Every Landscape, Properly Placed
Thirty destinations across five categories, the places that make up our three collections, grouped by what they genuinely offer rather than by geography alone.
Arugam Bay
Sri Lanka’s premier surf town, home to a long right-hand point break and a relaxed, low-key atmosphere, considerably quieter than the more established south coast resorts.
Where to stay
Surf-side boutique hotels
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Trincomalee
One of Asia’s finest natural harbours, with Koneswaram Temple perched dramatically on Swami Rock above the water. The east coast season runs April to September, calm and clear exactly when the south coast is at its wettest.
Where to stay
Beachfront hotels
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Hikkaduwa
An accessible coral reef paired with a livelier, more social beach town atmosphere than the quieter stretches further south, with a strong surf scene and turtle conservation projects nearby.
Where to stay
Beachfront hotels
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Unawatuna
A curved, sheltered bay close enough to Galle Fort to work as a same-day pairing, with a shallow coral reef just offshore that makes it one of the easiest snorkelling spots on the south coast.
Where to stay
Beachfront guesthouses and boutique hotels
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Bentota
A well-established beach resort area with calm waters, a wide choice of hotels and the Bentota River running alongside for mangrove safaris and water sports.
Where to stay
Family beach resorts
In Our Packages:
Art, Faith & Flavours of Ceylon, Ramayana Trail & Ceylon Short Escape, Family Ceylon Adventure
Mirissa
A south coast beach town built around one of the world’s most reliable blue and sperm whale migration corridors, alongside a genuinely good beach.
Where to stay
Boutique beach hotels
In Our Packages:
Rainforest & the Wild South, Sunrise Balloon & Romantic Ceylon
Weligama
A long, gently curling bay with one of Sri Lanka’s most forgiving beginner surf breaks, backed by a working fishing harbour and a growing run of genuinely good coastal restaurants.
Where to stay
Cape Weligama and other boutique coastal hotels
In Our Packages:
Icons of Ceylon: Tea, Wilderness & the Historic Coast
Tangalle
A wide, quiet stretch of south coast with considerably more space and privacy than the busier resorts further west, and Rekawa Beach, a sea turtle nesting site, close by for an evening excursion.
Where to stay
Uga Prāva and other boutique beach hotels
In Our Packages:
The Uga Collection: Ultra-Luxury Grand Ceylon, Rainforest, Caves & Highland Trails
Galle
A UNESCO World Heritage fort layered with Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial history, still functioning as a living town rather than a preserved museum piece, boutique hotels, galleries and cafes inside 17th century ramparts.
Where to stay
Boutique fort-area hotels, Fort Bazaar
In Our Packages:
Icons of Ceylon: Tea, Wilderness & the Historic Coast
Negombo
The gateway coastal town, minutes from the airport, with a working fish market and lagoon. Negombo’s Dutch canal network and lagoon fishing villages give it considerably more depth than a simple arrival stop.
Where to stay
Boutique beachfront hotels
In Our Packages:
Featured as the arrival or departure stay in most packages
Belilena Cave
One of Sri Lanka’s most significant prehistoric sites, where excavations uncovered stone tools and human remains tens of thousands of years old, attributed to the so-called ‘Balangoda Man’, genuinely off the standard circuit.
Where to stay
Best visited as a stop near Kitulgala
In Our Packages:
Rainforest, Caves & Highland Trails
Polonnaruwa
Sri Lanka’s medieval capital, its royal palaces, sacred quadrangles and the Gal Vihara’s rock-carved Buddhas explored at a relaxed pace along quiet park roads.
Where to stay
Lakeside hotels
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Sigiriya
A 5th century rock fortress rising 200 metres above the surrounding plains, with hydraulic water gardens, ancient frescoes and a summit that once held a royal palace, one of the defining sights of any Sri Lanka journey.
Where to stay
Rock-view lodges
In Our Packages:
Featured across most packages
Dambulla
Five rock cut cave shrines filled with over 150 Buddha images beneath painted rock ceilings, in continuous religious use since the 1st century BC, almost always paired with Sigiriya given the short distance between them.
Where to stay
Best visited as a stop near Sigiriya
In Our Packages:
Featured across several packages
Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka’s first great royal capital, founded in the 4th century BC and occupied for well over a thousand years, home to the Sri Maha Bodhi tree, the oldest documented living tree on earth.
