Sometimes, a diversion from the beaten track is required. Our West, Central and Southern Sri Lanka ride may be our most popular, but the East Coast? Well, if 300 kilometres of white sandy beaches and the endless blue Indian Ocean sounds good to you, you’re in the right place. We’ll even throw in a safari and some grin-inducing mountain roads for good measure.

Sri Lanka is a captivating island nation situated in the Indian Ocean between India and Southeast

Asia. Over the last 2,000 years, it has been known by several different names including Ceylon and

Serendip. Since the 1970s, the country has officially been called Sri Lanka, a name that perhaps

captures its essence perfectly. ‘Sri’ means ‘resplendent’, while ‘Lanka’ is the Sinhalese word for

‘island’—a fitting description of this beautiful country.

We focus on the East Coast of the country from June through August to avoid the monsoon rains.

And while our route carves a familiar path through the south and on to Yala National Park, from there the beautiful, unspoiled coastline accompany us over our right shoulder. After our fill of the beach, we will visit the ancient capital of Polonnaruwa, one of Buddhism’s holiest sites in the hill station in Kandy and then ride the country lanes back to Colombo.

The colonial splendour of the Galle Face Hotel, the only 5 star hotel directly on the beach in Colombo awaits you. Refresh after your long flight. Use your first day for a massage, a dip in the ocean-front pool or simply join hundreds of Colombans for a

stroll along the Galle Face Promenade. After an afternoon of chill time, we’ll meet for an orientation session and a group meal.

The first stop on our circumnavigation is the Jewel in the Crown of Sri Lanka: the UNESCO World Heritage City of Galle. Founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century, the walled fort is surrounded by the Indian Ocean on three sides and is a beautiful place to stroll along the ramparts of the cobbled lanes at the town’s core. Our hotel for the evening is a beautifully restored Dutch colonial building in the heart of the town.

An easy ride today takes us first inland to visit one of the country’s most ancient Buddhist sites, the 1,000 year old Sandagiri Stupa. After lunch, we set a course for one of the chilliest spots on our route, Tangalle Beach. Our cabanas directly on the Indian

Ocean are shaded by tall palms. Take a stroll on the beach at sunset and join us for a seafood dinner before turning in.

Over the next two days, our experience takes a turn for the wild. We will take refuge at a beautiful ecolodge a short distance from Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park. Bordering the Indian Ocean and covering 979 sq km and is home to Sri Lankan elephants, leopards and 44 mammal species. Here, we will give the bikes a day off and head into the park for a safari with our dedicated naturalist. And when not spotting leopards, we can lounge by the pool and sip gin and tonics until the sun sets.

As we leave Yala and make our way past the towns of the park’s northern perimeter, the road slips into a gentler rhythm. Narrow lanes meander through green paddy fields and clusters of palms, past sleepy villages where the school children wave and life unfolds at an unhurried pace. Cows wander freely, water buffalo and cows graze in the fields

surrounded by tree lined roads. Finally, we join up with the coast road and renew our relationship with the ocean. Arugam is a crazy town known for backpacker bars

and a great surf scene, but rest assured: our digs for the night is far enough from the parties. Tonight, we sleep next to the sea.

The journey between Arugam Bay and Pasikuda is a slow, rustic road trip through Sri Lanka’s untamed eastern heartland, far removed from the busy tourist tracks. The experience is deeply rural and peaceful, taking you past vast green paddy fields,

glassy lagoons dotted with fishing boats, and quiet villages where life moves at a gentle pace. Driving here is an authentic sensory experience, where the coastal breeze carries the scent of salt, and your only real traffic consists of wandering cattle, wild peacocks, and local tuk-tuks. For the next 2 nights, we’re on vacation with the beach and a beautiful pool on tap.

Trincomalee or ‘Trinco’ as it’s affectionately known, is the sleepiest beach town on our ride. Known for its fantastic scuba diving and snorkelling at Pigeon Island, we’ll have a final day to swim and relax. The ride from Pasikuda is a breeze: nicely paved

agricultural roads through Somawathiya National Park of which about 5 km is on a well-maintained dirt road. Then we re-join the lovely A6 highway all the way to Trinco.

We now head inland as we make our way to Polonnaruwa. Polonnaruwa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the second-oldest ancient capital of Sri Lanka. Located in the island's North Central Province, it features well-preserved ruins of royal palaces, shrines, and massive rock-cut Buddha statues dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.

After a night at the beautiful Ekho Lake House, we’ll rise early for a 90 minute tour of the captivating 800-year-old ruins.

Today we run head into the mountains and into the spine of the country, the Knuckles Range. Our destination is the hill station town of Kandy. Situated at about 500 meters, it is noticeably cooler than the landscapes we’ve passed through over the last 10 days, its mountains lush and green. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, a relic from Lord Buddha himself and one of the most revered places of the Buddhist faith. We will spend the evening at one of our favourite rest spots in the country, the Villa Rosa.

Our final riding day has us avoiding the highways and heading over rolling farmland as we tick off the final kilometres on our way back to Colombo. The 160-kilometre stint will see us arriving back at the Galle Face Hotel in time for cocktails on the veranda. We’ll wrap up with a team dinner at a great local restaurant and reminisce over the magical

moments of the last 12 days.