Sri Lanka Hotels

Within the Indian subcontinent lies Sri Lanka. It is on the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, it also neighbour’s India and the Maldives. ‘Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte’ is the capital and Sir Lanka is the main link between south east and western Asia. It is renowned for its production of tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon and has dense forests beautiful beaches and landscapes. History The first inhabitants to the area were the ‘Wanniyala –Aetto’ people.

The ‘Sinha Royal Dynasties’ ruled over Sri Lanka for over 2000 years, however some areas were invaded by South Indian Kingdoms and then ruled by various dynasties. During the 3rd century Buddhism came to India, and Sri Lanka became a Buddhist Kingdom. Throughout history Sri Lanka has always been an important port.

In 1505 a Portuguese Colonial Mission landed on the island and in the 17th century the Dutch arrived there. The coastal regions were dominated by the Europeans but the hilly regions remained independent. In 1796 the British East Indians took over the coastal regions from the Dutch and in 1802 it became a crown colony under British government rule.

In 1815 the independent area also became under British rule. The city of Colombo was created and economy grew. Western education was brought to the native people.

The natives struggled for their independence during the 1930s. After World War II the island became independent in 1948 and was known as the Dominion of Ceylon. In 1960 ‘Sirimavo Nandranaike’ became the first female prime minister and in 1972 Ceylon became Sri Lanka.

Civil war broke out from 1983-2009. Climate Sri Lanka has a warm and tropical climate. May is the hottest month of the year and this is usually followed by summer monsoon rains.

Cuisine Sri Lanka’s main cuisine is based on rice, coconut and curry, ‘Pittu’ is a rice meal with coconut, ‘Wattalapam’ is a pudding with jiggery and coconut cream, ‘Kiribath’ is unsweetened rice pudding cooked in thick coconut cream. Places of Interest While visiting Sri Lanka there are several places of interest including ‘Yala National Park’ and ‘Wilpattu National Park’, there are also four main reserves which include ‘Bundala’, ‘Hurulu Forest Reserve’, ‘Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya’ and ‘Sinharaja’. Sri Lanka also has wonderful beaches too.

Other places of interest include the ‘Colombo National Museum’, ‘Gangara Maya Buddhist Temple’, ‘Horton Plains Temple of Tooth’, ‘Isurumuniya Rock Temple’, ‘Citadel of Sigiriya’ ‘Adams Peak’, Pirinawala Elephand Orphanage’, ‘Sinharaja Forest’, ‘Dehiwala Zoo’, Zoological Gardens’, ‘Peradeniya Botanical Gardens’ and the ‘Temple of Gadaladenia’. There are also festivals including ‘Escala Perahera’ which is the grand festival in Sri Lanka and ‘Sinhalese and Tamil New Year’. Summary Sri Lanka is an interesting place to visit with its warm climate and many things to see and do.