When the noted writer Sir Arthur C Clarke made his home in Sri Lanka in 1956, he claimed the island jewel of the Indian Ocean was the best place in the world from which to view the universe. The author of 2001: A Space Odyssey passed away in 2008, but no doubt the futurist would have logged on to Google Earth to gaze back at his island home from an online universe. And concealed in the sky-high imagery of this teardrop-shaped nation, he would have recognised an amazing diversity for somewhere so compact.

Duration: 6 Days
Places to Visit:
Negombo / Sigiriya / Polonnaruwa / Dambulla / Matale / Kandy / Nuwara Eliya / Peradeniya / Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

Fringing the coasts is an array of gently arcing golden-sand beaches, now making a comeback after the devastation wreaked by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Zoom closer to spy the giant tanks (artificial reservoirs) built by the first Sinhalese rulers around the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Pollonaruwa. In the Hill Country, a layer of cotton wool clouds obscures the view, mirroring the misty mornings travellers often experience in this area of waterfalls and verdant tea plantations.

Duration: 8 Days
Places to Visit:
Colombo / Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage / Sigiriya / Polonnaruwa / Dambulla / Matale / Kandy / Peradeniya / Nuwara Eliya / Kitulgala