Sri Lanka Travel Guide

In spite of all its problems, with lush vegetation, tropical, paradisiacal beaches and the legacy of a centuries-old culture, Sri Lanka certainly deserves its name as "the Splendid Country".

Situated in the Indian Ocean to the southeast of the Indian subcontinent, this unique land of diverse cultures and landscapes covers almost 25,900 square miles (just slightly smaller than the Republic of Ireland). The former name of Ceylon is a relict from the British colonial times and, since 1972, the official state name of the Republic has been Sri Lanka. Rice and tea plantations, spices such as cinnamon, clove, cardamom and vanilla, rainforests and palm tree-lined beaches as well as the composure and friendliness of the locals are all popular aspects of Sri Lanka. Hard to comprehend with such a tolerant national religion as Buddhism is the smoldering civil war that has now been raging between the Buddhist Singhalese ethnic majority (around 80 percent of the approximately 19 million inhabitants) and the Hindu Tamil minority for thirty years now. Therefore the label of 'true paradise' cannot be applied to the whole of Sri Lanka, but as the civil war is restricted to the peninsula of Jaffna and the Tamil settlements in the north (the homeland of the militant rebels, the Tamil Tigers), there are few obstacles preventing tourist access to the most important ancient sites, the mountainous region and residential and holiday areas on the west and south coast.

• Anuradhapura
• Colombo
• Dambulla
• Galle
• Kalutara

• Kandy
• Kurunegala
• Moratuwa
• Negombo
• Nuwara Eliya