Sri Lanka a beautiful island country, popularly known as ‘The pearl of Indian Ocean’ is famous for its a rich cultural heritage. Due to its unique shape and position to the south of India, Sri Lanka is known as the ‘Teardrop of India’.
Its geographic location and deep harbors made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to the modern Maritime Silk Road. Sri Lanka is said to be the only country in the world where you can see the world’s largest land mammal, the elephant, and the largest marine mammal, the blue whale, in a single day.
Sri Lanka, with its vivid wildlife and biodiversity, is known to house the world’s highest density of Elephants. One can see these mighty and lovely creatures in Udawalawe national park, Kaudulla national park, Yala national park, Minneriya National Park, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage centre and among others.
As for the mighty Blue Whales, which are known to be 30 meters long weighing over 200 tonnes (as Sir David Attenborough pointed out in Blue Planet), tend to create a show by jumping out of the ocean with flapping fins and tails, for a brief period of few weeks between February and March. Hoards of boats carrying a lot of tourists begin from the coasts of Galle and Mirissa chasing these gigantic cetaceans. However, as a responsible travel company, we are committed towards the rules and guidelines set by the WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society).
Sri Lanka offers many national parks. The Kaudulla national park, Gal Oya national park, Kumana national park, Bundala national park, Minneriya national park, Wilpattu national park, Udawalawe national park, Horton Plains and the Yala national park are some of the popular places where tourists can spot elephants, sloth bears, Sri Lankan leopards, deer, buffaloes, wild boar roaming around the forests along with an abundance of fauna and flora
Sri Lanka is also famous for tea culturing and consumption, as being the fourth largest tea producer in the world, popularly called Ceylon (Sri Lanka formerly called as Ceylon) tea is cultivated and produced in the Sri Lankan highlands, like in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Uda Pussellawa, Uva, Sabaragamuwa among others.
The major productions are of Oolong (Chinese tea), Green, White and the normal Black tea varieties. Besides being rich in antioxidants, Ceylon Tea is also linked to health benefits like improved health and blood sugar control, as well as weight loss.
The tropical climate, beautiful coastline greatly influence the cuisines and delicacies of Sri Lanka. Although similar to South Indian with an essence of south Asian cuisines, some of the Sri Lankan dishes are quite native and greatly relished in this region alone. Popular dishes include Fish Ambul Thiyal (sour fish curry), Kukul mas curry (chicken curry), Deviled Sweet and Sour Fish Curry, Polos (Tender Jackfruit Curry), Parippu, Hoppers, Gotu Kola Sambol (Pennywort Salad), Beetroot Curry and others.
Sri Lanka is a hub for water sports and wildlife enthusiasts and heaven for history buffs. The Asian island nation of Sri Lanka has a coastline fringed with numerous pristine golden beaches. Visitors can get a sense of adventure, like exploring sunken ships surrounded by coral and tropical fish or surf over waves with a kite, in the ocean and inland on rivers and waterfalls.
Unawatuna (small village in the Galle district) offers diving and snorkeling during February and March, while from October to April Bentota offers water skiing, windsurfing, banana ride, water-boarding, jet-skiing, tube rides, sea diving, snorkeling and surfing. In Weligama (in Matara District in the Southern Province), one can experience diving and snorkelling during December to April.
Windsurfing is quite popular at Arugam Bay (about 300 km from Colombo) from April to October. Negombo is ideal for diving, sailing, surfing, windsurfing and kite-surfing throughout the year, water sports activities such as jet skiing and banana boat rides are also offered; experienced windsurfers visit Negombo from January to March. The Kelani River water rapids at Kitulgala offers rafting, waterfall abseiling.
Sri Lankan culture is also best known for its cricket, food, holistic medicine, religious icons like the Buddhist flag, and spice exports such as tea, Cinnamon and gems. The traditional Kandyan Saree (Osaria) is a popular attire in Sri Lanka and is worn by women for all ranges of events.
The classical Sri Lankan dances are quite famous, which include the Kandayan dances of the Hill country, known as Uda Rata Natum, the Pahatha Rata Natum and Sabaragamuwa dances or Sabaragamuwa Natum from the southern part of Sri Lanka.
Since Sri Lanka shares a lot of Indian culture, including religion, the epic of Ramayana, this enchanting country also offers and attracts tourists for the famous Ramayana tours. Being a highly popular tour, the locals and international tourists visit the beauty sites of the Ashok Vatika, the battlefield where the two armies fought and many more. The Sri Lankan Ramayana tour is a perfect blend of a pilgrimage and a holiday covering much of these places of religious significance along with pristine beaches, mountains, wildlife and plains.
The most visited places in Sri Lanka are Colombo, Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Galle etc. Colombo, the gateway to the wonder of Sri Lanka, boosts a rich colonial heritage, featuring a melting pot of races, religions and cultures. Sigiriya Rock in Sigiriya is one of the most valuable historical monuments of Sri Lanka, referred by locals as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
Kandy is also the most gorgeous and a sacred city known as the pilgrimage destination for the Temple of the Tooth Relic. Nuwara Eliya, is a City of Lights, is a resort city in the central mountain range of Sri Lanka, This city is known for its Gayatri Pedam, Seetha Amman Temple and Divurumpola. All these holistic places make this country even more attractive and mesmerising.
Galle, the provincial capital and largest city of the southern province of Sri Lanka, showcases the windswept beaches and nodding palms surrounding its colonial-era showpiece, a 16th century Portuguese-built fort. While the rest of the city is trimmed with Dutch-style houses, quirky shops, whitewashed mansions and heritage museums make it even more special and beautiful.
Sri Lanka is genuinely a year round holiday destination , although the best time to go to Sri Lanka is between December and mid-April, which is considered to be the peak season. The southwest monsoon goes from May to September in these areas. Ideally two weeks are enough to see the holistic beauty of Sri Lanka. Often, long distance tourists tend to combine with Maldives, another beautiful country to explore in the Indian Ocean.
For information on the latest COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, special offers, bookings for customisable comfortable journeys, please contact us info@tripalfresco.com. We also organise chartered planes and private jets for bespoke holidays.
Photo Credits : Jaromir Kavan, Åke Samuelsson, Sanka Madushan, David Leo Veksler, Dylan Shaw, Gemmm, Nilu Gunaratne, Gilles Crespin.
