Sri Lanka’s best walks are short, early and rewarded with a view: a fort wall at sunset, a boulder at dawn, a tea ridge before the mist rolls in. Start before 07:00 and finish before the heat. Galle ramparts The Dutch-built walls circle the fort for a couple of kilometres and are free to walk. Pass Triton Bastion, Sun Bastion and Flag Rock, where stories of the spice trade and Portuguese sieges come with the sea breeze.

Start with the rock. Sigiriya rises 200 m out of flat forest, and everything else in the Cultural Triangle feels calmer after it. The main sights below run as a route from north to south. Day one: Sigiriya and Dambulla Sigiriya takes about 1,200 steps, passing 5th-century frescoes of celestial maidens and the giant lion paws before the summit palace ruins. Foreign adult tickets are US$35 (about LKR 11,700), paid in rupees.

Wake above a tea estate with mist in the valley, then finish the week with your feet in warm sand. That is the Sri Lankan honeymoon in one sentence, and it runs on two stays: the hills and the south coast. Tea-country bungalows Planter-era bungalows around Nuwara Eliya and Hatton offer log fires, tea on the veranda and views over rolling estates. Rates vary widely, from modest to very high, so compare a few before you commit.

Ten days is enough to loop Sri Lanka without rushing: ancient cities, hill country, then the coast. The route below works best with a car and driver, which typically costs LKR 18,000 to 30,000 a day. The loop Days 1 to 2, Negombo or Colombo. Arrive and rest near the airport. Days 3 to 5, Cultural Triangle. Base near Sigiriya for the rock (US$35), Dambulla’s caves, and Polonnaruwa (US$30). Add Anuradhapura (US$30, issued for the day) if you have a spare day.

Sri Lanka rewards families who keep days short: one animal encounter, one easy beach, plenty of shade. The attractions designed for children are few, so most good days are outdoors. Elephants, the sensible way The Elephant Transit Home at Udawalawe is run by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, with Born Free support since 2002. Orphaned calves are fed from a distance and later released. Feedings are reported at 10:30, 14:30 and 18:00, with about US$5 plus VAT for adults and US$3 for children, so confirm times and fees before you go.

The best Sri Lankan day trips start from a small number of bases, and each one has a time of day that works. Here they are by starting town. From Sigiriya Minneriya and Kaudulla elephants (about 1 hour). A late-afternoon jeep ride shows herds of up to about 300 elephants gathering on the reservoir grassland. The peak runs August to October. A half-day jeep with a ranger costs roughly LKR 16,000 to 30,000 per vehicle.

Five Sri Lankan attractions, five different sets of entry rules: a dress code at one, dollar pricing at another, and a tea tasting that follows a factory floor. Knowing the rule before you arrive saves queue time. Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy The temple is open daily from 05:30 to 20:00, with ritual offerings from 05:30 to 07:00, 09:30 to 11:00 and 18:30 to 20:00. Foreign visitors pay LKR 3,000, or LKR 2,500 for SAARC, Thai and Myanmar passport holders.

Sri Lanka runs two weather systems at once, so the activity you want decides the month you book. Choose the coast first and the sights second. Which coast in which month The southwest monsoon runs from May to September. It brings rain and rough seas to the south and west coasts and the hill country, while the east and north coasts stay dry with calm water. The northeast monsoon, October to January, flips the picture: rain falls on the Cultural Triangle, the east and the north, and the south and west coasts get their dry season.