Despite a lack of formal sights, the city is a satisfying place to bookend an itinerary. The banking enclave known as ‘Fort’ ‒ the original Dutch and Portuguese hub ‒ is a curious blend of modern offices and 19th century streets occupied by hotels and stores. Alongside it, Pettah is a busy market area dotted with churches and mosques. There’s more refined shopping ‒ and this is a great way to conclude a holiday ‒ at the dainty boutiques and upmarket shops of Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiy.

Scattered at a nexus of major roads in the middle of Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone, Habarana is perfectly placed for exploration’s of the UNESCO-listed monuments of the Golden Triangle. This area formed the heartland of the powerful Sinhalese kingdoms who ruled the island for most of its history, and who left in their wake some of Asia’s most remarkable monuments, the most impressive of which you’ll be visiting over the coming days.

The greatest and most resilient of all Sri Lanka’s ancient capitals, Anuradhapura, was founded in 377 BC and thrived until its destruction by Indian invaders in 993AD. Today, its monuments attract tourists and Buddhist pilgrims from across the globe. The largest surviving structure is the giant Jethawanarama dagoba, which was at the time of its construction in the late 3rd century AD almost as tall as the two great pyramids at Giza!

The most revered monument on the site, however, is of more modest proportions: enclosed within tiers of gold railings, the Sri Maha Bodi, or Sacred Bodhi Tree, is believed to have been grown from a cutting taken from the one under which the historical Buddha achieved enlightenment.

The ruins of Sigiriya rest on the top of a spectacular rock outcrop whose distinctive profile dominates the landscape of the Cultural Triangle. A series of steep staircases and catwalks climb to the summit of the great inselberg. Along the way you’ll pass wall paintings of curvaceous apsaras, or ‘heavenly nymphs’, believed to have been modelled on the real-life queens and princesses who once lived in the palace above. Marvellous views across the countryside of the Cultural Triangle are your reward for the haul to the top.

Ranged around a huge artificial lake, Polonnaruwa, an hour’s drive away from Habarana, is the most impressive and compact of the island’s ancient sites. Its vestiges – comprising finely sculpted statues, frescoes, colossal Buddha images and immense stupas – vividly convey the wealth and sophistication of medieval Sri Lanka at its zenith.

Sri Lanka’s largest and best-preserved cave-temple complex, Dambulla is located on a huge granite outcrop in the Dry Zone, with views extending over the tropical canopy to distant Sigiriya and beyond. Adorning the interiors of the caves is an astonishing horde of 2,000-year-old murals and statues – unique in scale and degree of preservation. The mysterious, sculpted faces of the deities and swirling reds and golds of the murals create an enchanting atmosphere.

Originally established as a royal retreat in the 14th century, Kandy’s botanical gardens are famed for the world-class collection of orchids, palms and, the real showstopper, a giant Javan fig tree.  After lunch we’ll continue to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the island’s most revered Buddhist shrine. Pilgrims dressed in flowing white robes file through the complex throughout the day, carrying lotus blooms and frangipani flowers to present at the shrine. The resident monks will demonstrate the traditional Thevada ritual for the group, accompanied by temple musicians.

Nuwara Eliya, the country’s principal hill station, presides over an area of verdant valleys contoured by the mosaic-like swirls of tea plantations. The legacy of British times endures here in numerous ways. Horse racing, flower shows and hotels with names like The Grand, Windsor and St Andrew’s are still going strong. Nuwara Eliya is the sort of place you almost feel obliged to take lashings of marmalade at breakfast, cake at tea time and hearty puddings smothered in custard.

The Horton Plains National Park encompasses the island’s highest and most isolated plateau – an area rich in biodiversity, particularly birds. The main reason to come here, however, is to walk to ‘World’s End’ – a spectacular, vertigo-inducing, 900-metre drop with far-reaching views across the southern hills. On clear days you can see as far as Adam’s Peak, sacred to Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims.

Yala is the country’s oldest and most popular reserve, with varied landscapes ranging from forest, parkland, rocky outcrops, small lakes and lagoons to coastal dunes. Despite the prolific birdlife, herds of roaming elephants and chances of spotting the elusive sloth bear, most visitors come here to see the leopards. There are an estimated 350 of them – among the highest population densities anywhere in the world. Crocodiles and elephant are also plentiful.

When it comes to spotting Sri Lanka’s leopards, the dry woodlands and scrub of Yala National Park are unsurpassed. Sri Lanka’s leopards have no natural predators, which is why they have evolved to become so much larger than their African cousins. Around 1,000 inhabit the island’s national parks, and although not 100% guaranteed, the odds of sightings are higher than almost anywhere else in Asia.

Solitary, nocturnal hunters, the leopards tend to seek shade in the midday heat: for this reason early morning and late afternoon are the best times to see them. Guides in the parks know their most frequented lairs and patterns of movement. Rest assured yours will speak fluent English and have access to the latest information regarding their whereabouts, providing engaging and informative commentary on the species and its natural history. 

Jutting like a small peninsular into the Indian Ocean from Sri Lanka’s southwestern tip, Galle is a gorgeous, colonial-era town acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Asia. The 18th century Dutch walls, bastions, ramparts and gateways form a postcard-pretty backdrop for ambles around the narrow lanes of old quarter, lined with colonial-style houses and mansions. A charming jumble of cafés and shops offer plenty to explore.

Midway between Colombo city and Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, Bentota is a byword for ‘watersports’, with some of the best facilities on the island. The area also holds an exceptional array of beaches, most of them surprisingly empty. Our favourite is the one to the south of town, around the headland from the Taj Hotel, where a curtain of corkscrew palms screens a clutch of particularly inviting boutique hideaways.

Don’t expect much in the way of beach life – this is somewhere to stroll along empty sands, soaking up the rays, marvelling at the tropical sunsets and enjoying the wildlife (nearby Kosgoda has a famous turtle hatchery and the birdlife is prolific).