Dilshan Perera
Founder & Lead Guide
Grew up in the shadow of Sigiriya. Has guided the Cultural Triangle for 16 years and still climbs the Lion Rock every week.
Est. 2008 · Kandy
Guides who grew up among the stones.
Ceylon Trails began with one van and one belief: the island's story is best told by the people who belong to it.
Our story
From one van to sixteen years of journeys.
In 2008, Dilshan Perera — a guide raised in the shadow of Sigiriya — bought a single van and started showing friends of friends the monuments he'd climbed since childhood. The difference travellers noticed was simple: he didn't recite dates, he told stories.
Today a team of twelve historian-guides, drivers and village hosts carries that same promise across the island. Groups are still capped at twelve. Guides still live in the regions they show. And every journey still gives back to the temples, schools and villages that make Ceylon what it is.
What we stand for
Journeys with conscience.
Respect first
Sacred places deserve reverence. We teach temple etiquette, dress and silence — and we never crowd a site.
Stories, not scripts
Our guides are historians and storytellers. Every site visit is a conversation, never a recital.
Village-first
Homestays, village lunches and family workshops keep the money — and the meaning — in rural communities.
Giving back
A share of every journey funds restoration and school projects at four sacred sites we love most.
Sixteen years
The road so far.
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2008
One guide, one van
Dilshan starts Ceylon Trails with a single van, guiding friends of friends around the Cultural Triangle.
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2012
The village programme begins
Homestays launch with five families outside Kandy — still the heart of the company today.
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2017
10,000 travellers
The 10,000th guest climbs Sigiriya; the historian-guide team grows to twelve.
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2026
Ancient Ceylon, well cared for
Today we fund restoration and school projects at four sacred sites, and still cap every group at twelve.
The team
The people behind the journeys.
Nadeesha Jayawardena
Head of Journey Design
An archaeologist by training, Nadeesha turns two thousand years of history into journeys that feel like stories.
Kasun Weerasinghe
Village & Homestay Lead
Raised in the Kandyan hills, Kasun knows every family, every field and every recipe in his village network.
Amaya Rathnayake
Guest Care Concierge
The voice at the other end of the phone, day and night. Amaya has rescued more lost passports than she can count.
Beyond the tours
Transport & services.
Car with Driver
Comfortable 4-seater sedans with English-speaking drivers — perfect for city tours and small groups.
- Up to 4 passengers
- AC & comfortable seats
- English-speaking driver
SUV & Vans
Spacious vehicles for families and groups up to eight, with extra luggage space and multilingual drivers.
- Up to 8 passengers
- Extra luggage space
- Multilingual driver
Mini Buses
Perfect for large groups, pilgrimages and family gatherings — luxury comfort with a professional driver.
- Up to 16 passengers
- Luxury comfort
- Professional driver
Historian Guides
Licensed guides who grew up among the monuments — storytelling, not just facts and dates.
- Temple etiquette coaching
- Site-by-site storytelling
- Multilingual options
Tailor-Made Journeys
Any itinerary rebuilt around your pace, budget and interests — from two days to six weeks.
- Design from a blank page
- A dedicated trip designer
- Revised until it's right
24/7 Concierge
One number from booking to landing home — re-routed plans, dinner tables, lost passports.
- Round-the-clock phone line
- In-trip itinerary changes
- On-the-ground problem solving
Come walk with us