Sri Lanka for Couples

A lush hill-country village with iconic train rides, waterfalls, and tea plantations.

Sri Lanka's energetic capital - colonial quarters, temple treasures, seafront promenades, and the island's best food.

'Little England' - a cool hill-station surrounded by endless tea estates.

A crescent beach paradise with world-class whale watching and surf breaks.

A UNESCO-listed Dutch fort town with cobblestone streets, boutiques, and ocean views.

A golden beach resort town known for water sports, ayurveda, and luxury hotels.

A long ribbon of white sand north of Trincomalee, with calm turquoise water and Pigeon Island offshore.

Nuwara Eliya's centrepiece lake - swan boats, pony rides, and misty mountain reflections in 'Little England'.

A famous banana-shaped bay minutes from Galle, with calm swimming, reef snorkelling, and a jungle-clad headland.

Colombo's beloved ocean-front lawn - kites, street food, and the whole city gathered for sunset.

A tiny, palm-fringed crescent bay - the definition of a hidden gem.

A perfect crescent bay with fishing stilt boats, gentle surf, and a vibrant village atmosphere.

Bevis Bawa's flamboyant garden estate - five acres of romantic terraces, artworks, and jungle theatre near Bentota.

A lively fishing city near the airport, famous for its lagoon, Dutch canals, and fiery seafood.

Ella's iconic colonial railway viaduct - nine stone arches curving through jungle and tea, best seen as a train crosses.

A sleepy fishing town flanked by some of the south's longest, emptiest beaches and rocky coves.

Trincomalee's laid-back village beach - golden sand, calm seas, and beach-shack dinners under the stars.

The last king's ornamental sea - Kandy's mirror, ringed by a walking path and crowned by the Tooth Temple.

Ella's beloved sunrise hike - forty-five easy minutes through tea to a ridge with enormous views.

Colombo's classic beach suburb, built around a grand colonial hotel and famous golden-hour views.

A hidden crescent of jungle-backed sand between Matara and Dickwella - one of the south's quietest beaches.

A drowned valley of tea and mist near Hatton - Sri Lanka's most beautiful reservoir and its finest bungalow country.

The great star fort of the north - Portuguese-born, Dutch-perfected, war-scarred, and reborn as Jaffna's sunset promenade.

King Dhatusena's 5th-century inland sea, whose canal to Anuradhapura falls just one foot every mile.

An eerie red-earth plateau above the sea, tied to Ramayana legend and unlike anywhere else on the island.

Sri Lanka's largest natural freshwater lake - boat safaris, birdlife, and lakeside ease an hour from Colombo.

Mirissa's famous palm-crowned headland - a grove of coconut trees above the blue Indian Ocean.

A white-sand cove with a natural swimming lagoon and the south coast's famous palm rope swing.

Geoffrey Bawa's country estate - the garden laboratory of Asia's greatest modern architect, on a lake near Bentota.

Asia's finest botanical garden - 147 acres of royal palms, orchids, and giant trees in a bend of the Mahaweli.

A turquoise spring-fed lake ringed by pines and tea, hidden above Elkaduwa in the Knuckles foothills.

The white sentinel of Galle Fort - Sri Lanka's oldest light station on the ramparts' most photographed corner.

The quiet stretch below Bentota - clean golden sand, turtle projects, and low-key beachfront ease.

Pasikuda's wilder twin - a vast, near-empty arc of east-coast sand backed by palm groves.

South Asia's tallest tower - a 351-metre lotus bud over Beira Lake with the island's highest observation deck.

A sandbar-tethered islet on the deep south coast - wade across at low tide to your own blue-water lookout.

A tiny private island with a 1920s villa, wading distance off Weligama - Sri Lanka's most storied address.