Saturday 13 July 2013

Welcome to Sri Lanka

Situated in the Indian Ocean in South Asia, the tropical island nation of Sri Lanka has a proud history.  It is a place where the original soul of Buddhism still flourishes and where nature’s beauty remains abundant and unspoilt.

Sri Lanka initially became famous among other countries in the world as “Ceylon” under British rulers who reigned the country from 1815 to 1948. This so called country was granted independence by its rulers on February 04, 1948.Sri Lanka is an island lay in the Indian ocean and in ancient times is was called “pearl of the Indian ocean”. The main reason for this is country’s shape. Sri Lanka is also an island of magical proportions, known as Serendib and Taprobane in the history.

By today, this tiny land is home  for Sinhalese, Tamils , Muslims and a few other ethnic groups. Sinhalese, Tamils and English are main languages in the country.

Few places in the world can offer the traveller such a remarkable combination of stunning landscapes, pristine beaches, captivating cultural heritage and unique experiences within such a compact location.  Within a mere area of  65,610 kilometres lie 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 1,330 kilometres of coastline - much of it pristine beach - 15 national parks showcasing an abundance of wildlife, nearly 500,000 acres of lush tea estates, 250 acres of botanical gardens, 350 waterfalls, 25,000 water bodies, to a culture that extends back to over 2,500 years. National parks, forests, mountains and beaches are country’s other natural recourses. Sri Lanka is considered an agricultural country and it mainly exports tea, rubber and coconuts. As a developing country literacy is as high as developed countries.

 With the end of the three decade long war Sri Lanka is seeing a sudden burst in infrastructure development and a of a new Sri Lanka rising. Today post-war Sri Lanka is seeing a rapid and wide spread infrastructure development within rural and urban areas as never seen in the country before.