You need to allow yourself at least two weeks to do this whistle
stop tour! Arrive into Colombo and take a bus north east to Kandy a
100km so not too far. Take time out to see the Temple of the Tooth,
explore around the lake, visit the botanical gardens, the elephant
orphanage etc.
Then another bus to Nuwara Eliya, some 80km away, up in the hill
station region of Sri Lanka. Great hikes here, visit tea plantations
etc. Then by bus again to Dambulla, Visit the cave temple of Dambulla
there are 5 caves containing 150 images of the Buddha you are going
to be Budda'd out by the time you finish this!! Fantastic views
from the top of the temple.
Take a bus to nearby Sigiriya (19km north-east of Dambulla about
half an hour) where there is an amazing fortress built into and on
top of a mountain. It is quite steep and if you have problems with
heights, you may not be able to go all the way up the Beetle
couldn't. It started as a fortress, then turned into a monastery
sort of retreat. There are fabulous frescos of dancing women inside
the cave half way up.
From here, go back to Dambulla and continue north by bus to
Polonnaruwa. This takes about three hours. Visit the ruins of the
ancient civilisation and see the enormous seated Buddha. After
Polonnaruwa, take a bus up to Anuradhapura, (about four hours), the
site of another ancient city, and there is a sacred Bo tree.
You've done enough cultural stuff! So take the bus all the way
back down to Colombo – about five hours. Don't hang around in
Colombo – it's not a nice place, but if you have funds and want
to go to the Maldives, try the big hotels and see if they have any
special deals – they can be quite good value. From Colombo, take the
train to Galle (around three hours) and a taxi to Unawatuna and relax
on the beach before returning to Colombo by train.
If you are interested in surfing, stop off at Hikkaduwa, a real
hippy and surf place on the south west coast.
