SRI LANKA
Tea Trails and Timeless Traditions: A Unique Blend of Adventure
Welcome to Sri Lanka, a land where nature and tradition intertwine to create a landscape both serene and sacred. From its lush rainforests to its ancient temples, this island offers an escape into a world where beauty, culture, and spirituality converge.
The island’s landscapes are a treasure trove for adventurers and nature lovers alike. As you venture through these natural wonders, you’ll feel a deep connection to the land - Yet, it’s not just the physical beauty that makes Sri Lanka special, it's the ancient spirituality that permeates every step. In the shadow of the island’s towering mountains lie temples and sacred sites, places where history and devotion are etched into stone.
Join us as we explore Sri Lanka, where the wonders of nature and the timelessness of tradition combine to create an unforgettable journey.
Depending on the season you’re visiting Sri Lanka in, and what your priorities are, the itinerary can be significantly different. If you’re traveling between May and September, avoid the West Coast as it’s monsoon season. Enjoy the inland instead and, if you want some beach time, the East Coast.
Day 1 - All the way to the South
Even if you'll probably arrive in Colombo after a long journey, we suggest you keep traveling for a few more hours to reach Yala National Park. The good news is that you won’t have to drive yourself and can relax in the backseats and enjoy the road and the view. After about 4 hours driving, you’ll reach the park, located in Sri Lanka’s South-East, on the Indian Ocean.
Stay at Wild Coast Tented Lodge, located in the middle of the park, where every room is a colonial-inspired tent, featuring a copper bathtub and a beautiful small private pool. Here you can rest and relax, starting to connect with the beauty of the country. Don’t miss the sunset hour on the hill facing the impetuous ocean, enjoying the view while drinking a nice cocktail.
Alternatively, you can book your stay at Tribe Yala.
Day 2 - Explore the beauty of Yala’s wildlife
Wake up early and go for a game drive - the hotel will perfectly organize everything for you. All you have to do is keep your eyes wide open, ready to spot some of the incredible animals living there.
Renowned for its population of elusive leopards, Yala is one of the best places in the world to spot these majestic cats in the wild. But the park's beauty extends beyond its big cats - it’s a sanctuary for elephants, sloth bears, and a remarkable array of bird species.
Return to the hotel for lunch and either enjoy the beautiful pool facing the pristine landscape, or ask the property to escort you through a private bush walk to immerse yourself in this incredible nature even more. You can even decide to go for another game drive in the afternoon before sunset.
Day 3 - Recharge while immersing yourself in Ella’s lush nature
After a good coffee and a bittersweet goodbye to this unique place, make your way up to Ella, a small city and the pearl of the Hill Country, surrounded by lush nature. It’s the perfect place to reconnect with nature and enjoy its calming beauty. On the way, make a quick stop at the Yatala stupa and at the Ravana Falls.
Check in at 98 Acres Resort and go for your first of many hikes of the trip. Climb up to Little Adam’s Peak and start enjoying the 360 breathtaking view over the green hills.
After this first glimpse of the unique beauty of Sri Lanka’s landscapes, go back to the hotel and keep enjoying the view from your room - a charming chalet, mostly made of recyclable materials, immersed in a 98 acres scenic tea estate, surrounded by a stunning landscape.
For dinner, you can either decide to remain at the hotel, or go for something more typical and local. We opted for the second one and ended up at a local family’s house, called Ella Spice Land, where we tried a traditional dinner made of several different amazing dishes. While eating and chatting with the family, the teenage daughter began to play the guitar while singing for us. If you’re thinking of a touristy type of thing, think again! It was one of the most authentic and emotional experiences we’ve made in the whole trip.
Day 4 - Your first real hike in Sri Lanka and a one you’ll never forget
Start your day before the sun rises, wear comfortable shoes and walk your way up to Ella Rock. Believe us, you want to be on top while the sun is rising!
The hike will start from Kithalella train station and your walk will begin literally on the train tracks. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone! Everyone, especially children going to school, walks there. The train only passes a few times a day at fixed hours - for the rest of the day, the rails serve as roads for the population and travelers alike.
You’ll walk for more than half an hour immersed in nothing else than green tea plantations. Proceeding, you’ll enter a beautiful dense forest that will accompany you on top, where the trees’ branches leave the place to the infinite panorama that will stand in front of your eyes. It will be almost 2 hours of effort and sweat, as well as serenity and gratitude. Once on top, the view will speak for itself.
