Sri Lanka: a luxury journey from the ancient capitals to Galle

Departure from Italy on a scheduled flight to Colombo, in economy class. Night on board.

Arrival at Colombo airport and meeting with the Italian-speaking driver-guide who stays with you for the whole trip, in a private air-conditioned car. You set off for Sigiriya, in the heart of the Cultural Triangle: about four hours' drive past coconut palms, rice paddies and small villages. Check-in at the hotel and the rest of the day to rest. Sri Lanka is three and a half hours ahead of Italy in summer, four and a half in winter. Dinner included.

A morning at Polonnaruwa, about an hour and a half from Sigiriya: it was the island's capital between the 11th and 13th centuries and is a UNESCO site. You visit the ruins of the royal palace, the Sacred Quadrangle with the Vatadage, the circular relic house, and Gal Vihara, with four large Buddhas carved into the granite: the reclining one is about 14 metres long. Next to the ruins lies Parakrama Samudra, a vast man-made reservoir from the 12th century. Return to Sigiriya. Lunch and dinner included.

Departure for Mihintale, where tradition says the monk Mahinda brought Buddhism to the island in the 3rd century BC. At Kaludiya Pokuna, an ancient forest monastery around a dark-water pond, an hour of meditation with a monk who lives in the forest. Then a visit to the temple and the ceremony of offering food to the monks. On to Ritigala, an abandoned monastery in the jungle on the slopes of the mountain of the same name, with about 70 caves inhabited since the 1st century BC. Return to Sigiriya. Lunch and dinner included.

Early in the morning, before the heat, the climb up Sigiriya Rock: about 1,200 steps to the top, where King Kasyapa built his palace in the 5th century. On the way up you pass the frescoes of the maidens, the Mirror Wall and the huge lion's paws at the foot of the last staircase. Then the Dambulla cave temple, with five painted caves and more than 150 statues of the Buddha, and a stop at a spice garden in Matale. Arrival in Kandy. Lunch and dinner included.

A morning in Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhalese kings, with a tuk-tuk ride around the lake and the streets of the centre. Then the Temple of the Tooth, Sri Dalada Maligawa, which keeps the island's most revered relic. In the afternoon, out to Pilimatalawa, at the foot of the Hantana range, for the 14th-century temples of the Gampola kingdom, with colourful wall paintings. In July or August, on dates that change every year, the city hosts the Esala Perahera, the procession with elephants, dancers and musicians. Lunch and dinner included.

A morning at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya, a few kilometres from Kandy, in a bend of the Mahaweli River: about 60 hectares with the orchid house, avenues of palms and a huge Java fig tree with sprawling branches. Then you board the train, which climbs through terraced tea plantations, woods and small mountain stations, with a light picnic lunch on board. The last stretch to Nuwara Eliya, at about 1,900 metres, is by car. Evenings are cool: a jacket is a good idea. Dinner included.

A day devoted to tea. You visit a plantation, where the pickers pluck by hand the two youngest leaves and the bud, and a factory, to follow the process: withering, rolling, oxidation and drying. Then the town, founded by the British in the 19th century and called Little England for its cool climate and colonial style: Gregory Lake, Victoria Park, the red-brick post office and the old villas. Lunch and dinner included.

You descend from the central hills towards the south-east and the landscape changes: from cool green tea plantations to warmer, drier plains. First stop in Ella, a small town among the valleys, to see the Nine Arches Bridge, the stone and brick railway viaduct built in British colonial times in the middle of the forest. Heading down to Wellawaya, the road passes Ravana Falls. Arrival in Wellawaya, at the foot of the hills, and check-in at the hotel. Lunch and dinner included.

Transfer from Wellawaya to the Yala area, in the south-east of the island, and check-in at the hotel. In the afternoon, a jeep safari in Yala National Park, the most visited in Sri Lanka, among scrubland, lagoons, large rocks and the Indian Ocean coast. It has one of the highest densities of leopards in the world. You also look for elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, water buffalo, deer and peacocks. Sightings are not guaranteed. Lunch and dinner included.

You leave Yala and follow the south coast westwards, past bays, palms and fishing villages, through Tangalle, Matara and Weligama. Arrival in Galle, the fortified city on the ocean built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and enlarged by the Dutch in the 17th, a UNESCO site. Check-in at the hotel and time for a first look around. At sunset, a walk on the ramparts, with the white lighthouse and the ocean in front of you. Lunch and dinner included.

A free day in Galle. One idea: the morning in the lanes of the fort, with its colonial houses, the 18th-century Dutch church, the old Dutch Hospital, now full of shops and cafés, and the craft workshops. In the afternoon, a few kilometres away, the bay of Unawatuna, sheltered by a coral reef and good for a swim, and on Rumassala hill the Japanese Peace Pagoda, with views of the coast. Lunch and dinner included.

Transfer to Colombo airport, about three hours' drive along the Southern Expressway, in time for the scheduled flight back to Italy. End of the trip.