Experience a Unique Holiday in Sri Lanka With Divine
Divine curates highly personalised itineraries and unique travel experiences within Sri Lanka for you. We will ensure you are exploring at your own pace and seeing the sorts of cultural and natural attractions that interest you most on your curated private experience of Sri Lanka.
What Divine Recommends
The 200 m (660 ft) high Sigiriya Rock
Climb the Magnificent Sigiriya Rock
Standing alone in a flat region of rice paddies and man-made lakes, created to help with the irrigation of the land, it takes 700 steps to climb to the fortress ruins at the top of Sigirya Rock. You can stop halfway to admire the beautiful women depicted in the vivid frescoes painted on the rock face.
Sigiriya Rock is located in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, which is often the start point for trips around the country, and I’d recommend spending two or three nights here to explore Sigiriya and other places of interest.
Polonnaruwa, the ancient second capital of Sri Lanka, is home to various temple ruins as well as a huge reclining Buddha carved into the rock face, while the cave temples at Dambulla, dating back to the 1st century BC, are caverns dug out of solid rock containing over 150, well-preserved images of Buddha.
A leopard stalks its prey in Yala National Park
Spot the leopards in Yala National Park
This forest-filled park, with open pockets of land and watering holes, has the highest density of leopards in Asia, so the chance of spotting this notoriously elusive animal is good.
The colonial fort at Galle
Explore and Relax at the Colonial Fort at Galle
In the southwest corner of Sri Lanka, Galle is a pretty colonial fortress with Dutch, French and British influences. Jutting out from the mainland, it’s surrounded by the Indian Ocean on three sides. The old quarter, or Fort as it’s called, is small enough to walk around on foot and, with a wide selection of boutique hotels and restaurants, it serves as a good base for exploring the surrounding region.
The Temple of the Tooth in Kandy
Visit the Atmospheric Temple of the Tooth
It’s widely believed that one of Buddha’s teeth is kept, concealed in a casket, within the Temple of the Tooth, and twice a day is briefly paraded around the complex. Buddhists gather for this significant event, and there’s likely to be a lot of people in the temple during this time.
Some of Sri Lanka’s best beaches can be found in the east of the country
Beaches Be Like..
Sri Lanka’s best beaches are found in the east of the country. Pasikuda is a particularly pleasant option. Sitting in a sheltered bay, the turquoise waters are shallow and safe to swim in, making this a good choice for families. There is also a selection of water sports available in the bay, including jet skiing and kayaking.
Trincomalee is another beach I’d recommend on the east coast of Sri Lanka. Set around a natural harbour, there’s plenty to see here aside from the golden sands, including a Dutch fort and age-old temples.
Elephant in Uda Walawe National Park
See elephants in Uda Walawe National Park
The Elephant Transit Home in Uda Walawe National Park helps young elephants that have been orphaned, before integrating them back into the wild.
Supported by the Born Free Foundation, the elephants are free to roam around and have very little human interaction. However, you can walk around on partially camouflaged wooden platforms to watch these majestic animals in their natural habitat.
The train to tea country.
Take the train to tea country and watch the tea-pickers at work
Sri Lanka’s landscape is a lot greener than many imagine, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the Tea Country in the central highlands.
Tea making is a subtle art, and it was interesting to learn about the different types of tea and how many different grades can be made from the same bush. This is dependent on when the leaves are picked and how they are then processed – this is a true, colonial experience.