Take all the time you need to fully enjoy the view and let it fill you with peace and wonder. Once you’re back at Kithalella station, if you still have strength in your legs, continue walking on the train tracks in the opposite direction, until reaching the next station. Stop in Ella’s station and take a tuk tuk to go back to the hotel.
You’ll probably be back at the hotel in time for a well deserved lunch, followed by an even more deserved relaxing time by the pool!
Once you feel like walking again, it’s time for the unmissable Nine Arches Bridge, reachable with a 20 minutes walk from the hotel.
The Nine Arches Bridge, also called the Bridge of the Sky, is a viaduct bridge which was designed to accommodate a challenging nine-degree curve.
The best time to visit is surely when the locomotives come barreling - to do so, you can either check the train schedule or just go there and wait until the magic happens. There’s also a nice place on top of the hill where you can sit for a coffee while waiting for the train to arrive.
Anyways, we suggest you walk all the way down to the bridge at some point - here you can walk on the train tracks and even enter the tunnel. You’ll know when the train is arriving - people will shout to signal it!
Since the next day will be another long one and you’ll want to enjoy it fully, we suggest you have an early dinner at The White Rabbit and a good 7-8 hours sleep, helped by the absolute silence surrounding the hotel.
Day 5 - The most insane train ride of your entire life
Be ready for one of the most incredible experiences you’ve lived in your entire life!
In order to enjoy this train ride as much as possible, book your tickets in advance and ask your driver to leave you at Ella’s station early in the morning, and pick you up either at Nanuoya station - 3 hours by train from Ella - or Kandy station - 6 hours away. If you’re thinking 3 hours is already more than enough time to spend on a train, it’s only because you haven’t been on this train just yet.
This scenic mountain train ride should be your number one, not-to-miss experience of your trip. This stunning train journey winds through the hill country and the tea fields right through the heart of Sri Lanka.
The hours on the train will fly by as you watch the beauty of these awesome landscapes go by - mountains, waterfalls, tea plantations, forests, local people and much more.
Take your regular seat and enjoy the ride from it or, even better, sit in front of the open doors of the train, from which you can also stick your head out, without any danger.
If you stop in Nanuoya, you’ll still have more than 3 hours to reach your next hotel. From the station, drive to the nearby Nuwara Eliya on the way to break the journey and stretch your legs. If you do, definitely check out Victoria Park and Lake Gregory.
Postpone the tour of Kandy to the day after and proceed to the most beautiful hotel in Sri Lanka’s inland: Santani Wellness Resort - 1 hour by car from the city. If you took the first train in the morning, it will still be early afternoon when you reach Santani and you’ll have time to make the most of this incredible place - a luxury wellness resort nestled in one of the world’s lushest environments, designed according to the highest eco-standards.
Day 6 - The sacred city of Kandy
Kandy is the cultural heart of Sri Lanka, a must-visit for anyone seeking to experience the country’s deep-rooted traditions. Nestled among mist-covered hills, Kandy is home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Buddhism’s most important pilgrimage destinations as it’s said that it houses a sacred tooth of the Buddha.
Stop to buy the beautiful flower compositions just outside the temple and take the time to observe and enjoy the spirituality of the place and of its pilgrims.
The city's charm lies in its harmonious blend of history, culture, and nature. Beyond the spiritual significance, you can enjoy a stroll along Kandy Lake and through the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Filled by the beauty you just witnessed, go back to the car and proceed to another stunning hotel - W15 Hanthana Estate. You’ll be staying in a beautifully restored bungalow, dating back to the days of the British empire, with an exquisite colonial charm that blends perfectly with its surroundings of tea plantations and emerald green forest. Enjoy nature, the pool and the spa - as well as an amazing dinner.
Day 7 - Not your regular caves
Wake up to an amazing breakfast facing the breathtaking landscape in front of you and drive to the Dambulla Royal Cave Temple and the Golden Temple.
Dambulla is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka - it’s a monastery with five caves that have been converted into sanctuaries and shrine rooms, covered with images of the Buddha and more than 1.500 ceiling murals.
Today will be dedicated to the history, spirituality and holiness of Sri Lanka, so go back to the car for another hour and a half until you reach Polonnaruwa.
