THE ROYAL PASSAGE
Empire, Modernity, and the Making of Contemporary Sri Lanka
10–12 Nights | Interpretive Island Journey
Locations Covered
Colombo • Kandy • Cultural Triangle • Nuwara Eliya • Ella • Galle (optional)
Start: Colombo End: Galle/Colombo
Signature moments
Colonial Colombo: Evening Walk by Old Fort and the Harbour Area
The Last Kingdom: Exploring Kandyan Arts, Crafts and Architecture
Ceylon Tea Tales: Lesser-known stories of Local Labour and Colonial Capital
Sigiriya at Dawn and Archaeological Sketching Expedition
Guided dialogue on empire, power, and modernity
Who This Journey Is For
Culturally curious travellers interested in history, politics, architecture, and modern identity. Ideal for guests who want to understand Sri Lanka beyond nostalgia or heritage aesthetics.
What Guests Take Away
A clearer understanding of how colonialism shaped modern Sri Lanka; insight into how landscapes encode power; and a more critical, responsible way of engaging with heritage and travel.
Practical Details
-
Small groups, typically 6–12 guests
Private Tour/ Honeymoon Edition available
Designed as a small-group journey, with thoughtful pacing and longer stays to minimise travel fatigue.
-
Carefully selected 4★+ heritage hotels, boutique properties, and characterful retreats, chosen for comfort, location, and sense of place.
Private Villa Edition available.
-
Private air-conditioned transport for the group. Domestic flights or trains used selectively where they enhance the journey.
-
Accommodation, most meals, site entry fees, guided experiences, curated performances (where applicable), and all internal transfers.
(International flights excluded.)
-
Private departures and customised versions are available on request.
Variations:
A Royal Passage: Honeymoon Edition
A Royal Passage: Coastal Edition
A Royal Passage: Private Villa Journey
Overvivew
In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip travelled through Ceylon during the early years of their reign, encountering ancient cities, colonial institutions, hill-country retreats, and ceremonial life. Their journey unfolded at a moment when empire was giving way to independence—and modern Sri Lanka was being shaped.
The Royal Passage uses this historical moment as a narrative thread to explore the deeper impacts of colonialism: how power was organised, landscapes reordered, identities shaped, and modern tourism imagined.
This journey moves through port cities, plantation highlands, royal capitals, and coastal towns—reading colonial architecture, institutions, and rituals alongside what they displaced, transformed, or left unresolved.