Sunset on the Indian Ocean and a beach bonfire crackles beneath a slowly rising orange moon. A candlelit table for five sits on the sand, a bottle of wine chills in the cooler.
‘Oh my goodness, look,’ yells my son Felix, 12, rocketing from his chair.
A hand clasps my shoulder. ‘Madam, could you please move your family? An elephant is coming.’
I spin round and there he is. Five tons of elephas maximus maximus, 20ft from the tablecloth. We scatter as hotel rangers follow his progress by torchlight. He’s on his way to a freshwater lake.
‘At least he’s not heading to reception,’ says our waiter. ‘Last time, he spent two hours drinking out of the pond and no one could get back to their rooms.’
Small islands are not meant to have large animals but Sri Lanka is full of surprises – leopards, sloth bears, blue whales, sperm whales, whopping great crocodiles and the largest elephant gathering in the world.
Another eye-opener is that, with three climatic regions, you can avoid the monsoon that hits the south west between May and August by heading to the dry and lesser developed east coast.
Here, the 30C heat of its unspoilt white beaches is soothed by a sea breeze and the national parks are home to some of the best big-game safaris outside Africa.
Throw in a mesmerising melting pot of culture and cuisine and, I assure my husband and three children, we are destined for a holiday like no other.
First stop Negombo, a short hop from the runway in Colombo, with more Virgin Marys than the Vatican (the roadside shrines and Catholic Churches a legacy of Portuguese colonial days) and lodgings that breathe poise and peace.
No sooner are we under the sloping roofs of Uga Riva, a sensitively restored 180-year-old manor house, than I’m eyeing up the fixtures and fittings. ‘This is perfect!’ cries Rose, 18, from the swimming pool as she and Evie, 16, float away the 11-hour flight from the UK.
Next morning, our expedition begins in earnest – to the Cultural Triangle, home to Sri Lanka’s greatest ancient cities.
We kick off with Dambulla, where the climb to its fabled rock temple pings my husband’s dormant fitness app into life.
‘You’re off to a great start,’ reads the understatement of the year as we stand short of breath but full of wonder in the first of five caves bursting with golden Buddhas on their way to Paradise. They’re not the only ones.
Onward to the rural retreat of Ulagalla and a pilgrim’s welcome. Candles are lit, blessings bestowed, bells are rung. It could be an initiation ceremony, I joke, adding that I would happily join whatever was going if it meant living out my days in this special place.
Home for the next three nights is one of 25 palatial villas dotted around 58 acres of woodland with its own lily pond, plunge pool and paddy field. I haven’t the heart to tell the children about the 4am alarm call to go and see a rock. Sigiriya, built as a fifth century king’s fortress 650ft up in the air, is Sri Lanka’s most dramatic sight and there is only one way to do it – climb the metal staircases bolted onto the rock face, and don’t look down.
Sri Lanka Travel Feneteko