Adam’s Peak is one of Sri Lanka’s most revered religious sites and one of the most extraordinary mountain pilgrimages in Asia. The 2,243-metre summit is sacred to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians and each has their own interpretation of the sacred footprint-shaped depression at the peak. The pilgrimage season runs from December to May and the dawn views from the summit – with the peak casting a perfect triangular shadow across the clouds below – are among the most remarkable in Sri Lanka.

The Knuckles Mountain Range is one of Sri Lanka’s most ecologically significant and scenically dramatic landscapes, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This vast wilderness encompasses cloud forests, misty valleys, cascading streams, traditional farming villages and endemic species – including rare orchids, birds and reptiles found nowhere else in the world. The range offers some of the island’s most rewarding trekking routes, from gentle village walks to multi-day ridge crossings through dense montane forest.

Known as “Little England,” Nuwara Eliya is a cool-climate highland that charmed the British colonial administration and retains its Victorian character to this day. Neat hedgerows, mock-Tudor hotels, rose gardens, a horse-racing track and a celebrated golf course sit alongside misty tea estates and a picturesque lake at the town’s centre. The surrounding hills are carpeted in some of Sri Lanka’s finest tea gardens, with historic estates like Pedro, Mackwoods and Bluefield offering guided tours and tastings.

Horton Plains National Park is one of the island’s most important water catchment zones and is home to a remarkable concentration of endemic flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth. World’s End offers one of the most dramatic viewpoints in Asia, ideally visited in the early morning before clouds gather from below. The plateau’s misty grasslands, montane forests, crystal streams and endemic wildlife create an otherworldly, deeply atmospheric landscape.

Ella is a small, laid-back mountain village that has become one of the island’s most beloved destinations for travellers of all kinds. The town is framed by two dramatic rock gaps that reveal misty valleys and distant plains, with tea estates, waterfalls and jungle-covered hills unfolding in every direction. Key landmarks include the iconic Nine Arch Bridge – a masterpiece of colonial-era railway engineering and Little Adam’s Peak, a relatively gentle hike with spectacular panoramic rewards.