Ramboda Falls
A striking twin-cascade waterfall directly alongside the main road into the highlands, an easy five-minute stop that most itineraries drive straight past without slowing down.
Gregory Lake
A colonial era lake at the heart of Nuwara Eliya, popular for a gentle boat ride against a backdrop of surrounding tea hills and cool mountain air.
Lankatilaka Temple
A 14th century Gampola-era temple outside Kandy, its Sinhalese-Dravidian architecture standing alongside the neighbouring Embekke Devalaya as part of the Western Temples trail.
Aluvihara Rock Temple
A cave monastery near Matale where 500 monks first committed the entire Pali Canon, the core scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, to writing on palm-leaf manuscripts in the 1st century BCE, transforming Buddhism from an oral to a written tradition.
Mihintale
A sacred hilltop site near Anuradhapura where the monk Mahinda is said to have met King Devanampiyatissa, introducing Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. A stepped stairway leads to stupas, meditation caves and sweeping views over the surrounding plains.