After a month and a half in Asia visiting Seoul, Tokyo, Malaysian Borneo and Indonesia, time had flown and Christmas was right around the corner. Luckily, my family graciously joined us in our next destination… Sri Lanka!

This island country lies just off the eastern coast of India in the Indian ocean and hosts a variety of terrains from coastal plains in the north to mountainous areas in the central-south. Being so close to the Indian continent, its influences are strongly felt in the culture and food, with remnants of European colonization in some areas. From 1985 to 2006, Sri Lanka was torn by civil war, and, as a result, the country’s tourism industry was quite small. The relative stability of recent years has translated into an influx of tourists, enabling the discovery of its rich history. Today, Sri Lanka has the highest level of human development in South Asia and the second-highest GDP per capita in the region.

Our trip started out in the capital, Colombo. My boyfriend and I arrived late in the evening, and after few too many hours sleeping, joined my family at the airport for a warm welcome. Bleary eyed but finally together, this trip could begin!

Our first stop was Sigiriya, where lies the UNESCO world heritage site, the “Ancient city of Sigiriya”, an ancient rock fortress which hosted the palace and capital of a Sri Lankan king before eventually becoming a buddhist monastery. The palace itself lied atop the 180m high rock and was surrounded with what became some of the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. Also known as “Lion’s Rock”, it takes its name from the lion-shaped entrance to the palace found on its mid-tier plateau.

As a visitor, you enter the site through the gardens, and slowly make your way up along various terraces, through the Lion’s entrance to the top of the rock. Not only is the archeological site impressive, but the views of the surrounding area too.

Next up was a visit to Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy before European colonization, and the cultural capital of Sri Lanka today. We were there to visit The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, a Buddhist temple housing a relic of the tooth of Buddha and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In local custom, whoever holds the relic also holds the right to govern the country. As such, the temple and its tooth has been deeply intertwined with local politics and the tooth has been located in various royal buildings in the area.

Visitors and believers travel from all over to visit the temple and see the tooth. We had the chance to attend one of the daily ceremonies where the tooth gets exhibited. Mingling with the faithful dressed in white, we were witnesses to the religious ardour that accompanies one of the best-known Buddha relics.

From Kandy, we were off to “Adam’s Peak”. A sacred site, the mountain has a 1.8m footprint at its top which is said to belong either to Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha or Adam, depending on your religious affinities. You can reach the top by way of an almost-eternal staircase that meanders along the mountain’s ridge.

A 5km upward climb with a 1km elevation gain, the way up is a definite test of faith and physical ability. We had heard of other travellers, out of time, needing to turn around just a few hundred meters shy from the summit because of the mass of pilgrims still before them. We therefore left in the early hours of the day to attempt to reach the summit by daylight. To our surprise, even if it was Christmas day, the way up was free of throngs of people and only held a few devout. We reached the summit in little less than two hours and waited for the sun to rise while enjoying a hot cup of tea from one of the many shops along the way.

Over the course of the past few days we had gone from the dry plans of northern Sri Lanka with Sigiriya to lowland rainforest in Kandy, slowly heading up to the Central Highlands, a mountainous region in the central-south of Sri Lanka, were we were then. After a well-deserved breakfast and nap, we were on our way to the main reason of our trip here, hiking among the tea plantations.

With a guide, we hiked through tea plantations by taking a mix of trails and public and private roads, the sun warm on our faces inhaling the crisp mountain air. We watched workers pick the young tea leaves, their dexterity and skill evident. We spent four days hiking, slowly moving from Nuwara Eliya to Ella, trying our best to avoid the pesty leeches on our path, taking dips in waterfalls and thoroughly enjoying the views. Because of British influence, many of the cities we visited kept architectural details from the period, but none left as undeniable a mark in the region as the endless tea plantations.

After four days of warm sunshine, delicious tea and lots of hiking, the day of our safari had arrived. Yes, a safari! Sri Lanka has an abundant flora and fauna including elephants, leopards, buffalos and crocodiles. We left the highlands for Udawalawe National Park which is home to herds of elephants. What a joy to observe these animals in the wild!

Our final days in Sri Lanka were spent enjoying the country’s amazing beaches in Tangalle, celebrating the New Year, and visiting Galle on our way back to Colombo. I became quite ill with a stomach bug during this part of the trip, and couldn’t quite enjoy the last days. Trying to find solace in this ending, it is but another reason to come back. Our trip was ever too short to enjoy all that Sri Lanka has to offer but, as a family, we were glad to have been able to see so much and spend the holidays together.

From my family to yours, have a wonderful 2026!