Sri Lanka for the Soul: A Wellness Journey

Touchdown in the capital bright and early this morning. A private driver will be waiting on arrival to welcome you to Sri Lanka and transfer you another four hours to your first hotel: a beautiful wellness retreat nestled in the hills of Werapitiya. Get acquainted with your new home from home for next three nights before spending the rest of the day settling into the rhythm of your peaceful, tropical surroundings. We recommend a sunbathe and swim in one of its beautiful onsite pools and dinner at its traditional Sri Lankan restaurant.

Spend the next two days totally relaxing, unwinding and disconnecting from the pulls of everyday life in this paradisiacal place. Mornings and evenings are reserved for guided sessions of yoga and meditation, while the days are yours to spend relaxing at the hotel or discovering the delights of the natural landscapes that surround you. The spa facilities at the hotel are the crème de la crème, so we recommend dedicating plenty of time to treating your mind and body to the silver platter of treatments on offer. At some point over the next two days you’ll have the opportunity to embark on a personalised Ayurvedic treatment program following an appointment with the hotel’s knowledgeable doctor. We’ve also arranged for you to head out for a guided walk along the picturesque banks of the Santani River with its many tea plantations. Blissful? We know.

Your adventure across Sri Lanka continues today with an hour’s drive to Kandy, a beautiful mountain city known for its sacred Buddha sites. Along the way you’ll stop at a tea farm to discover the production secrets of this beloved beverage. Learn about the cultivation of tea leaves before settling in for a tasting of local teas. Continue on to Kandy and settle into your next hotel: a grand colonial property featuring quality facilities geared towards relaxation.

Rise and shine, you only have one full day in the cultural capital of Kandy and there’s plenty to see and do. After a delicious breakfast and a dip in the pool this morning, head to the Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya with a knowledgeable botanist guide. Discover fabulous orchids, royal palm trees and an impressive Java fig tree as you wind your way through Sri Lanka’s largest botanical complex. Continue on to the Temple of the Tooth, a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site nestled within the former Kingdom of Kandy royal palace complex. A private guide will lead you through the site and teach you all about the fabled origins of the temple, which centres around a precious relic of Buddha’s canine tooth. According to legend, it was saved from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre and brought to Ceylon in the 4th century CE, hidden in the hair of a princess. As such, the temple holds considerable significance for most Buddhists, who feel they must make a pilgrimage here at least once in their lives.

Wave goodbye to the mountains of Kandy as you’re privately driven three hours to Anuradhapura, an ancient city and the first established kingdom in Sri Lanka. On arrival to your new hotel for the next two nights (think a charming old manor house surrounded by rice fields and lily ponds frequented by curious monkeys and peacocks) we recommend seizing the rest of the day, spending it by the sacred tree of Sri Maha Bodhi. One of the eight holy places of Buddhism, legend has it that this ancient 2,000-year-old tree grew from a branch taken from the holy Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, under which Buddha became enlightened. Pilgrims travel here from near and far to bring small oil lamps, recite mantras or pray silently.

Spend your final full-day in Sri Lanka drawing on everything you’ve learnt over the past week. Put your meditation skills to the test with a Buddhist monk. The peaceful forests of Ritigala are home to a collection of ancient monasteries dating back to the 9th century, one of which you’ll have the opportunity to visit. Your monk andguide will explain the principles and teachings of Buddhism in this exceptional setting as you prepare for a meditation session. In the afternoon, you’ll head to the pilgrimage site of Mihinthale, a beautiful rock mountain that is believed to be the birth place of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Continue on to Isurumuniya Vihara, a cave temple dating from the reign of Devanampiya Tissa. The complex is decorated with a host of splendid structures, some of which have been moved to a small museum inside the temple. You can also take the opportunity to visit the nearby remains of the important remains of the cave monastery of Vessagiriya.