The central highlands rise green and cool above the tropical plains — a landscape of tea gardens, cloud forest and colonial hill stations threaded by one of the world’s most scenic railways.
What to do
Kandy, the last royal capital, holds Sri Lanka’s holiest Buddhist site, the Temple of the Tooth, and erupts every July/August with the Esala Perahera procession of drummers and elephants. From there, ride the blue train through Hatton (jumping-off point for the Adam’s Peak pilgrimage) and Nuwara Eliya’s tea estates to Ella, the backpacker capital with its Nine Arch Bridge and easy summit hikes.
What to eat
Hill country cooking is gentler than the coasts: young jackfruit polos curry, fresh vegetable curries from the Nuwara Eliya market gardens, wild boar in the villages, and endless pots of the world’s best tea. Don’t miss Kandyan sweets — kavum and kokis — around festival time.
Getting there
The Colombo–Kandy intercity train takes about three hours. Book observation-car seats for the Kandy–Ella leg well in advance, or ride third class with the doors open like everyone else.