Hill Country · The South
8-Day Sri Lanka Luxury Heritage, Hill Country & Wildlife Escape
Kandy / Ella / Yala / Galle
The shape
Four places, and time enough in three of them to stop unpacking. Seven nights across four bases. Kandy, Ella and Galle are all held for two, so more than half this journey is spent in the same bed as the night before.
The Tooth Relic during the Thevava and Peradeniya’s orchid house. Four hours on the Nanu Oya line, which is the day rather than a transfer. Two days in Ella on foot. Yala in the afternoon. Then two nights inside the walls at Galle Fort, with a Buddha Puja at a village temple and a cooking morning if you want one.
This is the version for travellers who would rather stay somewhere properly than see one more thing - and the only one of our journeys that sleeps inside the fort.
The Peacock Standard
Always included
- Private vehicle and chauffeur guide throughout
- Every property booked and confirmed
- Breakfast daily, dinner most nights
- Park and site entrances arranged in advance
- Airport meet-and-greet on arrival and departure
- Cold towels and chilled king coconut in the vehicle
- A number answered at any hour
What each day holds
Day by day
Days 1–2 · Kandy · two nights
Inland, past the elephants
Met at the airport and driven inland to the Millennium Elephant Foundation at Pinnawala - rescued and retired elephants, fed and bathed in the river, watched rather than ridden. Into Kandy by evening. The next day is the Tooth Relic at midday during the Thevava, a walk around the lake, and the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, a hundred and fifty acres with an orchid house worth the detour.
Days 3–4 · Ella · two nights
Four hours on the Nanu Oya line
Up through tea country - Ramboda Falls, the Bluefield factory, tasting at the bench - then the train from Nanu Oya to Ella. Four hours through the slopes with the doors open, and it is the day rather than a way of getting somewhere. First-class seats are limited and go months ahead; we book as early as we can and tell you honestly if we cannot. The second day is Ella’s own: Little Adam’s Peak, Nine Arches by tuk tuk, the Demodara Loop, and pol roti with black tea in a village kitchen.
Day 5 · Yala
Down to the dry country
Ravana Falls on the road out, then down from the hills toward Kirinda and into Yala in the afternoon, when the light drops and the animals begin to move. Yala has one of the highest leopard densities anywhere, which is not the same as a promise.
Days 6–7 · Galle · two nights
Two nights inside the walls
West along the coast, stopping at Koggala for the stilt fishermen, then into the fort at Galle - and this time you stay in it, which means the ramparts at sunset and the streets after the day visitors have gone. The second day is Unawatuna, a Buddha Puja and oil-lamp offering at a village temple, and a cooking morning at Angara Home if you want one: the market first, then the kitchen.
Day 8 · Departure
A last morning inside the fort, then the expressway north.
2.5 hrs