Sri Lanka
When
Jan to March | July to Sept
Price
From 2 200€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
5 nights
Ideal length
Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle, in the north-central part of the island, concentrates the remains of over two thousand years of Sinhalese civilisation: Sigiriya, a fifth-century rock fortress rising over two hundred metres and UNESCO-listed, the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, successive capitals of the kingdom now half-reclaimed by vegetation, and the painted caves of Dambulla, a Buddhist sanctuary in continuous use for over two thousand years.
The Sigiriya fortress, built in the 5th century by a patricidal king seeking an impregnable refuge, stands on a rocky outcrop over two hundred metres high, reached by a metal staircase set between the paws of a giant lion carved into the rock itself, of which only the paws survive today. The frescoes of the celestial maidens, painted on a sheltered rock face halfway up, rank among the oldest surviving examples of Sinhalese painting.
Polonnaruwa, a remarkably preserved 12th-century capital compact enough to explore by bicycle, holds the Gal Vihara, a set of monumental Buddhas carved from a single block of granite. Anuradhapura, older and more sprawling, is home to one of the world's oldest trees planted by human hands, grown from a cutting of the fig tree under which the Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment. The Dambulla caves, a cave temple painted and carved since the 1st century BCE, remain an active place of worship visited daily by pilgrims.
Make this itinerary yours
Every Globale Explore Tours trip is tailored exactly to you. Tell us about yourself and we'll create something that's entirely you.
Jetwing Vil Uyana
A lodge built around reconstructed wetlands steps from Sigiriya, stilted rooms overlooking waterbirds and the rock in the distance.
Heritance Kandalama
A hotel designed by architect Geoffrey Bawa, literally built into the cliff and surrounding jungle, with a view over the artificial Kandalama lake and Sigiriya rock.
Other trips built in the same spirit — more to draw inspiration from.
