Holidays to Sri Lanka

Holidays to Sri Lanka promise palm-fringed beaches, treasured temples, tea plantations, flavourful food, UNESCO sites, misty hills, happy herds of elephants and other exotic wildlife, lowland rainforests, ancient cities, – and a welcome as warm as the weather.

Little wonder then that the legendary 13th-century explorer, Marco Polo, was won over by this teardrop-shaped island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, famously declaring it ‘the finest island of its size in all the world’.

Want wildlife? Sri Lanka has 26 national parks including Udawalawe National Park, home to oodles of elephants, and the elusive Sri Lankan leopard. East Africa, eat your heart out.

For a culture fix, visit the first-century cave temples of Dambulla or the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth – said to contain one of the most important relics in Buddhism.

Beaches more your bag? Catch some rays on Sri Lanka’s sun-kissed sandy stretches – standouts include Unawatuna and Mirissa on the southern coast, and Arugam Bay, aka Sri Lanka’s top surf spot, in the east.

Holidays in Sri Lanka are a foodie’s paradise too. Delicious-tasting local specialities such as hoppers (bowl-shaped pancakes filled with curry and topped with sambol) and Wattalapam (a lip-smacking pudding of coconut milk, jaggery, cashew nuts, eggs, and spices) will have you purring with pleasure.

This tropical gem is made even more inviting by its charming and hospitable people who go out of their way to share their world with you. Take a trip to Sri Lanka and you’ll soon find that the island formerly known as Ceylon is precisely your cup of tea.