Sri Lanka: Leopard Safaris, Tea Highlands & Ancient Temples

This ten-night small-group tour from G Adventures threads together Sri Lanka’s varied landscapes and customs with a thoughtful pace. The trip begins on the southern coast, where safari drives in Yala National Park offer a chance to spot leopards slipping through the dry undergrowth and to travel mangrove waterways by boat.

Heading inland, the route climbs into the cool tea country around Ella and Nuwara Eliya, with its steep terraces disappearing into mist and colonial-era towns retaining a distinctly different air to the rest of the island. A walking trek to World’s End in Horton Plains and visits to tea factories bring the region’s coffee-break clichés to life in a more practical way.

The final days linger in Kandy and Dambulla, where ancient cave temples, sacred shrines and a dramatic climb up Sigiriya’s rock fortress reveal Sri Lanka’s layering of history and religion. A cultural cooking experience and visits to village crafts provide further texture, with your Chief Experience Officer close at hand to ease the way through Sri Lanka’s many characters and contrasts.

These are the places the trip visits, in order. G Adventures publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.