One perfect week across the whole island

Most travellers land at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), about 35 km north of Colombo near Negombo. Rather than linger in the capital, point straight for the Cultural Triangle, the cradle of Sri Lankan civilisation, roughly three and a half to four hours north. A pre-booked airport transfer or car with driver is the smoothest start; if you arrive late, spend the first night in Negombo and drive up fresh in the morning.

Break the journey at Dambulla, where a granite hill conceals one of the island's treasures. The Dambulla Cave Temple - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best-preserved cave-temple complex in the country - holds five sanctuaries cut into the rock, with more than 150 Buddha statues beneath murals that have glowed here for over two thousand years. Visit in the late afternoon, when the heat eases and the light turns gold.

Settle into your base near Sigiriya for two nights so you can be on the rock at sunrise tomorrow. Eat a first proper rice and curry, turn in early, and let the journey begin.

Beat the heat and the crowds with a dawn climb of Sigiriya Lion Rock, the UNESCO-listed fortress locals call the eighth wonder of the world. In the 5th century King Kasyapa built a palace on its 200-metre summit, reached through landscaped water gardens, past a gallery of ancient frescoes, and up a staircase that once rose between the paws of a giant brick lion. It's around 1,200 steps and 1.5–2 hours return, and the view over endless jungle is unforgettable. On a budget - or to photograph Sigiriya itself - climb neighbouring Pidurangala Rock instead; many do both.

In the afternoon, choose your flavour of the Cultural Triangle. History lovers should head to Polonnaruwa, the island's medieval capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you can cycle between superbly preserved palaces, temples and the serene rock-carved Buddhas of the Gal Vihara. Wildlife lovers can instead take an afternoon jeep safari into Minneriya or Kaudulla, where - in the dry months - hundreds of wild elephants gather around the receding reservoir in one of Asia's great wildlife spectacles.

Drive south from the dry-zone plains into greener, cooler hills toward Kandy (around 2.5–3 hours), perhaps stopping at a spice garden near Matale to see cinnamon, cardamom and pepper growing. Set around a lake and cradled by forested ridges, Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is the island's cultural capital.

Its heart is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), which enshrines a tooth of the Buddha and is one of Buddhism's most revered sites. Time your visit for an evening puja, when drummers play and white-clad pilgrims file past with lotus blossoms. Round off the day with a colourful Kandyan dance-and-fire show, a lakeside stroll, or a tuk-tuk up to the Bahirawakanda Buddha for a panorama over the city at dusk.

Today the journey is the destination - the climb into Sri Lanka's hill country, a cool green world of tea plantations, waterfalls and colonial hill stations. The highlight is the legendary hill-country train, whose blue carriages thread through emerald tea fields, tunnels and viaducts with the doors thrown open to the breeze.

Stop on the way at a working tea factory - Mackwoods, Pedro or Blue Field near Nuwara Eliya are classics - to watch Ceylon tea being plucked, withered, rolled and graded, then taste it at the source. Nuwara Eliya, "Little England," rewards a quick wander for its misty, half-Victorian charm before you board the train down to Ella.

Ella is the kind of place that tempts you to stay longer - lazy café mornings, big green views and short, rewarding walks. With a full day you can comfortably tick off its signature sights and still leave time for a slow lunch.

Start before dawn with the gentle 45-minute climb up Little Adam's Peak for sunrise over the tea valleys. Mid-morning, walk out to the Nine Arch Bridge, a graceful colonial-era viaduct deep in the jungle - time it for a passing train and the photo is yours. Cool off at Ravana Falls, browse the tea-town shops, and if your legs are willing, take on the longer Ella Rock hike in the afternoon.

Leave the hills early and drop to the dry southern plains for one of Sri Lanka's great thrills: a jeep safari. Yala National Park has one of the highest leopard densities in the world, along with elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles and a riot of birdlife. Udawalawe, closer to the hills and quieter, is the surest place in the country to see large herds of wild elephants up close. Either makes a heart-pounding morning.

After the safari, continue to the south coast - your reward for a busy week. Check into a beach town like Mirissa, Unawatuna or Weligama, peel off your hiking shoes, and feel the pace drop to the rhythm of the waves. A fresh-seafood dinner by the sand is the only plan you need tonight.

Your last day is pure south coast - and how much you pack in depends on your flight. In season (roughly November–April) you can start at dawn with a whale-watching boat from Mirissa, where the seabed plunges deep just offshore and blue whales - the largest animals that have ever lived - pass startlingly close to land.

Spend the rest of the day wandering the ramparts of Galle Fort, a 17th-century Dutch-built walled town and UNESCO World Heritage Site that's still a living maze of boutiques, cafés and sea walls. Then take a final swim in the sheltered, reef-protected bay at Unawatuna, climb to the hilltop Peace Pagoda for a last view over the coast, and make your way back to Colombo and the airport along the expressway. For a fuller version of this stretch, see our dedicated 3-day South-Coast Escape.