Colombo, Sri Lanka · Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm (IST)
Cultural Triangle · East Coast · Hill Country · South Coast · Colombo
Seven nights from Sigiriya to Colombo, with the east coast at Trincomalee along the way.
Photo: Honeplus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
The route
One of our longer routes: Sigiriya and the Cultural Triangle, across to Trincomalee on the east coast, then back through Kandy, the tea country and Ella to Bentota and Colombo. It covers both sides of the island, so the best months depend on which coast you want most.
Stop 01 · 1 night
Photo: C.J.Hatton, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Why you go
The rock fortress is why people come, and it earns the early start: the frescoes, the mirror wall, and the gardens laid out below. Climb before eight, while the light is soft and the path is quiet. The rest of the day belongs to the villages and the tanks around it.
Drive on About 3 hours to Trincomalee
Read about The Cultural TriangleStop 02 · 1 night
Photo: THDBS, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Why you go
The east coast at its calmest: a deep natural harbour, the Koneswaram temple on the headland, and a fort that has been Portuguese, Dutch and British in turn. Pigeon Island is a short boat ride for snorkelling. The weather runs the other way here, so the town is quiet when the south is busy.
Drive on About 4.5 hours to Kandy
Read about The East CoastStop 03 · 1 night
Why you go
Kandy was the last royal capital, and it still behaves like one: the lake at the centre, the Temple of the Tooth on its edge, and hills on every side. Most routes stop for a night on the way to the tea country. Give it the morning, before the buses arrive.
Drive on About 3 hours to Nuwara Eliya
Read about Hill CountryStop 04 · 1 night
Why you go
A hill station built for the cool air: cold, wet, and more English-looking than anywhere else on the island. The tea estates begin at its edge. Sleep with a blanket, and keep a morning for a factory and a walk between the rows.
Drive on About 2 hours to Ella
Read about Hill CountryStop 05 · 1 night
Photo: Dr.S.Rajivraja, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Why you go
Ella sits in a gap in the hills, and the train from Nanu Oya leaves you a short walk from the guesthouses. The walks are short and the views are wide. It has become busy, which is worth knowing: start early, and walk past the first viewpoint.
Drive on About 5 hours to Bentota
Read about Hill CountryStop 06 · 1 night
Photo: BenjaminDev90, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Why you go
Bentota is the easiest beach on the route: a river on one side, the sea on the other, and a lagoon made for a boat before breakfast. The bay is sheltered and the water usually calm. It is a place to stop doing things, which is the point after the hills.
Drive on About 1.5 hours to Colombo
Read about The South CoastStop 07 · 1 night
Photo: Kapila Perera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Why you go
Colombo is where most routes begin and end, and it rewards a night more than an hour. The city is a set of neighbourhoods rather than a sight: Pettah for the markets, Fort for the old offices, Cinnamon Gardens for the shade. Eat lunch late and walk in the evening.
Drive on This is the last stop on the route.
Read about Colombo & the WestWhether it fits
When to travel
Sri Lanka has two monsoons, and they work on opposite sides of the island. The south-west monsoon brings the rain to the west, the south and the hill country; the north-east one brings it to the east coast and the north. The dry season is the other half of the year for each, so the south, west and hill country are at their best from December to April and the east coast and the north from May to September. A route that stays on one side has one window; a route that crosses the island has two.
Travelling outside those months does not close a route. It changes the days. On a coast in its wet season the rain tends to come in short, heavy bursts, often late in the afternoon or overnight, with hot, bright hours in between. The sea is rougher, some bays stop swimming, and boat trips and whale watching are the first things called off. In the hills the same weeks bring mist and low cloud, so a view that is clear at eight can be gone by ten, and the walks and the train are less certain. Hotels are usually cheaper and the sites quieter in the shoulder weeks either side of the window, and a route that crosses the island still has one coast in season.
On this route
Two coasts on one route, so two windows: December to April and May to September. The order puts Trincomalee early and the south coast at the end, which suits the south-west window best; in the east-coast window the beach at Trincomalee is the reward and the last days on the south coast are the trade.
The day-by-day itinerary is written once we know your dates and pace. The Stops above are the part we can promise before that conversation.
The same four things sit under every route we run, whatever the Duration or the Best months.
Other journeys
Hill country013 nights / 4 daysHill Country · South Coast
Three nights from Kandy to the coast — the temple and the lake, the tea country at Nuwara Eliya, then Bentota.
Best months December to April
Beach023 nights / 4 daysPhoto: Rambukwelladk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — cropped and resized.
Hill Country · South Coast · Colombo
Three nights from Kandy to Colombo by way of Bentota — hills first, then the beach, then the city.
Best months December to April
Hill country034 nights / 5 daysHill Country · South Coast · Colombo
Four nights across Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Bentota and Colombo — the hill country and the coast, with the city at the end.
Best months December to April
Plan with a local
Send the dates and we'll come back with a version that fits — hotels, pace, and the parts you'd rather leave out.
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