Sri Lanka

Negombo is a modest beach town located just 10km from Bandaranaike International Airport. With a stash of decent hotels and restaurants to suit all pockets, a friendly local community, an interesting old quarter and a reasonable (though somewhat polluted) beach, Negombo is a much easier place to find your Sri Lankan feet than Colombo.

Tangalla is the gateway to the wide-open spaces and wide-open beaches of southeast Sri Lanka. It's the last town of any size before Hambantota and has some old-world charm. But you're really here to find your perfect beach, and there are several nearby.

Högst upp på berget Ambuluwawa i Sri Lanka finns ett torn med snäva trappsteg och en bang-utsikt som heter duga! Frågan är bara – vågar du klättra upp?

1. Nuwara Eliya Brittisk rekreationsort 2 000 m ö h med häst-kapplöpningsbana, Grand Hotel i Tudorstil och Hill Club där du sitter i blommiga fåtöljer och dricker te medan drottning Elizabeth II blickar ner på dig från porträttet vid öppna spisen. Bergstågen från Colombo och Kandy stannar i Nanu Oya, som ligger 5 kilometer utanför stan. Kolonialistisk villa i

Leaving Colombo most eyes look south, but for those with time on their hands and a sense of curiosity, or for those on the slow road towards Anuradhapura, the northbound A3 heads out of Colombo, skirts some charming old Dutch canals, slides past some sandy beaches and gets utterly lost among a matted tangle of coconut groves and wildlife-filled woodlands. It all adds up to a wonderful sense of discovery.

Matara is a busy, booming and sprawling commercial town that owes almost nothing to tourism – which can make it a fascinating window on modern Sri Lankan life. Matara’s main attractions are its ramparts, Dutch architecture, a well-preserved fort and its street life.

In Tissamaharama (usually shortened to Tissa), eyes are automatically drawn upwards and outwards. Upwards to the tip of its huge, snowy-white dagoba and outwards, beyond the town’s confines, to nearby wildlife reserves crawling with creatures large and small. With its pretty lakeside location, Tissa is an ideal mellow base for the nearby Yala and Bundala National Parks.

Perched at the southern edge of the Hill Country, the largely Tamil town of Haputale clings to a long, narrow mountain ridge with the land falling away steeply on both sides. On a clear day you can view the south coast from this ridge, and at night the Hambantota lighthouse pulses in the distance. On a not-so-clear day, great swaths of mist cling magnetically to the hillsides. Either way, it’s a spectacular part of the country.

A bastion of Hindu tradition, art and creative culture, Jaffna welcomes visitors warmly. It’s intriguing, unimposing, slightly off the beaten path and a thoroughly rewarding place to learn about Sri Lankan Tamil culture.

This small town isn't a destination in itself, but it serves as a good base for Sigiriya and safaris to Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks.