Sri Lanka Tip to Tip by Road Bike

Sri Lanka is an often overlooked holiday destination – mostly due to the recently ended civil war – but it is now a vibrant and safe island to explore with a commendable collection of ancient and natural sights and amazing beaches. For much of the past three decades, large areas of the north were off limits, but this final frontier is now open, and Sri Lanka is now ready for you to explore its hidden treasures from the northern most tip down to the southernmost point.

This road ride takes us all the way down the length of Sri Lanka through a wide variety of terrain. We start riding through the northern plains on flat terrain and explore the Jaffna Peninsula and surrounding islands with its unique mixture of colonial charm and vibrant Tamil culture.

After dipping our tires in the Indian Ocean, we ride south to overnight at little-visited Mannar Island. We pass a plethora of temples and monasteries cycling through the rice bowl of Sri Lanka on our way to Kandy, home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. A rest day in Kandy prepares us for the hills as we work our way south and enter tea country and start climbing on winding roads to the central highlands. What goes up must come down, and we descend to end our journey at the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka at Dondra Point and commemorate the occasion with another dip of our tires in the Indian Ocean.

The first half of this 12-day cycling tour is on primarily flat terrain, so the daily distances are quite long. After our rest day, we ride up into the central highlands, and the distances are shortened to take into account the climbs. You will ride just over 840 km in 9 days of riding. In addition, the route is designed for you to take in the best of Sri Lanka's culture, countryside, and wildlife. There will be one rest day for you to explore Kandy.