Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle

Spend the remainder of the day recovering for your journey, perhaps venturing out for a stroll on Negombo Beach around sunset time, where local Karava fishermen will be mending their nets and preparing their boats for a nocturnal fishing trip. The strip of restaurants and cafés behind the beach, Lewis Place, is lively after dark and a good place to sample local seafood.

Straddling a major crossroads at the centre of the island, Habarana is a small town that’s perfectly placed in the heart of the cultural triangle, within easy reach of the major archaeological sites and Minneriya National Park, which you’ll visit as day trips from a luxury hotel here.

Standing alongside the shimmering expanse of a vast artificial lake, Polonnaruwa is the most compelling of Sri Lanka’s ancient capitals. From the 11th to 13th centuries, a succession of kings developed an immense city here, and its ruins – comprising finely sculpted statues, frescoes, colossal Buddha images and immense stupas – are nothing short of magical.

Nearby Minneriya protects an extensive mix of forests, grasslands and wetlands. Elephants – and safaris to see them – are the main attraction of the park, particularly in August and September, when literally hundreds gather on the shores of a lake to mate – one of Asia’s greatest natural spectacles.

In the very heart of Sri Lanka, a massive flat-topped, sheer-sided rock rises abruptly from the plains. It’s a striking sight ‒ and a remarkable one due to the presence on its summit of an unusual fortress built in the 5th century. About half-way up the great rock are a series of celebrated frescoes depicting women ‒ often referred to as apsaras, celestial nymphs, or ‘cloud maidens’. Exhilarating stairs and precipitous catwalks complete the final haul to the summit, which is rewarded with marvellous views across the serene countryside. For many visitors, this is understandably the country’s top cultural attraction.

Dambulla is Sri Lanka’s largest and best-preserved cave-temple complex, with an astonishing horde of murals and statues unique in scale and degree of preservation. Sited on a huge granite inselberg which faintly resembles a beached whale, it’s a beautifully atmospheric spot receiving far fewer visitors than nearby Sigiriya. Several phases of restoration and refurbishment in recent decades have maintained the site’s vitality as a religious and tourist destination.

The prominence of Kandy, Sri Lanka’s highland capital and second largest city, rests on its role as repository for the famous ‘Tooth Relic’ of the Buddha, one of Asia’s most sacred objects. The holy molar is enshrined in the illustrious Temple of the Tooth, built in the 1700s, and a fabulously atmospheric place to visit. The town’s pretty lake, attractive streetscapes and pleasant climate combine to make it a charming halt. Nearby excursions include Peradeniya, the city’s superb botanical gardens, the serene hill-top temple of Gadaladeniya and the fascinating Ceylon Tea Museum established in a former 1920s tea factory.

Despite a lack of formal sights, the city is a satisfying place to book-end 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.