Sri Lanka Coastal Cycle

Colombo · Sri Lanka

Moderate18 daysAsia~£900 est.

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Overview

Sri Lanka rewards the touring cyclist like nowhere else in Asia: within 18 days you can roll out of Colombo's chaos, spin through coconut country to the Cultural Triangle, and climb into tea country where the air suddenly smells of eucalyptus. The set pieces land hard - dawn at Sigiriya's rock fortress before the coaches arrive, the sacred city of Anuradhapura explored by bicycle among cycling pilgrims, and the long staircase of hairpins up to Ella and Nuwara Eliya, where plantation roads contour at 1,800 metres past Tamil tea pickers. Finish south at Mirissa, where blue whales feed offshore, or ride north to Jaffna for the peninsula's resurgent Tamil culture and utterly different food. The monsoon geography is the catch: December to March is dry on the west and south coasts and in the hill country, while the east coast flips seasons entirely, so plan your loop direction around it. Traffic thins dramatically off the A-roads; ride at first light and siesta at noon. About £900 covers guesthouses, rice-and-curry lunches and the odd train leg with the bike in the parcel van. Carry a sarong for temple entries.