Cultural Triangle · Hill Country
7-Day Sri Lanka Ancient Kingdoms & Cultural Heritage Escape
Anuradhapura / Sigiriya / Kandy / Colombo
The shape
Two thousand three hundred years of capitals, in the order they were built. Anuradhapura first and for two nights, because a day is not enough for it. Then Sigiriya for two, with Polonnaruwa from there. Kandy, and Colombo at the end.
The Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting carried here in the third century BC and tended without a break since - the oldest recorded planted tree on earth. The Aukana Buddha, cut from a single rock. Sigiriya climbed in the evening, when the heat has gone. Gal Vihara at Polonnaruwa. The painted caves at Dambulla, and the Tooth Relic at Kandy.
Four UNESCO sites, and the pace is built around temple hours and the cool part of the day rather than around distance. Nothing here needs more than three hours in the vehicle.
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 · Anuradhapura · two nights
North, into the dry zone
Met at the airport and driven north through coconut country and paddy to Anuradhapura. It is the longest drive of the week and it comes first, on purpose. The evening is yours.
Days 3–4 · Sigiriya · two nights
The oldest capital
A full day in the sacred city - the great stupas at Ruwanwelisaya and Jetavanaramaya, the monastery ruins, and the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting brought here in the third century BC and tended without a break ever since. Mihintale in the afternoon if you want it, where Buddhism first arrived on the island.
Day 5 · Kandy
Aukana, then the rock at dusk
The Aukana Buddha on the way east - twelve metres, cut from a single standing rock in the fifth century, and best in the morning when the light comes across it. Then Sigiriya, climbed in the evening: twelve hundred steps, the water gardens laid out below when you turn around, and the plain going gold from the summit.
Day 6 · Colombo
A city the jungle kept
East to Polonnaruwa for the day - the royal palace, the quadrangle, the great tank, and Gal Vihara, where four colossal Buddhas are carved out of one wall of granite. Lunch is rice and curry at Priyamali House rather than a hotel. Bicycles if you would rather ride the ruins than walk them.
Day 7 · Departure
North to the airport along the coast road, or the expressway if the flight is early.
1 hr