Sri Lanka is an island country located in South Asia. Sri Lanka is a very impressive country with its exotic beauties, interesting traditions, nature, people and culture.

-Sabah Tourism News-

 

In order to visit Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka, you will need to use connecting flights through Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Maldives. It takes approximately 10 hours to arrive Bandaranayake International Airport in Colombo. Capital city is also the administrative center of the country. Most of the modern buildings and big companies are located in this city. Former name of Sri Lanka is Ceylon. Late 18th century, Sri Lanka was a colony of Holland, after that Portugal and lastly in 1796 of Britain. Sri Lanka gained its independence in 1948. Sri Lanka is a big island located in the south part of India and its shape is like a teardrop. Its surface area is 65 thousand and 610 kilometers. 20 million people live in Sri Lanka and they speak the languages of Sinhala, Tamil, and English. It is known that Buddhism was born in Sri Lanka and spread to the world. 70 % of the population is Buddhist, 15 % of the population is Hindu, 8 % of the population is Christian, and 7 % of the population is Muslim. Sri Lanka is famous for textile, tea, spice, precious and semi-precious stones. Sri Lanka’s economy mostly relies on agriculture. Sri Lanka’s main sources of income are tea, rubber and coconut. Sri Lanka is 3rd biggest tea exporter of the world. Its other significant agricultural product is rice. It has a tropical climate and average temperature is between 27-31 degrees in a year. There are tropic forests almost everywhere in the country.  Silk is very popular in Sri Lanka. You can see many silk manufacturing plants and silk stores in every place of the country. They are not only making sales but also giving detailed information about silk to tourists. They have variety of products made of silk such as ties, scarfs, fabrics, etc. Prices are reasonable. Clock Tower, Statehouse, York Street, Chattam Street and Galle Road are the places you can easily visit in capital city of Colombo. People of Sri Lanka mostly wear colorful local dresses on streets. Women wear sari which is made of long fabric and men wear saron which is shorter.

Palace on the Rock

Sigiriya is one of the places you must visit. A difficult journey is waiting for us in this ruin of the ancient castle and palace. We must climb to the palace on rock which has 200 meters height. Sigiriya is the place where people most wonder to see when they visit Sri Lanka. It was nominated as a candidate to Seven Wonders of the World. It is a very impressive place both in geographical structure and archeological value. Sigiriya is the magma layer which became tough as a result of volcanic eruption. This rock eroded in time and carving caves were built on it. This ancient castle and palace is a significant Buddhism center and there are ruins of ancient kingdom as well. Although it was difficult to climb because of hot weather, we do not give up in order to see the beautiful scene on the top. Paints on the cave walls are the witnesses of one age.

 

Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Rambukkana must be seen. Alone, sick and wounded elephants because of various reasons such as mine explosion are being looked after here. They have started with five elephants in 1975 and it reached 80 elephants in 2014. Baby elephants were fed with milk and fruit. One adult elephant eats 50 kilogram grass, twig, leaf, fruits and drinks 200 liters of water in per day. When elephants are taken to Maha Oya River, which is 400 meters away, in order to drink water and bath, tourists watch them.

Fishing on Stake

Fishing must be seen in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan natives are using the same method for many centuries. Natives climb on five meters of stakes that they piled into the sea and spend their days for fishing. Since tourists have never seen this view before, they take photos and natives want money for each of the photo. After taking money from tourists, natives pose for the cameras.

You Might Come Across Parrots

Sri Lanka is known with its colorful natural life. There are many types of animals on this island country. For instance, 436 different types of birds are living. From these birds, 26 types of them are endemic to Sri Lanka alone. While you walk on the streets, you can see a peacock or a parrot any time. There are 23 different natural parks in Sri Lanka.

Magnificent Dambulla

Dambulla, 172 km away from Colombo, is known as the most well-protected cave temple of the country. King Valagamba spent his 14 years of banishment life in this temple. Temple was added to the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1991. There are 150 sculptures in all sizes and 19th century wall paintings on the walls attract attention. These wall paintings are about Buddha’s life and important moments from the history of Sinhala people. They are very vivid as if they were completed a few weeks ago. When the sun shines, cool and half-light atmosphere of the cave invite you to stay inside and watch this visual treasure.

Endless Tea Gardens

When we were on the road to see the tea gardens in Nuwara Eliya, we watch all tones of the green and the unbelievable view between tropical trees with admiration. Nuwara Eliya is the place where the nicest tea grows in the world. There are many tea planting areas and factories in Nuwara Eliya. Tea factories had been opened to tourism. Tourists visit factories with guides, while tea is served and all process of the production is explained. Scottish James Taylor introduced tea to Sri Lanka for the first time in 1867. First factory was established on 52 hectare area in Kandy in 1871.