The Hill Country

Sri Lanka

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2026

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Elephants in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka

Why visit The Hill Country

Sri Lanka's Hill Country is the island at its most scenic, a mist-wrapped land of emerald peaks and stupendous views, of hillsides carpeted with tea plantations and graced by astonishing waterfalls. This is a place where you can wear a fleece in the daytime and cuddle up beside a log fire in the evening. Where you can enjoy a memorable meal in the eternal city of Kandy or at a roadside shack in lovely Ella. A region where you can walk to the end of the world, stand in the footsteps of the Buddha and be surrounded by a hundred wild elephants. Ride a train utterly bewitched by the vistas. Paddle a raft down a raging river. Enjoy the drumbeat of traditional dance and then savour the silence on a lonely mountaintop.

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Signature Sri Lanka: City, Coast, and Wildlife Corridors in 14 Days

14 days / 13 nights

highlights

  1. 1 Sipping Ceylon straight from the source during a historic Haputale tea plantation tour
  2. 2 Searching for leopards in Yala National Park, one of the world's most significant leopard habitats
  3. 3 Traveling by train from Ambewela to Haputale — the country's most scenic rail journey
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Top places to visit in The Hill Country

Discover the best attractions in The Hill Country from must-see sights to unexpected hidden gems.

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