Kalpitiya
A peninsula in Sri Lanka’s northwest where the Indian Ocean and the Puttalam Lagoon create the country’s most consistent kitesurfing environment and some of its most spectacular dolphin watching. Spinner dolphin pods of several hundred individuals pass through the offshore waters regularly between November and April, and the mangrove lagoon channels provide a completely different […]
Kitulgala
Set beside the fast-moving Kelani River in the wet-zone foothills, Kitulgala delivers some of Sri Lanka’s best white-water rafting conditions alongside exceptional lowland rainforest birdwatching in the same location. The Grade 3 and 4 rapids through the forested gorge are exhilarating without being extreme; the forest flanking the river is among the finest lowland endemic […]
Nuwara Eliya
Sri Lanka’s most improbable destination: a British hill station at 1,868 metres with Tudor architecture, rose gardens, a racecourse, and a climate that makes fireplaces sensible even in April. The surrounding tea estates produce some of the world’s finest high-grown Ceylon teas, and a planter-led estate walk followed by a curated tasting session is one […]
Knuckles Mountain Range
A UNESCO World Heritage cloud forest wilderness of ridgelines, cascading waterfalls, remote farming villages, and endemic wildlife, the Knuckles Range is Sri Lanka’s finest multi-day trekking terrain and one of its least-visited major natural destinations. The concentration of endemic reptiles, amphibians, and birds rivals anything in the more visited national parks, and the quality of […]
Horton Plains
Sri Lanka’s highest plateau national park at 2,100 metres, whose circular trail ends at World’s End, a sheer 870-metre escarpment drop to the lowland jungle below. Arriving before 9am, before the mist closes in over the viewpoint, is the difference between a good visit and an unforgettable one. Baker’s Falls on the return walk provides […]
Ella
A small highland town above a valley so intensely green it looks impossible, whose pace is exactly slow enough to make a day genuinely restorative. The Nine Arches Bridge, the Little Adam’s Peak walk, the independent cafe culture, and the quality of simply sitting on a terrace with the valley in front of you make […]