Three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 48 hours. As calling cards go, few can beat this history-drenched two-day tour of Kandy, Sigiriya and Dambulla in central Sri Lanka. It all kicks off with visits to a spice garden and tea factory en route to Kandy. This lakeside city of tree-lined streets crammed with hawkers, tuk-tuks and vintage buses will enthral you.
Visit the botanical gardens before heading to the Temple of the Tooth Relic – the first of the three UNESCO sites – where one of Buddha's teeth is kept. In the evening, after a tour of Kandy, you'll attend a folk dance show. Overnight in Kandy or Matale, and depart in the morning for the second heritage site – Dambulla Rock Temple.
This sacred Buddhist cave was carved deep into a mountain and it is decorated with 150-plus frescoes and statues. Then it's on to the final heritage site – the ‘Lion Rock' of Sigiriya. It juts out into the sky and, adorned with frescoes and landscaped gardens, makes for an awe-inspiring sight.
