Locals call Tissamaharama just Tissa for short. Many wax lyrical about the wonders of their town. Some spin tales of an ancient capital of Sinhalese kings, founded at least as early as the 3^rd Century BC. Others talk of the great religious monuments that crown its skyline. And then there are the Tissamaharama tour guides who look to the wild reserves of the national parks that begin nearby.

A small town with a village vibe, Tissamaharama hugs the banks of Lake Tissa in the deep southern reaches of Sri Lanka. Wandering the patchwork of wetlands and farms that blankets the area is a fine way to sample the bucolic side of the island, with earthy homesteads and glimpses of rustic life going on everywhere. Occasionally, you will see the colossal outline of a white-painted stupa rising higher than the trees. Some of these, like the spike-topped Yatala Vihara, are thought to date back more than two millennia.

The other great draw of little Tissamaharama is the national parks that lurks on the doorstep. To the east is the Yala National Park, where crocodiles inhabit the rivers and leopards stalk the dunes. Then there's the Udawalawe National Park, on the cusp of the mountains to the north-west, where herds of elephants can be seen casting a silhouette against the peaks.