A journey of 8 nights
Heritage of the South
Dutch ramparts, rock temples, mask carvers and the plantation hills, with a historian for company.
- Nights
- 8
- Stays
- 3
- Arranged
- 6
- For
- Heritage, Culture
- Day 1
Through the fort gate
Two hours from the airport to an 18th century mansion inside Galle Fort. Dinner in the courtyard.
- Day 2
The ramparts
The fort on foot with a historian: the Groote Kerk, the old Dutch hospital, the lighthouse, the mansions of the merchants who built it.
- Day 3
Masks and markets
The fish auction on the beach at dawn, then up the coast to the mask carvers of Ambalangoda.
- Day 4
To the hills
East to Firefly Hill, a plantation house of 1912 above Weligama. On the way, the folk museum at Koggala.
- Day 5
The rock temple
Mulkirigala, its cave temples cut into the rock. Back for a long lunch on the verandah.
- Day 6
The southern tip
Dondra Head and its lighthouse, the last of the island before Antarctica.
- Day 7
Among the tea
A ridge of tea and spice above Koggala Lake, and a villa with its own pool.
- Day 8
Nothing planned
The estate, the spa pavilion, and the lake from above.
- Day 9
Home
Two hours back to the airport.
Where you stay
Galle Fort, boutique hotel
The Fort Printers
An 18th century mansion inside the ramparts.
A restored mansion in the UNESCO-listed fort, where contemporary design sits beside original features and heirloom pieces. Dinner is fresh seafood in the courtyard, under frangipani trees.
- SettingGalle Fort
- Built18th century
- From the airport2 hrs
Weligama, private villa
Halala Kanda
Firefly Hill, built in 1912 to win a bride.
A plantation house in the hills above Weligama, found in ruins in 2010 and restored by local craftsmen. Six suites under one roof, with high ceilings, French doors and complete privacy.
- Suites6
- Sleeps12
- From the airport2.5 hrs
Koggala, boutique hotel
Kahanda Kanda
Twelve villas on a working tea estate.
Set along a ridge above Koggala Lake, among jungle and tea. No two villas are alike, each furnished with art and antiques, most standing alone in their own gardens and many with a private pool.
- Villas and suites12
- From the airport2 hrs
- Galle Fort30 min
Arranged along the way
- Galle Fort, on foot. The lighthouse, the clock tower, the Groote Kerk and the Old Dutch Hospital, walked with a guide inside the UNESCO-listed ramparts.
- Galle market and the fish auction. The morning catch sold on the beach by the fort, then the market for fruit and spices, with the villa chef choosing what you will eat that night.
- The mask carvers of Ambalangoda. Masks for the old kolam and healing dances, carved from kaduru wood and painted by hand. A morning in a family workshop, and its small museum.
- Martin Wickramasinghe house, Koggala. The village home of the island's great novelist, with a folk museum of masks, puppets and old coastal life in the garden behind it.
- Mulkirigala rock temple. Cave temples cut into a rock that rises from the plain, reached by hundreds of steps. Reclining Buddhas, painted ceilings, and a view to the sea from the top.
- Dondra Head, the southern tip. The southernmost point of Sri Lanka, with a lighthouse built by the British in 1889 and nothing but ocean between you and Antarctica.
- A car and driver throughout. From the arrivals hall to the last morning.