A 2-week Sri Lanka plan for history lovers

The 2-week Sri Lanka plan for history lovers runs north first, then south, so the sites appear in roughly the order they were built. Anuradhapura is roughly four to five hours from the airport, and the route ends in Colombo, close to the departure gate.

Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka from roughly the 4th century BCE until its sack in the late 10th century. Its great stupas, the Ruwanwelisaya, Jetavanaramaya and Abhayagiri, were among the largest brick structures of the ancient world, and the Sri Maha Bodhi, grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, has been tended for more than two thousand years.

Two nights allow a full day in the sacred city by bicycle or tuk-tuk, and a morning at Mihintale, roughly 20 to 30 minutes away, where Buddhism is said to have been introduced to the island in the 3rd century BCE. Anuradhapura is still a place of worship, so white or pale clothing covering shoulders and knees is expected.

Sigiriya, the rock citadel of King Kashyapa in the late 5th century, is roughly one and a half to two hours from Anuradhapura. Three nights here cover three distinct periods. The Dambulla Cave Temple has been a monastery since about the 1st century BCE; Sigiriya is a single reign's ambition; Polonnaruwa is the medieval capital at its most complete.

Kandy held out against the Portuguese and the Dutch for more than two centuries and fell to the British only in 1815. Three nights give history lovers what one night cannot: the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic at a puja, the museums beside it, and a half-day loop of three 14th-century temples in the countryside.

Embekke is known for its carved wooden pillars, Lankatilaka for its site on a rock outcrop and Gadaladeniya for its South Indian stonework. On the road in from Dambulla, the Aluvihare rock temple near Matale is where the Buddhist scriptures are traditionally said to have been first written down.

The colonial period is read in the hills and on the coast. Nuwara Eliya, laid out by the British in the 19th century, still has its post office, racecourse and bungalows, and the railway to Ella was built to carry tea. A tea factory visit explains how coffee blight in the 1860s turned the highlands over to tea.

Galle Fort is the best-preserved colonial sea fortress in South Asia. Two nights allow the ramparts at dawn and dusk, the Dutch Reformed Church, the old hospital and the maritime museum. Colombo closes the story with the National Museum, founded in 1877, and the arcades of the Fort district.

The history plan suits travellers who would rather read an inscription than lie on a beach. Choose it if the ancient cities are the reason for the trip. Choose the standard route if a leopard safari, whale watching or three days by the sea matter as much as the ruins.

The plan works best from December to April, when the whole route is dry, and adapts easily from May to September, since the Cultural Triangle is dry then too. Lankan Stays & Trails can arrange licensed site guides at the major sites, which makes a real difference at Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.