Sri Lanka: island of tea, elephants and golden beaches

Welcome to Sri Lanka. The program starts every Friday when you land at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, whichever country you are flying from. A Fable Tour representative is waiting in the arrivals hall with a sign bearing your name, so there is nothing to search for or worry about after a long journey.

Our team helps you with the first steps: changing money into Sri Lankan rupees and buying a local SIM card with fast internet, so you stay in touch with your family and with us throughout the trip. A private air-conditioned car then takes you to your hotel on the Waikkal coast near Negombo, a drive of about half an hour.

At the hotel you are welcomed with a cold drink before checking in to your room overlooking the gardens or the sea. There is no sightseeing today; the day is kept free so you can rest and recover from the journey.

Spend the rest of the day swimming in the pool, walking along the long sandy beach and watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean, while children enjoy their own pool and kids' club. In the evening your guide stops by to go through the program for the coming days and answer your questions, with practical tips on the weather, what to wear when visiting temples and which Sri Lankan dishes to try. Dinner and overnight in Negombo.

After a relaxed breakfast at the hotel, your Sri Lanka program begins in Negombo, a calm coastal town whose people have lived from the sea for centuries. Your private driver-guide meets you in the hotel lobby and we set off on an easy day of lagoon, market and Dutch colonial history.

We start with a boat safari on the Negombo Lagoon, a wide stretch of water fringed with mangrove forest. From the boat you will watch fishermen cast their nets the traditional way, spot kingfishers, herons and large monitor lizards, and glide past small islands where local families still make their living from the water.

Next is the Negombo fish market, one of the busiest on the island. The morning catch of tuna, prawns and crabs is sold here, and fish is laid out to dry in the sun in long rows across the sand, a scene you will not forget. From there we move to St. Mary's Church, the town's largest and best-known church, famous for its painted ceiling and one of the reasons Negombo is nicknamed Little Rome.

The colonial story continues along the Dutch Canal, dug in the seventeenth century to carry cinnamon and goods to Colombo and still used by fishing boats today. We finish at the gate of the Dutch Fort, dated 1678, one of the last surviving pieces of the old town walls. Free evening and overnight stay in Negombo.

After breakfast we leave the coast for the heart of the island, driving past rice paddies and coconut groves to Sigiriya, home of Sri Lanka's most famous landmark. Lion Rock is a massive rock rising some 200 metres above the jungle. In the fifth century King Kashyapa built his palace on its summit, and today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The climb leads through water gardens laid out with remarkable precision, past the polished Mirror Wall and the celebrated frescoes of the Sigiriya maidens, whose colours have kept their glow for fifteen centuries. Halfway up you stand between the giant stone paws of the lion that once guarded the palace entrance, and from the top a panorama of forest and lakes stretches to the horizon.

In the afternoon we spend time in a Sri Lankan village. A bullock cart carries you along dirt tracks and through the fields, then a traditional wooden catamaran takes you across a small lake. At a village home you will see how local food is prepared and taste a simple home-cooked meal served on a lotus leaf.

As the light softens we set off by jeep on a safari in a nearby national park, Minneriya or Kaudulla depending on the season. Herds of wild elephants gather around the lakes, sometimes dozens at a time, along with deer, buffalo and water birds. It is an experience that stays with you. Overnight in Sigiriya.

Today we head south to Kandy, the last royal capital of Sri Lanka, a city wrapped in green hills around its famous lake. On the way we stop at a Hindu kovil whose gateway tower is covered with hundreds of brightly painted figures, a first look at the religious and cultural variety that shapes the island.

Next is a herbal and spice garden in the Matale area. Specialists show how cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, nutmeg and vanilla grow, and explain how they are used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. You can taste herbal tea and buy fresh spices straight from the source. Sri Lanka is the original cinnamon island that drew traders here for thousands of years.

In Kandy we visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the most important Buddhist site in Sri Lanka and a World Heritage Site, where a tooth relic of the Buddha is kept inside a golden shrine. The temple is known for its carved wooden ceilings and its galleries above the lake. If your visit falls at ceremony time you will hear the drums and see worshippers carrying lotus flowers. Please wear clothing that covers shoulders and knees.

We then call at a gem workshop to learn about Sri Lanka's famous blue sapphires and how they are mined and polished. The day ends with a traditional Kandyan dance show, with spectacular costumes and pounding drums, finishing with fire walking and fire tricks. Overnight in Kandy.

