Romantic Hill Country Getaways

Serene and panoramic, Sri Lanka’s romantic hill country highlands offer salubrious climates, in contrast to balmy Colombo, whilst still for the most part retaining the gorgeous tropical sunshine the Indian Ocean island is known for. Colour contrasts tend to be vibrant and quite striking from the deep blue skies, against the rich emerald of tea plantations to the enchantingly characteristic shades of paddy fields and earthy browns of historical monuments. In the countryside a number of refurbished tea planters bungalows and private
cottages turned boutique hotels dot the landscape offering the cozy colonial comforts of a bygone era. Life is incredibly rustic and unspoiled here and the very air incrediblyrefreshing, the perfect interlude away from it all.

In the highlands, activities include hiking, biking, rock climbing, bird watching and nature treks. In Horton Plains National Park for example you find wide variety of flora and fauna such as elk, deer, sloth bear, wild boar, wild hare, porcupine and leopard. For bird watchers, there 87 species (14 of which are endemic), including a number of migratory birds. There are also botanical gardens of great charm, said to be of even mythological origin, captivating waterfalls of crystal clear water and acres and acres of unspoilt uncovered terrain to explore.

The “Hill capital” Kandy is well known for its fascinating cultural pageant of the Grand Esala Perahara, in July/August each year, but this is by no means the only reason for visiting this World Heritage City . The charming historical city of Kandy has its own special magic that will take you a long while to fully discover. From the ancient Temple of the Tooth relic which houses the most sacred Buddhist relic in Sri Lanka, to the delights of Peradeniyas botanical gardens, trekking in the misty Knuckles range, Fire-Walking shows , a museum which was once the home of Royal concubines, the romance of the Kandy lake and a number of beautiful historical cemeteries …to a chance to bathe elephants in the worlds largest elephant orphanage… a trip to Kandy is just another one of the multicolored facets of the wonder that is Sri lanka.