Decompress after your flight in Kotugoda, a semi-rural town just twenty minutes from the airport. Spend the afternoon by the pool, basking under a leafy canopy with a birdsong backing track. By breakfast the next morning, you’ll be rested and ready for your cultural adventure to begin.

After a leisurely breakfast at your hotel, your private driver guide will take you to Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle. Here, jungle creepers frame sleepy villages, parakeets twirl through dense canopies and Buddhist temples still stand from centuries past. You’ll spend your days exploring Anuradhapura’s ancient city by bicycle, scouting out elephants on safari, and climbing up to the ruins of Sigiriya’s ancient rock fortress. There’s plenty to explore, but just as much time to embrace a slower island pace around the pool.

With some of the oldest religious relics in the country, loud and lively Kandy is the capital of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country. Tour sacred Buddhist sites like the Temple of the Tooth and stroll through Kandy Market’s colourful, proudly displayed fruit, vegetables and spice stalls. A local expert will be your guide and street food savant, explaining how the city evolved from a Sinhalese stronghold to the cultural centre it is today over some delicious local eats. If you want a break from the busy urban centre, you can walk through the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and learn about the local flora with botany expert Professor Palipana.

Stay close to the centre of the action, with all the sights on your doorstep, or escape the city and stay at a countryside estate where you can roam freely without another tourist in sight.

For the best views of Sri Lanka’s central highlands, hop on the blue carriages of the famous British-era train. Rumbling through forests and villages, under palm trees and over stone bridges, you’ll get a window into rural Sri Lankan life. Once ensconced in your hillside hideaway with green tea plantation views, you can be as busy or chilled as you like. Fill your days with cookery lessons with locals, luxuriating in the spa, lounging by the pool, kayaking along the river or hiking a section of the Pekoe Trail.

There’s nothing more thrilling than climbing into the back of a jeep and high-tailing it into the wilderness in search of leopards. In Sri Lanka, Yala is the most reliable place to find them. For good reason, this is the most popular national park on the island, so you’ll have other jeeps to contend with. On your morning and evening game drives, there’s a high chance of catching a glimpse of these elusive spotted residents, along with monkeys, elephants, crocodiles and water buffalo.

Now, things slow down as you make your way along Sri Lanka’s south coast.

Stop off in Galle for a tour of Galle Fort with a local guide, following its ramparts and lanes. Portuguese, Dutch and British rule each left an architectural and cultural mark, and your guide will bring this history to life through stories of the people and communities who shaped the fort.

From here on out, it’s salty waves and relaxed days in Bentota, a quiet resort town on the west coast with wide swaths of uncrowded beaches. It’s the perfect setting for basking in the sun, playing in the surf, and soaking up the last precious moments of your Sri Lankan cultural adventure. On your final day, you’ll be picked up by your private driver to take you back to the airport for your flight home.