Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka packs an improbable amount into 65,000 square kilometres. In a fortnight you can stand on Sigiriya at seven in the morning, watch a leopard in Yala’s Block One, take the Kandy to Ella train through tea at 1,800 metres, and end on the south coast. The island runs two monsoons, so there is always somewhere dry: the south and west from December to March, the east from May to September. Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa need a good guide or they become brickwork. Off Mirissa, blue whales pass from December to April and the boats leave at half six. Food is the underrated part — hoppers, pol sambol, a proper rice and curry with seven dishes.