Ancient cities

Two thousand years in a day's drive.

Anuradhapura was the island's first capital, its great white dagobas still rising above the trees and the sacred bo tree at its heart. Polonnaruwa came later — a compact medieval city of palaces and carved Buddhas you can cover in a morning.

Between them stands Sigiriya, the rock fortress climbing straight out of the plain, frescoes half-way up and a palace on the summit. And at Minneriya, in the dry months, elephants walk out of the forest to the old reservoir in their hundreds — people call it The Gathering.