, cardamom and cloves, rubbing leaves and bark so you can smell each one, and they explain which plants go into Ayurvedic remedies. Local growers work together as a cooperative to secure fair prices, and you can buy spices and oils if you wish, with no pressure.

You reach Kandy in the afternoon, check in and rest before the evening programme. Kandy is the last royal capital of the Sinhalese kings and sits around a small lake in the hills. Its holiest site is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. According to tradition, the Buddha's tooth was carried to Sri Lanka in the fourth century hidden in the hair of an Indian princess, and it has been revered ever since as the island's most prized possession. Visitors queue in the evening to see the chamber while drums beat. Dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and leave your shoes at the door.

A traditional dance performance runs for about an hour from five o'clock. Drummers, acrobats and dancers in large headdresses fill the stage, and the finale usually involves fire-walking and fire-eating. For dinner, the hotel restaurant is the easy option, and your driver can suggest somewhere nearby if you prefer. Kandy stays cooler than the lowlands in the evening, so a light layer is useful.

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

With no long drive today, you can enjoy Kandy at an easy pace. Begin with a gem museum, where a reconstructed mine and a short film show how sapphires and other stones are dug out of the ground, cut, polished and set into gold, silver or platinum. Sri Lanka has been known for its gems since ancient times, and Ceylon sapphires remain the most famous. A showroom is attached, but you are free to look around without buying anything.

Later, drive about five kilometres west of the city to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, the oldest formal gardens in the country. They sit at about 460 metres above sea level in a bend of the Mahaweli river and cover roughly 147 acres, with more than four thousand plant species. Highlights include the orchid house, the spice and medicinal plants and the palm collection, along with the long avenues framed by giant trees. Court was kept near this spot as far back as the fourteenth century. The gardens were laid out as a botanic institution in the early 1800s, and it was here that the first tea plant brought from China was planted. During the Second World War the grounds even served as an Allied headquarters for the region.

Count on a relaxed couple of hours, with a hat and comfortable shoes. The evening is free. Many guests stroll beside Kandy lake, browse the shops or simply rest before an evening meal at the hotel restaurant or a restaurant in town. A second night in Kandy means you do not have to repack, and that alone feels like a small luxury at this point in the trip.

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

Today you climb into the hills on one of Sri Lanka's most scenic drives. Kandy to Nuwara Eliya takes three to four hours by road, and the stops are what make the day. The central province is where Ceylon tea is grown. The British realised during colonial times that its climate suited the crop, and tea went on to become one of the island's main sources of income. After breakfast you visit a working estate to walk between the bushes and follow the leaf through the factory, from withering and rolling to drying and grading. Fresh leaf becomes finished tea in about a day. The tour ends with a tasting of the freshly made brew, usually with a view over the terraces.

Further up, you pause at Ramboda Falls, a tall tiered waterfall right beside the road. Close to it, a Hindu temple is dedicated to Hanuman, the monkey god of the Ramayana epic. Inside stands an 18-foot statue, said to be the tallest of Hanuman in the country, built by a mission trust. Both stops are brief, but they give the drive rhythm.

Nuwara Eliya sits at about 1,900 metres and is nicknamed Little England for its colonial bungalows, clipped lawns and flower beds. Take a short drive around the town and a look at the market in the afternoon. If time and weather allow, the Hakgala Botanical Gardens, known for roses and tree ferns, and the colourful Seetha Amman Temple, linked to the Ramayana, are both nearby. Bring a jumper, because evenings here can feel properly cold, and a fire or hot soup after dinner is very welcome.

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

This is one of the longer driving days of the trip, so breakfast is early and the plan is simple: leave the mountains, enjoy two waterfalls and arrive at the sea. The road drops through tea estates and small hill towns, and the air becomes warmer and more humid with every bend.

The first waterfall is St Clair's, on the road between Hatton and Talawakele and often described as the Little Niagara of Sri Lanka. It is one of the widest falls on the island, and its water spreads across a rock face above neat green tea bushes. It takes its name from the estate it flows through. A few minutes further, Devon Falls plunges down craggy rock at an altitude of around 1,159 metres. It is sometimes called the Veil of the Valley and was named after a British coffee planter. Both are best after rain, and each needs only a short stop and a few photographs.

Beyond the hills, the landscape flattens and the vegetation turns tropical, with coconut palms and rice fields beside the road. Your driver-guide picks a lunch stop that suits the day. You reach your beach hotel in Wadduwa in the evening, a quiet and uncrowded town between Colombo and Kalutara. There is just time for a swim or a barefoot walk on the sand, and a dinner by the sea is yours to choose, at the hotel or a seaside restaurant. After a long day, an unhurried evening is exactly the point.

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

Begin with a slow breakfast, then take a day out along the coast south of your hotel. Bentota lies at the mouth of its river, with a broad beach and calm water that is popular for kayaking, jet-skis and banana-boat rides. Those are optional and paid for on the spot. The town also has a long tradition of Ayurveda, and you can watch the coast's rhythm change from lively to idle along the river bank.

In the evening you board a boat on the Madu River. The estuary holds around sixty-four islands, some of them inhabited, and a wetland of about 915 hectares fed by seven tributaries, protected as a sanctuary since 2006. The boat slips between mangrove roots, and birdlife is often seen along the banks. Stops usually include a cinnamon-peeling demonstration, a small temple island and a platform where tiny fish nibble at your feet. It tickles at first and then feels oddly pleasant.

The last visit is the turtle hatchery at Kosgoda, where five species of sea turtle come ashore to nest. Staff guard the eggs until they hatch, look after injured turtles and release the hatchlings into the sea at dusk. With luck your visit lines up with a release, though timing varies. Wear light clothes, bring sun cream and keep a little cash for tips. Then return to Wadduwa, where a dinner of your choice at the hotel restaurant or a seaside place and an easy night await.

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

Today there is no programme and no alarm. After nine days of temples, rock stairs, jeeps and hairpin bends, the day is simply yours, and there is nothing to catch up on. Start slowly with a late breakfast, then decide as you go. Swim, read, nap or walk the long beach at sunrise or sunset, when the light is soft and the sand is cooler underfoot.

If the sea looks rough, which can happen in the monsoon months, use the hotel pool instead and swim in the ocean only where the staff say it is safe. Many beach hotels offer massages and Ayurvedic treatments, which you can usually book on the spot if you fancy one. After the long drives of the past week, a massage is a popular choice. Walkers can follow the shoreline for a surprisingly long way, watching fishermen and the odd cricket match on the sand.

If you would like to see a little more of the coast, mention it to your driver-guide the evening before and he can suggest an easy half-day outing. Beruwala's harbour and lighthouse or the Kalutara stupa are within reach, though neither is part of the programme. Otherwise, this is the moment to do nothing at all, which is often the best part of a long trip. Pack your bags in the evening so the last morning stays calm. Dinner is your own choice this evening, and the hotel restaurant makes it simple.

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

After breakfast you check out and drive towards Colombo and the airport, roughly an hour and a half from Wadduwa to the airport. If your flight leaves in the evening, the morning can become a short city tour. Typical stops are Galle Face Green beside the sea, the Fort district, the Viharamahadevi Park, the city museum, the old Parliament building, Independence Hall and the towers of the World Trade Center, along with a few Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian places of worship. There is also time for souvenir shopping if you wish.

Your driver-guide will tell you how much time you have and will take you to the airport with a comfortable margin before check-in. A late flight allows a longer visit, and an early flight means a direct transfer.

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