Highlights of Northern Sri Lanka

Begin your adventure in Veyangoda, a 30-minute drive from Sri Lanka’s energetic capital, Colombo. Around 6pm, say ayubowan to your tour leader and fellow travellers at our hotel, where we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead. Your tour leader then ensures a big Sri Lankan welcome by arranging a group dinner together. Want to explore further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Depart after breakfast for the drive (approximately 2hr 30min) among coconut palms, paddy fields and banana plantations through Kurunegala to Dambulla. Here, we visit the magnificent Cave Temple, among the most impressive sights in Sri Lanka. There are colourful, well-preserved paintings and Buddha statues inside the caves, which date to the first century BCE. After lunch, we continue to Sigiriya (Lion Rock). From our hotel, we can see the giant rock fortress rising from the plains (occasionally we may stay nearer to Dambulla due to hotel availability).

Sigiriya is, perhaps, the standout attraction in Sri Lanka with the ruins of a fifth-century palace crowning an imposing granite peak, also known as Lion Rock. This morning, we drive to the base, where a moat surrounds impressive water gardens. We then take the route to the top, via a series of steep steps and gangways, ascending 655ft (200m) and passing an overhanging rock, under which portraits of native maidens holding flowers and temple offerings still adorn the rock wall. On the flat-topped summit are extensive remains of the King’s Summer Palace. Around midday, avoiding the crowds of the late afternoon, we game drive through Minneriya National Park to see elephants in their natural habitat – a magnificent way to cap an unforgettable day.

This morning we set out on a guided village walk near Sigiriya, covering around 1.5mi (2.5km). The route follows a lakeside track bordered by rice fields, then skirts forest edges protected by elephant fencing, before passing through a working village. Along the way, your leader points out local birdlife and explains how rural communities coexist with wildlife in this region. We are welcomed into a farmer’s home for a traditional Sri Lankan lunch, prepared using local ingredients and family recipes – a relaxed and personal way to understand daily life beyond the historic sites. After lunch, we drive east to the coast and Trincomalee (approximately 2hr). Later, we visit Fort Frederick and the clifftop Thirukoneswaram Temple, an important Hindu pilgrimage site with views across the natural harbour, before settling into our beachside hotel.

The morning is free to enjoy Trincomalee’s shoreline or join an optional dolphin-watching trip (not included; approximately three hours, depending on sightings). These waters are known for being home to several dolphin species, with trips led by specialist crews. In the afternoon, we travel (one hour) inland to Girihandu Seya, believed to be one of the earliest Buddhist stupas in Sri Lanka. Your tour leader explains its place in early Buddhist history before we return to the coast for a relaxed evening.

Those keen to explore below the surface can take an optional snorkelling trip to Pigeon Island (approximately 1hr 30min), where coral reefs support reef fish. Later, we travel (2hr 10min) to Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka’s first capital and one of the great centres of ancient South Asian civilisation. As we explore the vast archaeological zone, our tour leader provides context for monumental structures such as Ruwanwelisaya, Jetavanarama and Abhayagiri, as well as the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment and cared for here for more than 2,000 years. We check into our hotel in the early evening.

Visit Mihintale after breakfast, reached by a 25-minute drive. Often regarded as the birthplace of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the site spreads across a series of granite hills topped with stupas, monasteries and viewpoints. Climbing the stone steps rewards us with wide views over the surrounding countryside and a deeper understanding of the island’s religious foundations. In the afternoon, there is an optional game drive in Wilpattu National Park (approximately four hours). Known for its natural lakes and quieter atmosphere, Wilpattu is home to leopards, sloth bears and a wide range of birdlife.