ULTIMATE SRI LANKA

You’ll be met on arrival at Colombo Airport 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

After breakfast and a quick visit to the Negombo fish market, you’ll set off by road to your hotel in the Cultural Triangle.

Rise early the next morning to visit the truly astonishing royal citadel of Sigiriya. It’s quite a climb – best not attempted in the heat of the day – up to an impregnable fortress that rises 200 metres above the scrub jungle on the monumental Lion Rock. The view from the summit is sensational, as are the palace ruins and the sights you pass on the way; the mirror wall, for example, and frescoes of the heavenly maidens. There are several rest platforms to break the climb, and you can take it entirely at your own pace – or perhaps climb only halfway to the Lion’s paw.

This afternoon visit Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka’s first capital founded in the 4th century B.C. Over 100 Sinhalese kings ruled here for over 1,000 years. This ancient civilization is credited with inventing one of the earliest and most advanced irrigation systems in the world, enabling their society to flourish amidst the harsh aridity of their land. Set in rolling parklands, Anuradhapura is a complex of many fascinating monuments, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites.

On day four, enjoy a private game drive at one of the local national parks (Minneriya, Kaudulla or Eco Park). Normally the park isn’t confirmed until your guide checks with the local trackers as to which park has had the better elephant sightings on the day (water levels also play their part).

Stay: Three nights in an Ulagalla Pool Villa at Ulagalla Resort – including breakfast

Your journey then continues to Dambulla and some of Sri Lanka’s most impressive cave temples. There are five of them, carved from the solid rock face, featuring 150 representations of Buddha – including a massive, impassive statue spanning 14 metres.

After Dambulla you travel on to Kandy where you’ll be able to witness ceremonies in the Temple of the Tooth – named after the relic of Buddha’s tooth, now housed in the temple’s most sacred inner sanctum. The temple stands beside a magnificent lake where basking monitor lizards and a variety of birds are a common sight. Even more wonderful are the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, spread over 147 acres. 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 the 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. Here you’ll be staying in a colonial-style bungalow on a working tea plantation, where you’ll be able to learn about the process of tea-making – as well as bike and trek in the beautiful surrounds. Your tea tour will be led by a Resident Tea Planter and include watching tea pickers at work, examining the traditional machinery and tasting the different grades produced.

Three nights in a Garden Suite at Ceylon Tea Trails, Summerville Bungalow – all inclusive

Today you’ll transfer to Castlereagh where a scheduled seaplane with we waiting to take you to Koggala. On arrival transfer the short distance to your hotel set on a working tea plantation overlooking Koggala Lake.

You’ll have the next day free, which you can spend on boat trips, cookery classes, yoga sessions or tea tasting at the nearby Handunugoda Estate. Or simply unwinding by the infinity edge pool

Two nights in the Kadju Luxury Pool Villa at Kahanda Kanda – including breakfast

En route to your hotel in Tangalle you’ll stop by the fortress town of Galle. A UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site, this ancient Dutch fort – believed to be the largest lived-in citadel in the world – has retained much of its 300-year-old history and atmosphere, with quaint streets, a beautiful central square and charming mixture of churches, mosques and traditional cottages. A stroll along the fortress walls from the lighthouse resounds with influences of the Portuguese, Dutch, Arabs and the British.

Continue to the Amanwella which occupies a vast swathe of golden sand and towering coconut palms on Sri Lanka’s sunny south coast – the perfect place to relax at the end of your journey.

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

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