Sri Lanka Itinerary: 5 Days, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Bentota

Five days in Sri Lanka in January 2024, four of us. We landed in Colombo close to midnight, went up into the hills, liked one of the stays enough to hang around a day longer than planned, came down to the beach at Bentota, and flew out of Colombo at 02:25 on the last night.

This is what we did, day by day.

At a glance

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The route

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Day 0: the airport night

The flight got in at 22:50, so the first night was Oreeka, a transit hotel at Katunayake a few minutes from the airport. Food was at Sameeha in Negombo, a family restaurant that stays open all night, which is what you need at that hour.

Day 1: Colombo to Kandy

About three hours by cab. We stayed at Hill Country Villa.

Kandy was the last royal capital and the Temple of the Tooth is the reason to go. It holds the relic that's kept as the Buddha's tooth, and the inner room where it sits only opens during the pujas, three times a day, so the crowd moves in waves. There's a ticket for foreigners, and you buy flowers outside to carry in. Most of the people around you are in white. The lake is right in front of the temple, so that's a walk rather than a plan. In the evening, the cultural show, an hour of Kandyan dance and drumming with fire walking at the end.

Food was McDonald's, a burger order later, and at some point a play zone. Not the most Sri Lankan day of eating.

Day 2: the train to Nuwara Eliya

Checkout, Pizza Hut, a PickMe to the station. PickMe is the local ride app, same idea as Uber. Then the train up, about four hours, and once it starts climbing it's tea on both sides of the track for most of the way.

The train doesn't go to Nuwara Eliya. It stops at Nanu Oya, a few kilometres short of town, and you take a cab or a tuk tuk the rest of the way.

Nuwara Eliya is the tea town, up at about 1,870 m. Lake Gregory is in town, and we took a speedboat out on it. Strawberries are the thing to eat here. Wine, milkshakes, coffee.

Day 3: one more night

This was supposed to be the Bentota morning.

The Wind Castle is six rooms on a hill built to look like a Scottish castle, facing Pidurutalagala, the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, with the wind that gives it its name coming through all day.

It was pretty enough that we booked another night instead of checking out.

A whole day in Nuwara Eliya with nothing planned. Strawberries, another bottle of wine, milkshakes.

The morning we finally checked out.

Day 4: down to Bentota

The long drive of the trip, hills to the west coast, five or six hours with the stops. Tree of Life Resort is a small place a short walk back from the beach. The rest of the day was the resort and the beach, dinner at a place in Bentota, some shopping.

Day 5: Colombo, and out

Two hours to Colombo. We did Lotus Tower, which is the tallest thing in South Asia and has a view of the whole city from the top, and Fort, the old colonial quarter, and then the airport for the 02:25 flight.

Sunset from the top of Lotus Tower, the last evening.