Beautiful and Amazing Sri Lanka, “The pearl of the Indian ocean”

Sri Lanka has a documented history of over 2,000 years, mainly due to ancient historic scriptures like Mahawamsa, and with the first stone objects dating back to 500,000 BC. Several centuries of intermittent foreign influence has transformed Sri Lankan culture to its present form. Nevertheless, the ancient traditions and festivals are still celebrated on the island, together with other minorities that make up the Sri Lankan identity. The architecture of Sri Lanka displays a rich variety of architectural forms and styles. Many forms of Sri Lankan arts and crafts take inspiration from the Island’s long and lasting culture. One of the most notable aspects of Sri Lankan art are caves and temple paintings. The culture of Sri Lanka mixes modern elements with traditional aspects and much of the modernization of the tourist industry is now taking place in the country. Sri Lanka is considered as an increasingly popular destination for international tourists. It offers many wonderful things for tourists such as Diversity, World heritage sites, pristine beaches, favorable climate, rich cultural heritage, national parks, wildlife, amazing gardens, attractive waterfalls, beautiful rivers, vast range of cuisine, foods, adventures, festivals and bliss of Ayurveda, forests, various flora and fauna and many more.

Travel and explore the unseen in the country where hospitality is a personalized art.

Highlights of Sri Lanka

08 World heritage sites
Over 20 breathtaking beaches, some which are world
famous and some ideal for surfing
More than 09 National wild life parks
92 species of mammals over 440 species of birds,
242 species of butterflies,
190 reptiles (90 species of snakes), 102 species
of amphibian and 107 species of fish and 90 species of fresh fish)
05 birds sanctuaries close to Colombo

04 nature reserves and botanical gardens
Locations for whale and dolphin spotting
over 100 water falls
A colonial heritage
Adventure tourism (Camping, Windsurfing, Diving,
Snokerlling, White water rafting, Canoeing, Treking, Cross country cycling
etc)
A capital city that has attractions for both young
and old shopping for the traditional tourist night clubs, Bars, Fine
restaurants and pubs for young at heart beautiful tea plantations that
produce the best Tea in the world.

Choose the destination that you prefer
from the variety of choices instore for you!

Read more about Sri Lanka?

Government Type

Republic

Area

Area
65,525km

Adminstrative capital

Sri Jayawardenepura

Climate

Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October) bringing bad weather to the south and west

Highest waterfall

Bambarakanda, 263m

Life Expectancy at Birth

72.0% Male, 78.6% Female

Population

20,359,439 (2012 Census)

Ethnic Groups

74.9% Sinhalese
11.2% Sri Lankan Tamil
9.3% Sri Lankan Moor
4.1% Indian Tamil
0.2% Burgher
0.2% Malay
0.1% other groups
(2012 census)

Electricity

230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer

Agriculture & Products

Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconutsm milk, eggs, hides, beef, fish

Religion

70.1% Buddhist
12.6% Hindu
9.7% Islam
6.2% Roman Catholic
1.4% Other Christians
(2012 census)

Languages

74 % Sinhala (official and national language)
18% Tamil (national language)
8% other languages
Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population

Time Zone

Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)

Industries

Processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining.

Flag Description

Yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels

Official Name

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Coastline

1,340km

Administrative Divisions

09 provincesCentral, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western, Eastern Province.

Independence

4 February 1948

Population Growth Rate

0.7 % (2012 Census)

Literacy rate

96.8% Males
94.6% Females

Exports

Textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish

International Dialling

+94

Highest Mountain

Pidurutalagala, 2,524m

National parks and nature reserves area

8,000sq.km

Population Density

325 people per sq km (2012 Census)

Location

Sri Lanka is located between latitudes 5°55′ and 9°51′ N and longitudes 79°41′ and 81°53′ E

Currency

Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

Commercial Capital

Colombo

Terrain

Mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior

National Flower

The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata)

Labour Force

27.1% of the labour population is employed in agriculture, 26.4% in industry and 46.5% in services: (2016 Annual Labour Force Survey) The unemployment rate is 4.4% (2016 est.)

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