Aarunya Nature Resort

The name means the first rays of the sun, which lands correctly given the Knuckles mountain range filling the window at dawn. This small hillside resort outside Kandy was a tea and spice plantation, and eight villas now sit within the nine-acre estate without a single felled tree. One has a safari-canopy, a private pool, and an open-air bath aimed at the valley. Ayurvedic treatments, fine dining by candlelight, live Sri Lankan music: the agenda writes itself.