There’s more to Sri Lanka than Buddhist temples and palm-fringed golden beaches. Dotted with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the island has verdant jungle, an average of eight hours sunshine a day and superb tea, ideally sipped in a colonial-style guesthouse overlooking a hillside plantation. In the west, five-star resorts have sprung up alongside chic shacks on beaches where stilt fishermen make their daily catch and surfers catch a wave. On the south coast sleepy Galle Fort’s chic boutiques and annual literary festival are a blueprint for the future.