Where to stay
Uga Ulagalla and other heritage-area hotels
In Our Packages:
The Uga Collection: Ultra-Luxury Grand Ceylon
Ambuluwawa
Home to a striking 48 metre spiral tower at the heart of a multi-faith complex where Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian shrines sit side by side, a genuine detour most standard itineraries skip.
Where to stay
Best visited as a stop near Kandy or Gampola
In Our Packages:
Art, Faith & Flavours of Ceylon
Hatton
A working tea town in the highlands and the gateway to the Bogawantalawa Valley, home to some of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated named tea bungalows and estates.
Where to stay
Ceylon Tea Trails, Uga Halloowella
In Our Packages:
The Uga Collection: Ultra-Luxury Grand Ceylon, Icons of Ceylon
Ella
The highland town most travellers arrive in and find difficult to leave, with the Nine Arch Bridge, a dramatic valley gap and a relaxed independent cafe culture all within easy walking distance of each other.
Where to stay
Hillside guesthouses, Uga Ghiri
In Our Packages:
Featured across most packages
Nuwara Eliya
A colonial hill station shaped by British-era architecture and a noticeably cooler climate, surrounded on every side by working tea estates, a natural base for factory visits and the early departure to Horton Plains.
Where to stay
Tea estate hotels
In Our Packages:
Featured across most packages
Kandy
Sri Lanka’s last royal capital and still its cultural heart, home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The evening puja ceremony, drumming and incense filling the shrine, anchors nearly every itinerary that passes through.
Where to stay
Heritage hotels
In Our Packages:
Featured across all three collections
Minneriya National Park
A dry zone park known for the Gathering, when the dry season lowers the reservoir and draws hundreds of wild elephants from the surrounding forest, one of Asia’s largest wildlife spectacles.
Where to stay
Best visited from a Sigiriya base
In Our Packages:
Available as an optional extension
Gal Oya National Park
A quiet wilderness park built around the Senanayake Samudraya reservoir, the only place in Sri Lanka where wild elephants are regularly seen swimming between forested islands, and home to an indigenous Vedda community.
Where to stay
Eco-lodges
In Our Packages:
Wild Ceylon: Rainforest, Reservoirs & Leopards
Wilpattu National Park
Sri Lanka’s largest national park, defined by its villu, natural lakes scattered through dry forest, offering a considerably quieter safari experience than the busier southern parks.
Where to stay
Safari lodges
In Our Packages:
Wild Ceylon: Rainforest, Reservoirs & Leopards
Udawalawe National Park
Reliable open-grassland elephant sightings throughout the day, making it the more consistent choice for travellers who want certainty over probability.
Where to stay
Safari lodges
In Our Packages:
Rainforest, Caves & Highland Trails
Yala National Park
The park most travellers picture when they think of a Sri Lanka safari, holding the world’s highest recorded density of wild leopards per square kilometre, alongside elephants, sloth bears and rich coastal lagoon birdlife.
Where to stay
Uga Chena Huts and other safari lodges
In Our Packages:
Featured across several packages
Kitulgala
A rainforest river town on the Kelani River, the jungle setting where the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai was shot, known for grade 2-3 white water rafting suitable for first-timers.
Where to stay
Riverside eco-lodges
In Our Packages:
Rainforest, Caves & Highland Trails
Knuckles Mountain Range
A genuinely wild highland range east of Kandy, its cloud forest, waterfalls and remote villages reached on a demanding full day guided hike via the Riverston viewpoint.
Where to stay
Best visited as a day hike from a Kandy base
In Our Packages:
Rainforest, Caves & Highland Trails
Ratnapura
Sri Lanka’s ‘City of Gems’, a working centre of traditional mining where sapphires, rubies and moonstones are still cut and traded much as they have been for centuries.
Where to stay
Heritage-area hotels
In Our Packages:
Family Ceylon Adventure: Gems, Elephants & the Wild South
Sinharaja Rainforest Reserve
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and Sri Lanka’s other significant tract of primary lowland rainforest, home to the purple-faced langur and a genuine wilderness trek with a naturalist guide.
Where to stay
Rainforest eco-lodges
In Our Packages:
Wild Ceylon: Rainforest, Reservoirs & Leopards
Kanneliya Rainforest Reserve
Part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and one of only two remaining tracts of primary lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka, home to endemic birds and flora found nowhere else on earth.