The Cultural Triangle
Sigiriya at dawn, the ruined cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, and the cave temples at Dambulla — the oldest part of the island, driven at a sane pace.
- Duration
- 5 days, 5 nights
- From
- $640 pp
- Group
- Private — your group only
- Best months
- December to April, when the dry zone is at its most comfortable
The Cultural Triangle is the reason a lot of people come to Sri Lanka in the first place, and it is also the part of the island most commonly ruined by scheduling. Operators try to fit Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Dambulla and Kandy into three days, which means climbing a 200-metre rock at eleven in the morning in thirty-four degree heat.
This route takes five. You climb Sigiriya at seven, you see Polonnaruwa from a bicycle, and you arrive in Kandy with enough left in you to sit by the lake in the evening.
If you have more time, this pairs naturally with the hill country — Kandy is where the mountain railway begins.
What you'll do
- Sigiriya rock at 7am, before the heat and the tour buses
- Polonnaruwa's ruined capital by bicycle, not on foot in the sun
- The Dambulla cave temples and their 2,000-year-old ceiling paintings
- Evening Kandyan dancing, then the Temple of the Tooth at closing
Day by day
- 01
Airport to Negombo
We collect you from Bandaranaike airport whatever time you land — most flights arrive around 2am and there is no sense driving five hours after that. Negombo is twenty minutes away. Sleep, eat a proper breakfast, then we start.
- 02
North to Sigiriya
Four hours inland through coconut country and paddy. Afternoon at the Dambulla cave temples, five caves cut into the rock with Buddha images and painted ceilings. Sunset from Pidurangala, the smaller rock opposite Sigiriya — better view, fewer people, and you are looking at Sigiriya rather than standing on it.
- 03
Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa
Gates open at 7am and we are there when they do. The climb takes about ninety minutes with stops. Afternoon in Polonnaruwa, the twelfth-century capital — we hire bicycles because the site is spread over several kilometres and walking it in the afternoon heat is miserable.
- 04
Into the hills to Kandy
A slow road south through Matale, with a stop at a working spice garden if you want one. Kandy sits in a bowl of hills around a lake. Evening Kandyan dance performance, then the Temple of the Tooth for the 6.30pm puja when the shrine is opened.
- 05
Kandy, then onward
Morning at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, then we drive you wherever you are going next — the airport, the hill country train, or the coast. Many people carry straight on into the hill country from here.
What's included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and English-speaking driver-guide
- All fuel, tolls, parking and driver accommodation
- Four nights in hand-picked guesthouses or hotels, with breakfast
- Airport pickup and drop-off
Not included
- International flights and visa (ETA)
- Site entrance tickets — roughly USD 130 per person for this route
- Lunches, dinners and drinks
- Tips
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