Designated as a UNESCO World Hertiage Site for its rare mammal life and unique landscapes, the Central Highlands rolls across plateaus and peaks that soar to more than 2,500 meters above sea level. There are dashes of tea fields and rustic tea villages, highland cities packed with mystical Buddhist relics, and national parks that beckon wildlife lovers and adventurers.

When it comes to getting out and about, there are few reserves that can offer the same amazements as the Horton Plains National Park. Carved out by sheer-cut mountains like the appropriately named bluff of World's End, it's topped by Kirigalpoththa, and comes dashed by old-growth woods where purple-faced langurs and Sri Lankan leopards stalk the bush. Beyond that are the serrated tips of the Knuckles Mountain Range, whose summits take up the itinerary for many an adventure trek.

The Peak Wilderness Sanctuary houses perhaps the most popular draw, the Adam's Peak. You can enlist the help of Central Highlands tour guides to conquer its 2,243 meters, a mass of stone that shadows gem fields and ramshackle towns. At its top, the iconic Sri Pada awaits, a footprint of the Buddha in rock that's made the pinnacle a pilgrimage site.