After decades of war, peace is opening up the northern reaches of the wondrous isle off the tip of India. British Airways has just created a route to Colombo via the Maldives, says the newspaper.

“Sri Lanka is the travel destination of 2013,” The Guardian adds.

“I want to climb the vertiginous Sigiriya rock, but also to stay in the Kandalama, Geoffrey Bawa's masterpiece on the edge of a lake by the same name,” the writer said.

Staff in sarongs and bare feet pad the airy corridors. Every turn brings views across the vast lake, a perfectly set swimming pool or a jungle glade. The rooms are proportioned to instill a sense of contentedness, he further said.