Sri Lanka's romantic register compresses an extraordinary variety of landscapes and cultures into an island of entirely manageable scale. The Ella Gap view — from the small mountain town where the misty valley opens between twin peaks and the train line curves through the tea estates below — is the Sri Lanka photograph that couples take and cannot stop looking at. A sunrise Sigiriya rock fortress climb, when the lion rock is lit from below and the Water Gardens are in early mist and the two of you are ahead of the tour groups, is a combined physical and archaeological experience of genuine beauty. A spice garden boat trip on the Madu River lagoon, through mangrove canals with water monitor lizards on the banks, provides the nature register. A Galle Fort sunset dinner in a colonial Dutch merchant house provides the historic luxury version. No rush.