![Aerial Cape Weligama, Sri Lanka.](/web/20170507113936im_/http://www.traveller.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/x/8/2/5/image.related.TravellerThumbnail.300x200.glx7uf.png/1452224838771.jpg)
The world's newest five-star island destination
Previously a budget backpacker mecca, this island nation is now a luxury destination on the rise.
Previously a budget backpacker mecca, this island nation is now a luxury destination on the rise.
Guided tours do a great job of showing you the highlights, but you might miss out on hidden treasures.
Sri Lanka's Sigiriya Rock sits lordly and alone and inevitably brings Uluru to mind.
We seven siblings are spread between the UK and Australasia. Where would be best to meet up in the middle?
The waterfront hotel that pulls in diplomats, movie stars and travellers.
Sri Lanka has lagged well behind in luxury resort accommodation but the Anantara is a big leap in the right direction.
Thatched huts line the wide, sandy beach offering surf lessons and surfboard hire as well as other water sports.
It's a glass half-full for the cranky macaque and his gang of droopy-nippled alcoholics who slurp up the spilt gin.
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Mysteriously untouched by tourism, Sri Lanka ticks all boxes on a traveller's checklist. Picture riding ruby-red trains that chug through luminescent-green tea plantations; palm trees jutting over dazzling white beaches while stilt fisherman ply their trade undisturbed from the shallows; magnificent 2000-plus years UNESCO ruins begging exploration, and a singular, spectacular cuisine. Don't think. Just go.