7 Days Sri Lanka Tour: Dambulla, Kandy, Tea Hills & Wadduwa

After breakfast you leave Negombo and head inland, with Pinnawala about halfway to the Cultural Triangle. The orphanage was founded in 1975 on a coconut estate beside the Maha Oya river to look after elephants that had lost their mothers or been injured in the wild. You arrive in time to see the herd walk down the lane to the river, and it is a lively scene as the animals wade in and the calves squirt water over each other. Babies under three are still bottle-fed by keepers, which you can often watch from the viewing area. Give the visit about two hours.

From Pinnawala the drive continues for roughly two more hours through palm groves and then drier, flatter country. Sigiriya is the afternoon's destination, close to Dambulla. Climbing later in the day suits the rock, because the heat eases and the cliff face turns a warm orange.

The rock fortress was the palace of King Kashyapa in the 5th century. You enter through landscaped water gardens, then start up the stairs bolted to the rock. Halfway you reach a gallery of painted women, then a pair of huge stone paws at the base of the final stairway where a lion's head once framed the entrance. The summit is wide and open, with the foundations of rooms and a rock pool, and a long view of forest and lakes. Plan about two hours, take water and wear shoes with grip.

You then check in at your hotel near Dambulla, about thirty to forty minutes away, where you can dine at the hotel restaurant or at a place nearby. Tomorrow is a full day, so rest well.

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

Your second day in the dry zone begins in the countryside near Sigiriya, where a family welcomes you to their village. You ride a bullock cart along a dirt track beside paddy fields, with a farmer guiding the oxen, and then paddle across a small lake in a traditional outrigger canoe, which is surprisingly stable. Along the way you see a chena plot, a patch of forest cleared for seasonal crops such as chilli and millet.

Back at the house you join the cooking. Coconut is scraped and squeezed for milk, curries simmer over a wood fire and rice steams in clay pots, and you sit down to eat what you have helped prepare. It is an unhurried few hours and a good way to meet people outside the tourist routes.

In the afternoon you visit the cave temple at Dambulla, a short drive away. A flight of steps leads to a row of five caves under an enormous overhang, and the rock rises about 160 metres above the plains. Inside you find 153 Buddha statues, three royal figures and four deities, while painted scenes from the Buddha's life cover the ceilings. The complex has been a place of worship for over two thousand years, and UNESCO listed it in 1991. Take off your shoes, cover your knees and shoulders and expect warm stone underfoot.

Late in the day you travel to Minneriya for an open jeep safari, which is part of the programme. The park is built around an ancient reservoir, and in the drier months elephants gather along its shore in impressive numbers. A game drive lasts two to three hours, and we then return you to your hotel, where you can choose a dinner spot to your liking.

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

Today you leave the plains and climb gradually towards Kandy, a journey of roughly two and a half to three hours that is split by a stop in Matale. Hill gardens begin to appear and the air becomes noticeably softer.

At the spice garden, a guide walks you through terraces where cardamom, pepper, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and curry leaf grow side by side. You are encouraged to rub leaves and smell them, and you learn how the plants are harvested and prepared. Cardamom is a relative of ginger and likes the shade of tall trees, and the pods have to be picked by hand. Local farmers belong to a cooperative that sells their produce, and the garden also demonstrates herbal remedies used in Ayurvedic medicine. Buying is optional.

You arrive in Kandy and head to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, beside the lake. The story told here is that a tooth of the Buddha was carried to the island in the 4th century hidden in the hair of a princess, and for centuries kings kept it as a symbol of their right to rule. Today pilgrims bring lotus flowers and stand in line to glimpse the casket. Women and men alike should cover their knees, and shoes are left outside.

At five o'clock a Kandyan dance performance begins, lasting about an hour. Drummers set a rapid rhythm, dancers in elaborate headdresses leap and spin, and the show ends with fire-walking. After this you go to your hotel in Kandy, where you can dine at the hotel restaurant or ask your driver for a nearby suggestion.

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

Today you drive higher, into the heart of tea country. The road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya takes roughly three to four hours with stops, and the scenery gets steadily greener and cooler as the bends tighten.

Your first stop is a tea estate and factory. The central hills were turned over to tea by British planters in the 19th century, and the first plants are said to have been brought from China and tried out at the botanical gardens near Kandy. In the factory you see freshly picked leaves wither, roll, dry and get sorted by grade, and the warm, malty smell fills the building. The visit ends with a cup of Ceylon tea on a terrace overlooking the bushes, which is the best place to taste it.

Further up the road you pause at Ramboda Falls, a tall, tiered cascade that tumbles beside the highway. Nearby stands a bright temple to Hanuman, with an eighteen-foot statue of the monkey god. You can stretch your legs, take photographs and buy a snack from a roadside stall.

You reach Nuwara Eliya in the afternoon. At about 1,900 metres, it is the island's coolest town, known as Little England for its colonial-style cottages, gardens and lawns. A short tour takes in the central market, where mountain vegetables are heaped beside strawberries, and the lake and park. Evening temperatures fall quickly, so keep a jumper at hand. For dinner you can eat at your hotel or choose a nearby restaurant.

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

This is the longest driving day of the week, so you leave Nuwara Eliya early. The road drops through tea estates and cloud-wrapped valleys towards the western lowlands, and there is a lot to see on the way down.

The first highlight is St Clair's Falls, near the road between Talawakele and Hatton. It is one of the widest falls in the country, and locals sometimes call it the Little Niagara of Sri Lanka. The water spreads over a broad rocky ledge in two sections, set against green tea terraces, and the estate it runs through gave it its name. A viewpoint beside the road gives a clear look.

Soon after you see Devon Falls, a slender cascade on a tributary of the Kotmale river, named after a pioneering coffee planter. It sits at about 1,100 metres above sea level and is best seen early, before the afternoon mist closes in. Both waterfalls are at their strongest after rain.

From there the road leaves the hills and heads west, the air becomes warm and humid again, and you finally smell the sea. Wadduwa is a quiet beach town between Colombo and Kalutara. You check in at your hotel in the late afternoon, with time for a swim before dinner, and the evening is free to enjoy the sand and the sunset.

Allow a full day for the journey, and bring a book and some snacks for the road.

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

Wadduwa is only about an hour and a half from the airport, so you can enjoy a slow breakfast and a last swim. If your flight allows, your driver can take you south for the optional Madu River boat ride, where mangrove channels wind between small islands, past a cinnamon demonstration and a fish-spa platform. A turtle hatchery along the coast is another option. Please tell us your flight time early and we will plan accordingly.

Your driver collects you, helps with the luggage and takes you to the airport in good time for check-in.

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