Where to stay in Sri Lanka?

On Sigiriya Road, 1.3 km from the town centre, a village guesthouse near Lion Rock. For setting off when the site opens, on foot or by tuk-tuk, before the heat and the groups.

On the Kurunegala-Habarana road, 4.3 km from the town centre, a cluster of villas away from the village. For ending the day in peace, with a car for Sigiriya, Dambulla and the safari.

On Kandalama lake, a hotel built against the rock and covered in greenery. For those who come for the architecture as much as for Sigiriya.

Designed by Geoffrey Bawa in 1994, the building, almost a kilometre long, disappears beneath the plants growing over its façades.

On Inamaluwa-Sigiriya Road, 1.9 km from the town centre, villas set among rice paddies and wetlands. For sleeping near the Rock in a rural landscape, far from the roadside hotels.

The estate was created on abandoned rice paddies, turned into wetlands that are home to lorises.

In Dodamwala, on George E. de Silva Mawatha, 2.2 km from the town centre. For a hostel away from the centre, with a tuk-tuk to reach the lake and the Temple of the Tooth.

In Talwatta, on Rajapihilla Mawatha, 600 m from the town centre. For a simple guesthouse in the hills, with the lake and the Temple of the Tooth within walking distance.

On P.B.A. Weerakoon Mawatha, on the riverbank, 3.8 km from the town centre. For sleeping by the water, away from the traffic of the centre, with a tuk-tuk to the Temple of the Tooth.

In Newburgh, on Ella-Passara Road, 1.2 km from the town centre. For a simple guesthouse on the edge of the village, with the centre on foot and walks into the tea plantations from the door.

In Pattiyakumbura, on the Ella-Wellawaya road, 600 m from the town centre. For a boutique hotel you can walk back to from the village, with trailheads within walking distance.

In Mahamodara, on Dadella, 3.2 km from the town centre, on the ocean just outside Galle. For sleeping facing the sea, outside the ramparts, with a tuk-tuk to reach the fort.

Designed by Geoffrey Bawa, with its staircase decorated with sculptures by Laki Senanayake.

In Kaluwella, on Park Road, 2.6 km from the town centre, with a view of the fort. For a large modern hotel facing the ramparts, when you prefer space to an old house.