Remarkable Ceylon

ANURADHAPURA · JAFFNA · TRINCOMALEE

The Road North

Jaffna, the lagoons, and the half of the island nobody sells.

Duration
12 Days
Party
PRIVATE · 2–6
From
US$4,480 per person
Most itineraries stop at Sigiriya and turn round. North of that is a different island: Tamil rather than Sinhalese, Hindu rather than Buddhist, flatter, hotter and almost entirely without other visitors. It was closed for a long time and it is not closed now.

What it is built around

  • Nallur Kandaswamy at dusk, when the temple fills and the drums start
  • The islands off Jaffna by causeway and ferry, ending at a beach with nobody on it
  • Anuradhapura at dawn with an archaeologist, before the pilgrims arrive
  • Palmyra country: toddy, crab curry, and a cuisine that is not the south
  • Whales and quiet water at Trincomalee, in the months the south is unusable

The shape of it.

An outline rather than a schedule. The days move around you once we know your flights, and nothing here is fixed.

  1. Days 1–3

    Anuradhapura

    Straight out of Colombo to the first capital. Three days on foot and by bicycle across a site that took a thousand years to build.

  2. Days 4–7

    Jaffna and the islands

    North through the Vanni. The peninsula, the temples, the library, and a day out to Delft among the wild ponies and coral walls.

  3. Days 8–10

    The east coast

    Down to Trincomalee. Diving or not diving, depending on the sea, and a long stretch of doing very little.

  4. Days 11–12

    Home the slow way

    Back across the interior with a night in the hills to break the drive, then Colombo.

What is included

  • Private vehicle and driver-guide throughout
  • A specialist archaeologist for the ancient-city days
  • Eleven nights, a mix of small hotels and the best rooms available in the north
  • Breakfast daily, plus dinners where there is nowhere else to eat
  • 24/7 direct line to your trip designer while you travel

Best for

Second-time visitors, and anyone whose first question about a country is what happened here.

Probably not for

Travellers who need a resort at the end of each day. The north is rewarding and the hotels are honest rather than luxurious.

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