Glamour of Sri Lanka (22 Days)

An hour-long performance of Kandyan dance and drumming, including fire dancers and sword dancers.

Kandy grew from a medieval kingdom into a city set among forested hills and tea plantations, with Edwardian buildings, a king-made lake and a nature reserve; the tour takes in local markets and architecture.

This UNESCO World Heritage shrine, built in the 16th century to house Lord Buddha's sacred tooth, has painted halls, carved pillars and gilded statues.

Set at altitude in tea country, the town has Georgian and Queen Anne-style homes, manicured lawns and hedges, an Anglican church and a golf course, giving it a cool, nostalgic air.

Laid out in the early 19th century, the gardens hold over 4,000 plant species including orchids, spices and medicinal plants, along with a cannonball tree and a suspension bridge.

Dating to the 1st century BC, the caves hold murals depicting the life of Buddha and hundreds of figurines across the Cave of the Divine King, the Cave of the Great King and the Great New Monastery, with a large golden Buddha statue nearby.

Built in the 5th century AD under King Kasyapa, the site is entered through a lion-shaped gateway and features fading murals, terraced gardens, working cisterns and tunnels leading to the former palace.

Seat of government in the 13th century, Yapahuwa once housed its own Temple of the Tooth Relic; the site has a majestic entrance arch, an ornamental stairway, temple ruins and detailed sculptures.

Capital for over a millennium until the 10th century AD, the ruined city holds pagodas, monastic buildings and ponds, including the Jetavanarama, the Sri Maha Bodhi and the Abhayagiri Monastery.

A 40-foot standing Buddha statue carved from a single rock, supported only by a thin attachment at the back, with partially collapsed structures nearby that once formed an image house.

Sri Lanka's medieval capital 800 years ago, Polonnaruwa was a commercial and religious centre, and its archaeological ruins give a sense of the city in its heyday.

A three-hour safari with a chance to see elephants, which gather in large numbers during the dry season between May and October, along with other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Praised by Indian poet-saints, this temple has murals telling its history, a cave shrine dating to 1580 BC and a giant statue of King Ravana, who legend says worshipped here.

Originally built by the Portuguese in 1624, the fort incorporates stones from the destroyed Koneswaram temple and was later dismantled and rebuilt by the Dutch.

A beach of golden sand and clear water, with a 10th-century Tamil inscription recording that the land was once granted to the Koneswaram Temple.

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

A chance to see blue, sperm and fin whales off the southern waters of Sri Lanka, with guidance from a qualified naturalist.

Made up of a smaller and larger pigeon island encircled by coral reef, the park is a breeding ground for rock pigeons and home to varied coral types and marine life.

Days left free to enjoy the golden sand, palm trees and clear blue sea along this stretch of coast.