Hill Country · The West Coast
3-Day Sri Lanka Cultural Highlands & Tropical Coastal Escape
Kandy / Negombo
The shape
Three days is not long, so this one does two things properly rather than six badly. A night in the hills and a night on the coast, with the drive between them broken by the gardens at Peradeniya.
The Tooth Relic during the midday Thevava rather than around it. A walk around the lake while the heat goes out of the afternoon. Orchids at Peradeniya. Then down to the west coast, where the last morning is a beach and nothing else.
It suits a first visit, a long layover, or the days either side of a wedding - anyone who has three days near the airport and would rather spend them on the island than in a hotel by the runway.
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
Day 1 · Kandy
Up into the hills
Met at the airport and driven inland through coconut country and paddy into the hills. If the flight lands early enough there is time for Pinnawala, where the herd is walked down to the river to bathe - your guide will tell you on the day whether it fits. The evening in Kandy is yours.
Day 2 · Negombo
The relic, the lake, the orchids
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth at midday, during the Thevava ritual rather than around it. Then a walk around the lake, and the botanical gardens at Peradeniya - a hundred and fifty acres of them, with an orchid house worth the detour. Down to the coast in the afternoon.
Day 3 · Departure
The airport is twenty minutes up the road - the shortest transfer on the island.
30 mins