Hunting for affordable alternatives, seaside mini-train... It's beautiful in every way
As 2025 approaches its first third, if you haven't decided where to travel this year, consider destinations recommended by authoritative lists like National Geographic and TripAdvisor. Sri Lanka, which ranks in the top 10 of BBC's "Best Global Travel Destinations 2025," has been repeatedly recommended by the "travel bible" Lonely Planet, and still offers visa fee exemption policies, making it an excellent choice.
With its natural wonders, historical remains, and unique experiences, Sri Lanka—this teardrop-shaped smiling nation floating in the Indian Ocean—attracts history enthusiasts, nature explorers, tea connoisseurs, and niche travel enthusiasts alike. Whether it's the misty mountaintop tea plantations, freely roaming wildlife, old towns, temples, or romantic coastlines, this time you can explore Ceylon through four main themes.
🛕 Ancient Monument Tour: A Dialogue of Civilization Across Millennia
From carved doorways at every corner, temple squares where children play, to palm leaf scriptures caressed by elders' fingertips, every stone in Sri Lanka hides the code of dynastic rise and fall, every wisp of incense tells of devout faith. Here, history isn't confined to museums; millennia of time transform into vermilion on murals, moss on stone steps, and butter lamps in temples, preserving eternity within the flow of daily life.
Watch devotees slowly advance with lotus flowers and incense, participating in a solemn pilgrimage to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the morning light. If you happen to catch the Esala Perahera festival in late July to early August, you'll have the chance to witness the magnificent elephant parade. Inside the Dambulla Cave Temple, hundreds of Buddha statues and colorful murals have frozen in time, witnessing Ceylon's faith inheritance and historical changes.
Climb the approximately 200-meter-high Sigiriya Lion Rock to see the magnificent landscape of rainforests and plains in the distance, and the imposing, strategically positioned palace ruins nearby. Stroll through the exotic Galle Fort, where streets and buildings blend Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial features, narrating the vicissitudes and glory of the bygone trading era.
🍵 Tea in the Clouds: Elegant Moments in British Heritage
If the Indian Ocean gave Sri Lanka its teardrop shape, then the tea plantations covering the mountains are this land's green heart. The emerald waves soaked in year-round mist, the skilled movements of tea pickers' fingertips, and the Victorian-era tea processing machinery still in use today form the genetic code of this "world's top black tea."
Visit Nuwara Eliya, globally recognized as one of the finest tea-producing regions, where you can experience the complete "direct from tea garden to tea pot" process—from withering, rolling, and fermenting to tasting—in century-old tea factories, providing supreme sensory pleasure. Board the highland tea plantation train between Nuwara Eliya and Ella, facing mountain breezes accompanied by the fragrance of tea, as the swaying carriages take you into a fairy-tale world reminiscent of "The Wizard of Oz."
The Queen Elizabeth-style experience in landmark hotels of tea-producing regions is undoubtedly the best way to enjoy an English afternoon tea. For travelers with ample time and budget, staying in heritage hotels deep in the tea mountains, picking tea in private estates, DIY roasting, and tasting specialty dishes cooked with black tea offers an immersive experience of Ceylon tea's charm.
🐘 Wonderful Wildlife: Wild Romance Dancing with Nature
Baby elephants growing under human protection, leopards marking their territory in dense forests, blue whales' tail fins splitting the deep sea's light and shadow, newly hatched sea turtles being sent into the waves... From tropical rainforests to the depths of the Indian Ocean, the rhythm of life unfolds in its most authentic form in Sri Lanka.
Elephant enthusiasts can visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage to watch elephants bathing and select unique elephant dung paper souvenirs to keep or gift to friends. Those wanting to observe wildlife in their natural habitat can venture into Sri Lanka's national parks, following experienced guides skilled at tracking leopards, wild buffalo, and elephant herds by their footprints, scratches, and scents on a jeep safari.
Take a boat out to sea where groups of blue whales, sperm whales, humpback whales, or dolphins await to show off their "impressive figures" as they leap from the water, playfully swim near the surface, or flick their tails and spout water. At sea turtle hatcheries, you can experience the miracle of life by touching adorable newborn sea turtles and be healed by the sight of their tottering gait as they return to the sea.
🌊 Southern Coast: The Indian Ocean's Blue Love Letter
As an island, Sri Lanka isn't satisfied with the single label of "sunshine and beaches." It offers both the wildness of crashing waves and the laziness of swaying coconut palms. The salty sea breeze of the Indian Ocean, carrying thousand-year-old fishing songs and pristine nature, condenses the southern coastline into a long blue poem written by the creator to the world.
Visit the coasts of Weligama and Mirissa in the early morning or at dusk to witness the globally unique cultural spectacle listed in Lonely Planet's "World's Top 10 Most Amazing Fishing Methods"—stilt fishermen silhouetted against the waves, annotating the aesthetics of solitude while capturing the epic saga of humanity's contest with the ocean.
Take a wooden boat into the mangrove labyrinth to touch the ecological codes sealed by intertwined roots. Stretch out on a beach clearing for yoga relaxation, or randomly find a drink shop for a wood apple juice while waiting for a magnificent, filter-free sunset. Hop on the "Spirited Away"-style seaside mini-train and travel forward alongside the dreamlike scenery created by rusty rails and azure waters.
Of course, Sri Lanka's charm doesn't end there.
Wake up early to hike in Horton Plains National Park, where the beauty of "World's End" unfolds before your eyes. Visit the iconic pink post office in Nuwara Eliya for photos and to mail postcards. Under the Gothic dome of St. Mary's Church in Negombo, worshippers' prayers are tinted amber by sunlight filtering through stained glass windows. In a mix of drumbeats and torches, Kandyan dancers in traditional costumes ignite Ceylon nights with their graceful movements... Go unlock the thousand faces of the smiling nation yourself!