SUGATH has been telling me about Sri Lanka's tradition of cave temples. At Dambulla, in the first century BC, King Valgambahu took refuge from his enemies in the natural caves high in the hills. When he regained his throne, he honoured the sanctuary he found by bequeathing five magnificent monuments, with breathtaking sculptures of the Buddha and his disciples hewn from the cave's rocks.

They are still a magnificent sight, although, as Sugath says, ''very tourist'' and you would be well advised to skip the cheapo museum on site. ''But I know another temple, is... virgin,'' he grins.

Still lean and elegant in middle age, Sugath is passionate about his country. Despite never receiving any formal education, he speaks five languages and is an expert on Sri Lanka's religious and cultural heritage, its history and its diverse flora and fauna.

I bump into him at Kandy's beautiful railway station, where he works as a taxi driver and guide and am quickly won over by his warmth, wit and intelligence.

Since I met him, he's organised a deal at what is probably Kandy's most beautifully located hotel - the Thilanka - where I'm almost embarrassed by the luxury, and have its pristine pool to myself as the sun sets in the spiritual high-style over the gigantic Buddha statue across the valley.

We've visited Kandy's Temple of the Tooth, where it is said that Buddha's own gnasher is secreted in magisterial splendour, and spent a fascinating time in the city's superb museum. Here, you can see the treaty with which the Kandyans ceded control of the kingdom to the British in 1815, including clauses which guaranteed their right to practice Buddhism.

Obviously a little confused about the differences between foreign religions, the treaty's draftsmen refer to this as ''Boodoo''.

Sugath and I have also travelled to his home town of Matale on the railway, since his taxi has been taken in for repairs. This is no sacrifice, since Sri Lanka's British-built railways are one of the world's great bargains.

For less than the price of a single stop on the London Underground, you can book a seat on a train in the premier class observation car for the eight-hour journey from Colombo, at sea level, to Nuwara Eliya, at 1,889m.

The train travels up through sweeping hills, passing through picturesque villages where schoolchildren in pristine white uniforms wave, rising past terraces of mathematically elegant rice paddies, gleaming Stupas, crystalline waterfalls. Not bad for a couple of quid.

In Matale, Sugath introduces me to his delightful family. While he shows me round his tiny plot, pointing out where he grows his avocado, coffee, cocoa, spices, medicinal herbs and, of course, coconuts - ''Without the coconut we are nothing'' - while his wife prepares a delicious supper of fish curry and the string hoppers, or noodles, which she makes herself.

Following supper, I'm introduced to his young nephew, aged three, who's very curious to see a white man for the first time, and emerges wide-eyed and a little terrified from the kitchen to stare at me for a few minutes.

But back to the ''virgin'' temple. Sugath and I set off to walk to a local Buddhist monk's house, and knock on his door. Looking a little bad-tempered, a stout figure with a shaven head and crimson robes emerges and looks me up and down.

After a short conversation in Sinhalese, he produces the most enormous brass key I have ever seen, and we set off up the hill.

Dusk is approaching, and crows are noisily settling in the surrounding trees for the night. Otherwise, there is silence as we ascend the remains of what was once a grand staircase. Finally, we arrive at the summit as the sky is dissolving into purples, reds and blues below us. Sugath finds the door, and turns the key.

Inside, illuminated by a single bare bulb, are five serene stone images of the Buddha, delicately painted, with murals showing scenes from the Buddha's life.

I almost want to protest: "I'm just a tourist on a fortnight's holiday - we don't expect to have experiences like this!" But in Sri Lanka, it seems, you do.

I happen to be visiting Matale on the weekend of its annual perahera. The most celebrated of these is Kandy's Esala perahera, a ten-day celebration which packs out the city every July, but there are quite a number of smaller scale events in Sri Lanka's small towns.

The perahera I see is a bit like Notting Hill carnival with elephants. A parade, which stretches miles, of dance troupes in spectacular costumes who have come down from nearby hill villages, accompanied by fiercely energetic drummers.

Fire dancers send flaming hoops spinning round their bodies, and elephants lit with fairy lights snake through the town, lit by torches of fragrant coconut flesh. Although you can smell the arrak - a spirit distilled from what else but coconut - on the air, these events are theoretically alcohol-free, and I'm sternly reprimanded by a young monk who catches me smoking.

But the atmosphere is euphoric enough that you feel quite drunk without drinking. I'm also pleased to notice that I'm the only Westerner about.

It's a bit of a clich that the Arab sailors who happened upon the island in the distant past were so stunned by the island's riches - its fine cities, its spices, the great variety and beauty of its climate and landscape packed onto a relatively small island just south of India - that they called it Serendib. It is from here that we get the word serendipity: the faculty of making happy discoveries by accident.

Sri Lanka has changed a great deal since then: the island's blessings have attracted the successive interest of hungry imperial powers from India, Portugal, the Netherlands and England. All of them have left fascinating cultural legacies, before the British made way in 1948 to return independence to the country.

But serendipity is still one of the keynotes of the Sri Lankan experience. I have never before had a holiday where I have made so many happy discoveries by accident. In this spirit, I suggest, you would do well to include a bit of room for the unexpected in your itinerary.

Do also think about dropping in on Sugath. The best way to get in touch is to go to the Milk Bar at Kandy station and ask for him - everyone knows him. His rates are negotiable, but always very reasonable.

And if you do see him, send my very best.

TRAVELFACTS

* Seven nights B&B in Sri Lanka, where the most popular time to visit is October-March, is around £700 per person, including flights.

* Qatar Airlines is one of the better airlines flying to Sri Lanka from the UK, with flights for 2005 available from £450. Call 020 7896 3636 to book.

* Leading operators from the UK include Abercrombie & Kent (0845 0700 615); Bales (0870 241 3208) and Kuoni (01306 747 008).

* The Sri Lanka Tourist Board can advise on travel plans. Call 020 7930 2627, e-mail srilankatourismaol.com or visit www.srilankatourism.org