CLASSIC SRI LANKA

Upon arrival in Sri Lanka’s capital, you will be met and transferred to The Wallawwa, a luxurious Dutch warehouse-style hotel just a few miles from the airport. You’ll also be given a welcome pack that includes a mobile phone, so you can contact your driver whenever you need.

Stay: One night in a garden suite at The Wallawwa – including breakfast

This morning you’ll make the four-and-a-half-hour journey into the Cultural Triangle. Here you’ll be staying in a boutique hotel that pays tribute to the ancient water gardens that once surrounded the Sigiriya rock fortress.

The following day sees you climbing to the top of this astonishing royal citadel. Sigiriya is a rock fortress of unusual beauty, rising 200 metres above the jungle on the monumental Lion Rock. On the way up, you’ll pass the frescoes of the ‘Heavenly Maidens’, and at the top you’ll find the remains of the palace as well as sensational panoramic views.

You’ll have the rest of the day at your leisure to either relax or explore your surroundings further. You might like to make the drive over to Polonanruwa – a journey of about 1.5 hours one way. The second capital of Sri Lanka, Polananruwa was built in the 11th and 12th centuries AD, and is now a World Heritage Site. If you have a love for rice and curry, there is a great local restaurant here where you can stop for lunch.

Stay: Two nights in a Superior Deluxe Villa with Plunge Pool at the Water Garden – breakfast included

This morning you’ll transfer to Kandy. En route, you’ll visit the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples at Dambulla – a designated World Heritage Site. Expect to find five caves containing over 2,000 square metres of painted walls and more than 150 images of Buddha – the largest being a colossal, rock-carved statue spanning 14 metres.

You’ll then continue your drive to Kandy to visit the fabled Temple of the Tooth. As legend has it, the tooth was taken from Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre and smuggled into Sri Lanka in 313 AD, hidden in the hair of Princess Hemamali. It has survived numerous attempts to capture and destroy it, and today lives in Kandy where a temple was built to honour it.

Later you’ll visit the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, originally built by a Sinhala king, where you’ll find 147 acres of vivid flowers, plants and trees. Before returning to your hotel, there’s also time to attend a cultural show and explore the bustling Kandy market.

Stay: Two nights in an Ultra Category Room at Kandy House – including breakfast

From the lowland heat and bustle of Kandy, you’ll board a scenic train that winds its way high into the hills where the climate is cooler – perfect for growing tea. You’ll stay here at a modern-day tea planter’s bungalow with sweeping views across carpeted hillsides to the shimmering expanse of Castlereagh Reservoir and the perfect base for exploring the traditional tea factories, colonial-era churches and colourful Hindo shrines of this idyllic region.

Stay: Two nights in a Lake View Bedroom at Camellia Hills – including all meals

After the cool of the uplands, and the quiet gentility of the tea plantations, it’s time for something completely different. Your driver will take you on a six-hour journey to Yala National Park. This is the natural habitat of one of the world’s largest populations of wild leopards – so you’ll have an excellent chance of seeing these magnificent cats in their proper environment.

Morning and afternoon game drives will take you into the heart of Yala on the track of leopards and a whole selection of other wildlife that includes majestic elephants, sambars, sloth bears, spotted deer and over 200 species of birds.

Stay: Two nights in a Deluxe Tent at Leopard Trails Yala – including all meals

This morning you’ll depart for Galle (approximately three hours away).

Galle’s core is the Fort, a walled enclave surrounded on three sides by the ocean. The ancient Dutch fortress – now a UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site and believed to be the largest lived-in citadel in the world – has retained much of its 300-year-old history and atmosphere. Expect quaint streets, a beautiful central square, and a charming mixture of churches, mosques and traditional cottages. If you like a bargain, buy the exquisite hand-made lace for which the town is famed, from the local vendors.

From Galle, you’ll continue by road to Rathgama where you will check in to the Aditya. Here, with a hidden beach setting and golden sands to enjoy, you will be able to fully relax and unwind at the end of your journey.

Stay: Three nights in an Ocean Suite at Aditya – including breakfast

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.