After arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport, you’ll be whisked off by private car to nearby Negombo. This beach town just north of Colombo is a laid-back place to get your bearings. Take a gentle stroll around the 17th century Dutch Fort, learn about the local fishing culture, and explore the grand churches and roadside eateries with a storyteller guide. End the evening with fresh seafood, bottles of Lion beer and sunset at a relaxed beachside restaurant.

After an optional early morning visit to the fish market, you’ll make the journey to Wilpattu National Park. This conservation area on Sri Lanka’s northeast coast is far quieter than crowded Yala, but you still have a chance of spotting Sri Lanka’s elusive leopard. You’ll spend most of your time here weaving through the russet-red dirt roads and around its forest lakes with your naturalist guide. While its big cat residents can be difficult to spot, you may also see sloth bears, elephants, crocodiles, deer, and plenty of birds.

After breakfast in Wilpattu, you’ll travel toward Sigiriya through rural backroads and farming villages, stopping at roadside fruit stalls, tea shops, and village markets along the way. It’s not a trip to the Cultural Triangle without a hike up Sigiriya or “Lion’s Rock”, one of Sri Lanka’s best known, most pictured UNESCO World Heritage Sites. From its summit, explore the crumbling ruins and watch the sunset from your regal perch. The next morning, meander through Polonnaruwa on bicycle, exploring the ancient city's mix of Buddhist monuments, royal ruins and stone carvings. There are some genuinely peaceful corners away from the main visitor areas, all the easier to find by bike. Pedal along quiet paths, catch a cool breeze, and it’s only polite to give a wave to the local toque macaques, swinging between the branches of the old Banyan trees flanking the roads.

From Sigiriya, travel down to the central highlands by car, past waterfalls and rolling tea plantations. Instead of staying right in the thick of Ella town (popular with tourists and backpackers), you’ll be based in a more peaceful spot surrounded by countryside. Spend your days on mountain hikes, meeting local communities, and strolling through tea plantations and coffee gardens with estate workers. If you fancy cooking up some Sri Lankan dishes when you get home, join a cookery class, and, depending on the season, you can join tea plucking or coffee processing too. Of course, you can always pop into the lively mountain town of Ella and get lunch and a coffee at a chilled out café.

As you travel from the Hill Country to Sri Lanka’s south coast, you’ll notice that things feel a bit slower here. Spend leisurely days lounging on palm-fringed beaches, swimming and snorkelling in the clear blue surf, and exploring the laid-back local villages. On a lagoon safari in Kalametiya with local fishermen, putter through the mangroves and spot the water birds that live there, learning about the local ecosystem and fishing lifestyle. Depending on the season, you can join local conservation groups where sea turtles naturally come ashore to lay eggs for a responsible turtle nesting experience.

After a morning cycle from Tangalle to Dickwella through fishing villages, lagoons, coconut plantations and hidden beaches, you’ll be driven to Galle Fort. This historic, UNESCO World Heritage Site offers a very different experience to the rest of the island. On an evening stroll through narrow cobblestone streets, colonial buildings and oceanfront ramparts, your local guide will share its history, from its construction by the Dutch, to its role in sheltering the town from the full force of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Take a whirl through the surrounding cinnamon plantations, rice paddies, small tea gardens, and quiet village roads on bicycle. And there’s plenty of time to watch your last Sri Lankan sunset stretch across the Indian Ocean from the ramparts.