Today's road climbs through spectacular mountain bends to Nuwara Eliya, a town at about 1,900 metres nicknamed Little England for its cool climate, cottage-style houses and flower gardens. Along the way the scenery changes from tropical forest to whole hillsides covered in tea bushes.

We stop at one of the beautiful waterfalls on the mountain road, where the water tumbles between rocks and forest, a perfect photo spot. Then we visit a Ceylon tea factory to follow the leaf from the field to the cup: hand plucking, withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and grading. The visit ends with a cup of freshly made tea overlooking the estates.

Afterwards we walk through the tea plantations and watch the pickers in their colourful clothes skilfully gathering the tender buds, the tradition that has made the name Ceylon a byword for fine tea since the nineteenth century.

In the afternoon we visit Hakgala Botanical Garden, one of the oldest gardens on the island, laid out in the nineteenth century at the foot of Hakgala Rock. It is full of roses, giant tree ferns, eucalyptus and mountain flowers, and friendly monkeys roam its paths. In the evening you can stroll around Lake Gregory or through the town centre with its colonial buildings. Overnight in Nuwara Eliya.

We start early with a short jeep ride to Moon Plains, a wide grassy plateau on the edge of Nuwara Eliya ringed by mountains on every side. From the viewpoint known as Mini World's End the view sweeps across seven mountain ranges, tea estates and valleys, and on clear days it looks like a painted landscape. The cool air and the mist lifting at sunrise make this one of the finest moments of the trip.

After breakfast we descend from the highlands westwards to Kitulgala, a town on the Kelani River known as Sri Lanka's capital of adventure sports. Here you can go white-water rafting with professional instructors and full safety equipment, running a series of rapids through dense rainforest. It is suitable for beginners, and anyone who prefers not to take part can enjoy the scene from the riverbank.

After lunch we continue to the south-west coast and Bentota, one of Sri Lanka's most beautiful beach resorts, where the Bentota River meets the Indian Ocean. We arrive in the late afternoon to check in to your resort, then relax on the golden sand and watch the sun set over the ocean after a day full of nature and adventure. Overnight in Bentota.

A slow morning on Bentota beach to swim, relax or try the water sports offered at the resort. Then we set off on a boat safari on the Madu River at Balapitiya, a protected wetland with dozens of small islands and natural tunnels of mangrove trees. Along the way you will see birds, monitor lizards and perhaps small crocodiles, and pass an old temple on one of the islands.

We stop at Cinnamon Island, home to a family that has peeled cinnamon for generations. You will see how the branches are cut, how the thin inner bark is peeled and rolled by hand into the familiar cinnamon sticks, and you can taste cinnamon tea and buy oil and other products straight from the craftsmen. On the way back we visit a fish therapy spot where tiny fish nibble your feet, a fun experience everyone enjoys.

In the afternoon we visit the turtle hatchery at Kosgoda, a conservation project that collects sea-turtle eggs from the beaches, protects them until they hatch and then releases the young into the ocean. You will learn about the five species of sea turtle that nest on Sri Lanka's coast and see some of them up close.

We end the day in Ambalangoda at the mask museum, where colourful wooden masks used in folk dances and old healing rituals are carved by hand, and the craftsmen explain the meaning and symbols of each mask. Overnight in Bentota.

Farewell day. Enjoy a relaxed breakfast at your oceanfront resort, and if your flight time allows, take one last walk on the beach or a swim in the pool before check-out. Our team takes care of the luggage and every detail so your only task is to say goodbye to the island.

Depending on your flight schedule we drive north from Bentota on the coastal expressway to Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital. If time allows we can stop for a short tour of Colombo to see the seafront Galle Face Green, the busy Pettah market and the colonial buildings of the Fort district, or visit a shopping centre for last gifts such as Ceylon tea, spices, gems and local textiles.

We reach Bandaranaike International Airport in good time before departure, and your guide stays with you to the departure entrance so check-in goes smoothly. Your flight then takes you home, carrying memories of Lion Rock, the elephant herds, the misty tea hills and the sunsets over Bentota beach.

The Fable Tour team follows your journey until you are safely home. We would love to hear about your trip and to travel with you again. Have a safe flight.