{"id":69405,"date":"2017-09-02T14:40:08","date_gmt":"2017-09-02T21:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=69405"},"modified":"2017-09-02T14:41:09","modified_gmt":"2017-09-02T21:41:09","slug":"why-sri-lanka-has-the-whole-package-from-history-to-instagrammable-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/09\/02\/why-sri-lanka-has-the-whole-package-from-history-to-instagrammable-beaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Sri Lanka has the whole package: from history to Instagrammable beaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy Evening Standard<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Holiday company Thomson has now spread its wings\u00a0as far as Sri Lanka, says Phil Clarke<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Sri Lanka is a medley of the Indian subcontinent\u2019s greatest hits. History: tick. Tea plantations: tick. Religious monuments: tick. Jungle, crocodiles and elephants: tick, tick, tick. In an area the size of Ireland, ancient sites jostle with pristine beaches and natural beauty is interrupted only by the clicking of a smartphone as filter-free photos are uploaded onto social media. So it\u2019s a canny addition to Thomson\u2019s increasingly extensive list of long-haul destinations \u2014 a chance to opt for something more adventurous than the Balearics without losing the security and ease that come with booking a package holiday.<\/p>\n

I started in the middle. The city of Kandy is a three-hour drive from the international airport in the capital, Colombo, and is billed as the cultural centre of the island. A must-visit is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, an incredibly ornate complex dating back to the 16th century and apparently housing one of Buddha\u2019s actual teeth.<\/p>\n

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Sri Lankan package – in pictures<\/h2>\n
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