Ceylon Endearment (28 Days)

A beachside resort town known for its coral-fringed beaches, where you check in and have an evening of leisure at the beach resort.

Explore the fort town where the Portuguese and Dutch had their headquarters, including the Galle Fort, one of the best-preserved fortifications in Asia, its museums and lighthouse, and its cobblestoned streets with their Dutch names.

Also known as the Virgin White Tea Factory, visit to learn the history of the tea it produces and how the Virgin White Tea is plucked and processed without being touched by hand, followed by a tasting session with tea and cake, and the chance to buy tea leaves.

A hill three kilometres east of Galle, topped by a white Buddhist dagoba and associated in local legend with the Ramayana story of Hanuman and the Dronagiri mountain, also said to have been an abode of Sita.

Watch fishermen perched on stilts in the waters off Koggala, hear how the craft has been passed down through generations, and photograph the fishermen silhouetted against the shoreline at sunset.

A crescent-shaped beach lined with palms and rocky pools at the eastern end of Weligama Bay, where the curving sands give the impression of a secluded island, spent here at leisure over two days.

A coastal plateau notably bare of trees, its serpentine rock containing toxic heavy metals that only certain small plants can tolerate, and linked in Ramayana legend to Hanuman's burning tail and to King Ravana's mythical flying chariot.

A full-day safari in the second-largest national park on the island, on the south-east coast, known for its population of Sri Lankan leopards as well as wild water buffalo, sloth bears, elephants and over 200 species of birds.

An ancient Buddhist temple complex of seven statues belonging to the Mahayana school, dating to the 10th century, with a gigantic Buddha figure still bearing traces of its stuccoed, once brightly painted robe, and a central side figure thought to represent the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.

Explore the area's tea fields and rock formations, see the views from Little Adam's Peak, walk over the Nine Arches Bridge, and end at Demodara Railway Station with its unusual loop-over track.

A train journey from Haputale to Nuwara Eliya through the central highlands, passing mountains, waterfalls, tea fields and small misty villages.

The highland town that served as the premier holiday resort for the British in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with cottages, villas and mansions to walk past, the old red-brick post office, Queen Victoria Park and the shores of Lake Gregory.

Visit the 11th-tallest waterfall in the country, with a guided tour of the Mackwoods Tea Estate covering tea varieties and processing, and a walk through the Hakgala Botanical Gardens and along Lake Gregory.

An hour-long performance of traditional Sri Lankan art forms, including fire dancers, sword dancers and Kandyan dancers performing to drumming.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site built in the 16th century to house and protect the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha, with painted passageways and halls in red, cream and black, carved pillars and golden statues.

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya, established in the early 19th century, containing over 4,000 species of plants including orchids, spices and medicinal plants, along with the cannonball tree, a suspension bridge and hedge mazes.

A lake near Elkaduwa formed from natural spring water, believed locally to be 30 to 40 feet deep, with an adjoining natural spring-fed swimming pool.

A guided tour of a spice and herbal garden covering coriander, chilli, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg and their uses, with a traditional cooking demonstration including making roti or curry powder from scratch.

Climb the 5th-century rock fortress built for King Kasyapa, entering through the lion's-paw gateway, viewing the fresco paintings, climbing to the terraced gardens and still-working cisterns, and walking through the tunnels to the former palace.

A village experience including an oxen cart ride, a catamaran safari on a calm lake, a walk through paddy fields, a traditional cooking demonstration and a home-cooked lunch served on lotus leaves.

A three-hour safari in the park, known for its gathering of over 150 elephants during the dry season between May and October, alongside other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

The ruins of Sri Lanka's second major ancient capital, flourishing between the 10th and 13th centuries, including the Gal Vihara, Vatadage, the lotus bath, Lankathilaka Temple and the statue associated with King Parakramabahu.

The Golden Temple's caves, dating to the 1st century BC, with murals depicting the life of the Buddha, hundreds of Buddha and deity figures across five main caves including the Cave of the Divine King and Cave of the Great King, and a giant golden Buddha statue outside the complex.

An ancient temple praised by Indian poet-saints, with murals describing its history and a cave shrine dating to 1580 BC, while the main temple structure developed from around 400 AD.

The fort originally built by the Portuguese in 1624, later dismantled and rebuilt by the Dutch, which still contains stones taken from the Koneswaram temple it replaced.

Considered one of Sri Lanka's finest beaches, with golden sand, palms and clear blue sea, and a 10th-century Tamil inscription recording the beach as part of a land grant to the Koneswaram Temple.

A five-hour tour to see blue whales, sperm whales and fin whales in their natural habitat, guided by a naturalist who shares identification tips for a low-impact whale watching experience.

A park made up of a smaller and larger Pigeon Island surrounded by coral reef, home to breeding rock pigeons and a range of coral types and marine fauna.

A village where Tamil Buddhism was once practised, home to the Girihadu Seya Stupa said to mark the site where the Buddha gave hair relics to two traders, as well as the ruins of a Vanniyar chief's fortress.

The northern peninsula's capital city, home to Hindu temples such as Nallur, Nainativu and Mavittapuram with over four millennia of history, along with the Dutch Fort, war memorials, the Saraswathy Mahal Library, Nagadeepa Vihara and the palace of the last king of Jaffna, Cankili I.

An island north of Jaffna known as Nagadeepa to the Sinhalese and Manipallavam in ancient times, associated with the Naga people who worshipped the snake, with evidence of this in the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple and the Nagadeepa Purana Vihara.

A temple with a documented history of at least two millennia according to Ptolemy's records, linked to legends of the god Indra's worship, featuring Dravidian architecture with four Gopurams and several halls, and one of only 64 Shakthi Peedams worldwide.

The ruined ancient capital, in use until the 10th century AD, with pagodas, monastic buildings and ponds spread across a vast area, including the Jetavanarama stupa, once among the tallest structures in the ancient world, the Sri Maha Bodhi tree and the ruins of the Abhayagiri Monastery.

A tour of the capital's landmarks including the Old Lighthouse, the Old Parliament, Galle Face Hotel, Galle Face Green, Gangarama Temple and the National Museum, along with its malls, boutique shops and designer stores.

Colombo's nightlife scene, with beach parties, cocktails and music, casinos, and boutique restaurants open late.

A beach town on the west coast near the airport, with a centuries-old fishing industry, sandy beaches, water sports and diving around a shipwreck roughly 50 years old that now hosts varied fish life.