What to pack for Sri Lanka, including the jumper

The single most common packing mistake here is assuming that tropical means hot everywhere. Nuwara Eliya sits at 1,900 metres and drops to ten degrees at night, and almost no guesthouse in the hill country has heating.

The things people forget

A warm layer. One fleece or jumper. You will need it in Nuwara Eliya and on the early train, and nowhere else.

Long trousers and a shoulder covering. Required at every Buddhist site. Shorts and vests will get you turned away at the Temple of the Tooth. A light scarf handles the shoulders.

Socks you do not mind losing. Shoes come off at temples and the stone gets extremely hot at midday. Barefoot on the flagstones at Anuradhapura in the afternoon is genuinely painful.

Reef-safe sunscreen, brought with you. It is expensive and hard to find locally.

A power adapter. Sri Lanka uses Type D and G, 230V. UK plugs mostly fit. European and US plugs do not.

The things people over-pack

Mosquito nets, water purification tablets and heavy hiking boots. Accommodation provides nets where they are needed, bottled water is everywhere and cheap, and trainers handle Little Adam’s Peak and Sigiriya perfectly well.

One genuinely useful item

A dry bag, or even a zip-lock big enough for a phone. Between the whale boat, the afternoon rain and the open train doors, something you care about is going to get wet.

Laundry

Every guesthouse does same-day laundry for very little. Pack for five days, not for two weeks.