Badulla

Badulla marks the southeast extremity of the Hill Country and is a transport gateway to the east coast. It is one of Sri Lanka’s oldest towns, occupied briefly by the Portuguese, who torched it upon leaving. For the British it was an important social centre, but beyond the pretty gardens and clock tower, any vestiges of a past – including a racecourse and cricket club – are lost in Badulla’s typical Sri Lankan bustle. The railway through the Hill Country from Colombo terminates here.

Bandarawela

Bandarawela is a busy market town with an agreeable climate that makes a possible base for exploring the surrounding area. However it's somewhat cursed by heavy traffic as buses, trucks and three-wheelers joust for space. Each Sunday morning the town has a lively market, but otherwise Bandarawela has little to attract tourists.

Ella

In the east of the Horton Plains, feature’s the island’s most charming villages – dotted with spectacular waterfalls like Ravana Falls, the widest of them all. Thrill seekers and nature lovers would find a range of activities such as canoeing, rock climbing and trekking. Perched on a hillside, surrounded by tea plantations, pine forests, pretty little bungalows and many more.

Gampola

Gampola is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid fourteenth century. The last king of Gampola was King Buwanekabahu V. He ruled the island for 29 years. A separate city was built in Kotte during this time by a noble known as Alagakkonara. The longest sleeping Buddha statue in South Asia is located in Gampola, the Saliyalapura Temple.

Haputale

Perched at the southern edge of the Hill Country, the largely Tamil town of Haputale clings to a long, narrow mountain ridge with the land falling away steeply on both sides. On a clear day you can view the south coast from this ridge, and at night the Hambantota lighthouse pulses in the distance. On a not-so-clear day, great swaths of mist cling magnetically to the hillsides. Either way, it’s a spectacular part of the country.

The scruffy town centre is a dusty ribbon of traffic, three-wheelers and small-scale commerce. But take a short walk and you’ll be rewarded with extraordinary views. The railway hugs one side of the ridge in a minor victory for 19th-century engineering.

Haputale is a useful base for trips to Horton Plains; guesthouses arrange vans for Rs 4500 per person.

Hatton

Hatton is a town in the Nuwara Eliya District of Central Province, Sri Lanka governed by the Hatton-Dickoya Urban Council. It is approximately 83 km (52 mi) southeast of Colombo and 44 km (27 mi) south of Kandy and is situated at an elevation of 1,271 m (4,170 ft) above sea level. Hatton was founded during the British colonial times in order to serve the coffee and latter tea estates. The name of the town refers to the village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A number of the surrounding tea estates are also named after Scottish villages. Whilst Hatton serves as a gateway to Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) and Sinharaja Forest Reserve, it is better known for its Ceylon tea plantations and industry.

Horton

Hauntingly desolate, windswept plateau set at an elevation of over 2,000m makes you feel like a world apart which is excellent for trekking which also has a 9km circular walk to World’s End where the cliff falls down dramatically 1000m. Starting your walk early morning is advisable as the plains often gets covered with clouds by the mid-morning.

Kandy

Some days Kandy’s skies seem perpetually bruised, with stubborn mist clinging to the hills surrounding the city’s beautiful centrepiece lake. Delicate hill-country breezes impel the mist to gently part, revealing colourful houses amid Kandy’s improbable forested halo. In the centre of town, three-wheelers careen around slippery corners, raising a soft spray that threatens the silk saris worn by local women. Here’s a city that looks good even when it’s raining.

And when the drizzle subsides, cobalt-blue skies reveal a city of imposing colonial-era and Kandyan architecture, none more impressive than the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, one of Buddhism's most sacred shrines.

Knuckles

The world famous Knuckles Mountain Range has spectacular and striking landscapes often covered in thick layers of misty cloud but in addition to its aesthetic value the range is also of significant scientific interest. The conditions of all the climatic zones in the country are exhibited in this massif. Upon reaching higher elevations there is a series of isolated cloud forests, providing an array of flora and fauna, some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Nuwara-eliya

Sri Lanka is different from mile to mile and Nuwara Eliya could be the perfect example to show out what cold and mistiness is like inside the country. The beautiful flowers, strawberries and hiking and trekking sites around the location Nuwara Eliya offers a plenty of sites you could watch which may drag you to a deeper history.

Pinnawala

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is reputed as being a reserve that possesses the world’s largest herd of captive elephants. Pinnawala serves as a refuge for orphaned and injured elephants while affording both locals and tourists the opportunity to witness these majestic creatures. Pinnawala is the most popular and accessible place to see large numbers of elephants in a natural habitat.