Sri Lanka in a Week: Essential Highlights

The group assembles at Colombo airport and travels together in a comfortable coach directly to the Cultural Triangle — a three-and-a-half hour drive through the island's coconut groves and paddy flatlands. Check in to the Water Garden Sigiriya in time for a late lunch by the pool, with the rock fortress visible above the tree canopy. A gentle introductory briefing over dinner sets up the days ahead.

An early 7am start for Sigiriya while the morning is cool — the ancient water gardens, the magnificent frescoes and (for those who wish) the full ascent to the summit. Return to the hotel for a pool lunch, then the 30-minute drive to Dambulla Cave Temples for a late afternoon visit when the pilgrimage crowds have thinned and the cave interiors are most atmospheric. David's briefing on the Buddhist cosmology depicted in the murals transforms the experience from sightseeing to genuine understanding.

The drive south to Kandy breaks for the 10am elephant bathing at Pinnawala Orphanage — one of those experiences that tends to put the whole group in the best possible mood for the rest of the day. Continue to Kandy, checking into the Amaya Hills in time for lunch and an afternoon exploring the lakeside independently before a group dinner in a traditional Kandyan restaurant.

Kandy at full stretch. Morning at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya — the 4,000-species collection spread across 147 acres is genuinely staggering and the orchid house alone is worth the journey. Afternoon for the Temple of the Tooth, which David has visited well over a hundred times and still finds moving. The 6:30pm puja ceremony, with its ceremonial drummers and robed monks, closes the day on the highest possible note.

The drive south from the cool hill country descends through rubber plantations and then coconut groves as the coast approaches and the air warms and sweetens. Check in to the Fort Printers within Galle Fort — a converted 18th-century Dutch printing house with just fourteen rooms, all facing inward to a colonial garden. An afternoon stroll along the fort ramparts with David, who knows every crenellation and can identify every ship on the horizon.

Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most pleasant places in Asia simply to wander with no particular agenda. The Dutch Reformed Church, the old police station (now a museum), the cricket ground where international matches are played within earshot of the ramparts — all are within walking distance of the hotel. A morning tour with David covers the highlights; the afternoon is entirely yours. The group gathers for a final dinner in the fort's finest restaurant.

A final drive north along the coast road — past turtle hatcheries, fishing villages and the old Dutch canal system — to Colombo airport. David accompanies the group to the airport and sees everyone through check-in. Departing with a week of images that will take some time to fully process, and almost certainly a desire to return.