Nineteen places, seven regions
Sri Lanka is 435 kilometres end to end and holds eight climates. These are the places worth building a route around, and how long each one honestly earns.
The geography is
most of the itinerary
Distances here are short and slow. Colombo to Kandy is 115km and takes three and a half hours; Kandy to Ella is 140km and takes five. Choosing fewer places is almost always the better trip.
Nineteen places we know street by street.
Hover or tap a place to see what it is for, how long to give it, and the months it is at its best. The pins sit on the same coordinates our drivers use.
Two thousand years of capitals
Three ruined capitals and a rock fortress inside an hour of each other. Give it two nights and see three of them properly rather than four badly.
Tea, trains and cold mornings
The tea belt, the Badulla railway and the only part of the island where you will want a jumper.
Leopard, elephant and open scrub
Dry-zone parks along the southern edge. The gate time matters far more than the park.
The winter coast
Dry from November to April, which is when most people come. Fort towns at one end, surf and whales at the other.
Where the trip starts and ends
The airport, the capital and the beaches an hour from both. Worth a night at each end rather than a week.
The summer coast
Dry from May to September, when the south is wet. Emptier, cheaper, and a longer drive to reach.
The part almost nobody sees
Tamil, Hindu, and only comfortably reachable in the last decade. A different island entirely.
