The teardrop-shaped island of Sri Lanka is one of the most fascinating places in the world to visit. It’s blessed with seductive beaches, boutique hotels galore and impossibly scenic.
It’s also steeped in culture and history – there are eight fabulous UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka. That’s a lot of UNESCO sites for such a small country!
Climb 1,202 steps up the side of a gargantuan granite outcropping, and you reach the 5th century palace and fortress of King Kasyapa, built on the flat summit of the rock.
The largest of the ancient cities in Sri Lanka. The sprawling ruins, with their crumbling temples, brick stupas, and Buddhist monasteries, cover an area of over 16 square miles.
Thousands of devotees come here to worship, and while you can’t see the actual tooth, you might get a peek at the dagoba-shaped golden casket in which it’s enshrined.
It reached its glory as the country’s commercial and religious center in the 12th century. And like Anuradhapura and Kandy, it too is one of the three points marking the Cultural Triangle.
Behind big fortress walls, you find Dutch churches, picturesque old Dutch houses, the Old Dutch Hospital. You’re forgiven if the Old Town of Galle reminds you a little of Holland!