Rock fortresses and tea hills, then a coral island and nothing at all.
An island of forts, temples and a hill-country train, followed by an atoll where the day has no shape at all. Close enough that the second is the reward for the first.
01
Sri Lanka
An island of tea hills, rock fortresses, old forts and southern surf.
Sri Lanka is a compact island with an unusual range: ancient cities and a rock citadel in the dry north, tea plantations and a mountain railway in the centre, colonial forts and beaches along the south coast, and leopards and elephants in the parks between. Colombo, on the west coast, is the arrival point and the capital.
Sigiriya
Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth
The hill country train to Ella
Galle Fort
The dry season, December to April. Dry and bright on the west and south coasts and in the hills: the main season for Galle, the beaches and the Cultural Triangle.
02
The Maldives
A thousand coral islands in rings across the Indian Ocean.
The Maldives is a chain of atolls south-west of India, each a ring of reef enclosing a lagoon, with islands of white sand and palms scattered along the rims. Most resorts have an island to themselves; the capital, Malé, is a crowded city on another; and the seaplanes and speedboats between them are part of the experience.
The house reef
Overwater villas
Manta rays and whale sharks
The seaplane
The dry season, December to April. The north-east monsoon brings dry, sunny weather, calm seas and the clearest water. The high season, and the fullest.
