Sri Lanka Travel Guide

Sri Lanka packs an improbable amount into an island you could drive across in a day. Beaches on three coasts, a hill country of tea estates and cold mornings, and a cluster of ruined capitals older than almost anything still standing in South Asia. For Indian travellers it is the easiest international trip going: short direct flights from half a dozen cities, a travel authorisation that is currently free, food you already know how to order, and prices that make a full week affordable.

Sri Lanka packs an unusual amount into an island you could drive across in a day. The Cultural Triangle in the centre holds Sigiriya, a palace built on top of a rock, the cave temples at Dambulla, and the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. South of that, the hill country around Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella is tea estates and cool mornings, joined by a train ride that is a highlight in its own right. Kandy also has the Temple of the Tooth, one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world. Yala, Udawalawe and Wilpattu are the national parks, and Yala has one of the densest leopard populations anywhere.

The coast is the third piece, and it runs on two opposite monsoons, which is the single most useful thing to know when booking. The south and west, around Galle, Unawatuna, Mirissa and Bentota, are at their best from December to March, with whale watching off Mirissa. The east, at Trincomalee and Arugam Bay, comes into season from May to September, so some beach is always open whatever month your leave falls in. Seven days covers two of the three regions comfortably, ten covers all of them. For Indian travellers it is the shortest international trip going, with direct flights from eight cities and barely over an hour in the air from Chennai.