Polonnaruwa was the second capital of Sri Lanka after the destruction of Anuradhapura in 993 - it’s a historic site with large and well conserved monumental ruins of the fabulous garden-city it used to be during the 12th Century. The site is huge and it’s ideal to be explored by bike - rent one outside the entrance and follow the road, stopping when you feel it’s much worth it. Depending on how much time you have and how much you’ll love the place, you can spend there from a minimum of 2 hours to up to almost half a day.
Once you are done with the visit, drive for the last hour to reach Water Garden Sigiriya hotel, where you can finally relax and enjoy an amazing dinner.
Day 8 - Time to relax and to live the best sunset in Sri Lanka
Take time to enjoy the hotel, which features an amazing unique concept, with 30 luxury villas spread out in the 38 acres property, with beautifully designed waterways and lush green meadows - you can finally have some real chill time by the pool, in your room or at the spa.
Not only is the hotel beautiful, but it blends perfectly with the historic surroundings of Sigiriya and the natural beauty of the Minneariya National Park - this leaves you open to alternatives once you’ll be ready to explore again. Drive through the park looking for elephants - they won’t be hard to find! You can spot them right on the street, walking on the roadside or crossing right in front of you.
In the afternoon before the sun starts setting, hike up to Pidurangala - only a 30 minutes effort and one of the most breathtaking views of your entire trip. Pidurangala offers a spectacular panoramic view with Sigiriya itself as a centerpiece - enjoy the shades of sunset painting the sky while this majestic rock stands tall in front of you.
Day 9 - THE hike
Ask your driver to take you to Sigiriya Rock’s ticket office before 5am in order not to miss the sunrise from the top - it will be more than worth it! On the road, you can spot elephants on the street or crossing it, moving from one part of the park to another - even if you’ll be tempted to stop to watch them, avoid doing so as they don’t see well in the dark and can attack you. (Speaking from experience here).
The hike takes about 1 hour and begins with a stroll amongst the old ruins.
The actual ascent, though, begins dramatically: the first steps are located in the middle between two massive stone-made lion paws and continues on a narrow, steep metal stair built on the rock wall that will bring you up to the top.
Sigiriya, which name comes from the word Sihagri, meaning Lion Rock, is a massive 200 meters high rock with ruins on top and surrounded by the ruins of gardens, and other antique structures. The rock itself is a lava plug left over from an extinct volcano and its western walls are almost entirely covered by frescoes, eighteen of them still alive today.
Once on top, you’ll witness 360 degrees of breathtaking views, changing form and colors as the sun rises and the light brightens. The color of the rock fades and blends perfectly into the green of the surrounding hills as well as with the blue shades of the sky. Sit there for a while, catching your breath whilst witnessing the extraordinary magic of nature.
Return to the hotel either with your car or with a tuk tuk and enjoy a beautiful breakfast facing the property’s waterways immersed in nature, while sharing the emotions this morning brought you.
If you have time, rest on the pool side for a few hours before leaving and going back to Colombo - it’s a 4 hours drive and you don’t want to travel in the dark for too long.
Take a nap in the car and gain some energy to visit Barefoot - a local shop selling hand-woven cloths and other products designed and handmade in Sri Lanka and enjoy an amazing dinner at The Gallery Café.
And that’s it - until next time!
Our practical suggestions for you
How long: 7-9 days minimum, ideally 2-3 weeks
Season: During dry season - between December and March - is ideal for the West coast and the South, whilst between May and September is ideal for the East coast. The hinterland is good in every season.
How to travel through the country: Rent a car with a driver
Practical advice:
Find a guide who speaks good English in order not to have problems communicating.
Be prepared for long hours in the car. Even if you’re not the one driving, it can be tiring.
Know that you’ll want to wake up really early and try to start the hikes before the sun sets in order to be on top when the sun is rising. Therefore, we suggest you to follow the sun’s rhythm and adapt to the local’s timing - Depending on where you’re from it may come unnatural to have dinner at 7pm and go to sleep within 10pm, but it makes the difference.
Be aware of the elephants! If you’re driving in the dark and see an elephant, don’t stop and know that it may be others coming from behind. Since they don’t see very well, they tend to be pretty aggressive at night or in the early morning. Absolutely don’t jump out of the car if you see some.
If you have time, make the most of each place with a less tight schedule.
