Kalpitiya
Sri Lanka’s most consistent kitesurfing destination and one of its best for dolphin watching – spinner pods of several hundred animals pass through the offshore waters regularly from November to April. Undeveloped, authentically remote, and completely unhurried.
Kitulgala
Sri Lanka’s best white-water rafting – Grade 3 and 4 rapids through a jungle gorge on the Kelani River where The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed – combined with exceptional lowland rainforest birdwatching in the same location. One of the island’s finest adventure day destinations.
Nuwara Eliya
Sri Lanka’s most improbable destination – a British hill station at 1,868 metres with Tudor architecture, rose gardens, and a climate that makes fireplaces genuinely useful in March. The surrounding estates produce some of the world’s finest high-grown Ceylon teas.
Knuckles Mountain Range
A UNESCO cloud forest wilderness of ridgelines, waterfalls, endemic wildlife, and remote farming villages where traditional mountain life continues unchanged. Sri Lanka’s finest multi-day trekking terrain, with endemic species concentrations that rival any national park on the island.
Horton Plains
Sri Lanka’s highest plateau national park at 2,100 metres, whose circular trail ends at World’s End – an 870-metre sheer drop to the lowland jungle below. Arriving before 9am is the difference between a good visit and an unforgettable one; the mist closes in fast.
Ella
A small highland town above a valley so intensely green it seems lit from within – the Nine Arches Bridge, Little Adam’s Peak, the cafe culture, and the simple pleasure of sitting on a terrace with the Ella Gap in front of you. The hill country’s most consistently loved destination, and every night there is […]