A lake ringed by forested hills with a white and red temple complex on the far shore

Central Highlands

Kandy

The last independent kingdom on the island, built in a bowl of hills around a lake, and home to the Temple of the Tooth.

From Colombo: 3 hours
Good for: Temples · Gardens · The train south

Go to the Temple of the Tooth for the evening puja at 6.30pm, when the drummers start and the inner shrine is opened. The middle of the day is queuing.

Kandy is also where the mountain railway begins, which makes it the natural hinge of any itinerary — ancient cities behind you, tea country ahead.

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Routes that include Kandy

A traveller in a sun hat looking out over the ruins and reflecting pools of an ancient city, a dagoba beyond

5 days

The Cultural Triangle

Sigiriya at dawn, the ruined cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, and the cave temples at Dambulla — the oldest part of the island, driven at a sane pace.

Price on request

See the route

Terraced tea plantation on a misty hillside in the Sri Lankan highlands

12 days

Sri Lanka End to End

The full circuit in twelve days — ancient cities, the mountain railway, a proper safari and the south coast — without the 5am departures that usually come with it.