Hanging like a tear-drop from the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Ringed by a necklace of palm-fringed beaches, its mountainous interior rears up in a jungled hinterland roamed by elephant and leopard, rising finally to the cool highlands that grow the country's famous tea. Overwhelmingly Buddhist, Sri Lankans practice their gentle beliefs with
a lavish enthusiasm. There are thronged temples and sacred relics, religious festivals and extravagant sacrements, at their most spectacular in the holy city of Kandy, home to the Buddha's tooth. History lives on in the steep, lushly forested hills. This is where you'll find the mighty rock-top fortress of Sigiriya and a cluster of historic towns, including Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The colonial era brought tea-planting on a massive scale to Sri Lanka's cool highlands. You can visit the bungalows of early British settlers as they sit amongst seas of tea-plants, watch pickers at work and factories in action. Walk the streets of Nurweya Eliyah and think Ascot, with timber-framed buildings, G&Ts at members' clubs and even a horse-racing track. European cultures blend in the southern city of Galle, with Portuguese and Dutch elements in this fortified outpost overlooking the Indian Ocean. To see leopard and elephant in the wild there are a number of spectacular National Parks, lushly overgrown in the tropical climate: Yala is perhaps the most visited. Skilled guides point out the smaller wonders: a huge variety of birdlife and brightly-coloured jungle butterflies. Last, but not least, there are beaches galore. Pick your beach to suit the season and your taste. There are quiet beaches while others catch great surfing waves. For a beach experience true to local life head to the south, where fishermen perch on stilts dug into the sand, casting lines into the ocean for their daily meal.