Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is proof that extraordinary things come in small packages. This teardrop-shaped island off the southern tip of India is smaller than Tasmania, yet it packs in an almost absurd amount of diversity. Ancient cities with Buddhist stupas that rival anything in Southeast Asia. Hill country carpeted in tea plantations where the mist rolls through emerald valleys. Pristine beaches that wrap around the entire coastline. Wild elephants, leopards, blue whales, and over 430 species of birds. Eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in a country you can drive across in a few hours.

The island has been a crossroads for millennia. Arab traders called it Serendib - the origin of the word serendipity. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonized it in succession, each leaving their mark on the architecture, food, and culture. The Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority have a complex and sometimes painful shared history, including a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. But Sri Lanka's appeal is timeless: the 2,500-year-old Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the rock fortress of Sigiriya rising 200 meters above the jungle, the stilt fishermen of the southern coast, and a cuisine so fiery and flavorful that it stands shoulder to shoulder with any in Asia.

Then there is the tea. Sri Lanka is the world's fourth-largest tea producer, and the hill country around Ella and Nuwara Eliya is one of the most beautiful working landscapes on Earth. Train rides through the highlands, past waterfalls and tea pickers in bright saris, are regularly listed among the most scenic railway journeys in the world. For a tiny island, Sri Lanka delivers an extraordinary punch.