Exploration Lanka Tours and Travels

Sri Lanka is a small, tear drop shaped island known as the "Pearl of Indian Ocean", with a square area of 65,610 sq km. A country with a long-standing cultural and religious heritage, rich in bio diversity, with its friendly and hospitable people, is indeed, an inviting destination to explore.

Legend says, civilization of Sri Lanka dates back to more than 2500 years, when it was known as "Ceylon". The first Sinhalese kingdom Anuradhapura, in the dry northern plain, developed during the 4th century BC.

Buddhism was introduced to the country by Arahath Mahinda, son of Buddhist emperor Asoka, who reigned in India in the 3rd century BC. Soon the whole country including the ruler of Anuradhapura, King Devanampiya Tissa and his followers embraced Buddhism. This brought about a major change in the development of the culture and literature whilst providing a strong sense of identity to the Sinhalese people.

For almost 1500 years Anuradhapura remained the capital of the country, with frequent struggle for power between South Indian kingdoms and the Sinhalese kingdom. By the 11th century AD, the capital shifted to Polonnaruwa.

Between 1253 and 1400, there were five Sinhalese capitals namely, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Gampola, and Senkadagala. Portuguese arrived in the country in 1505, and gained monopoly in the spice trade. Although by 1597, they took over the entire coastal belt, but were unable to dislodge the powerful Kandyan kingdom.

With the help of the Dutch, Sinhalese kings were able to expel the Portuguese in 1658, then the Dutch took control of the coastal areas of the island. They too were unsuccessful in their attempts to take control of Kandy. The Dutch were more interested in trade and profits, which resulted in them building a canal system for transporting spices and other crops.

British arrived in the country in 1796. The entire country came under British rule when in 1815 they managed to win control of the kingdom in Kandy. Tea and rubber plantation was introduced and English was established as the national language.

On the 4th of February 1948, Sri Lanka gained independence.

Population & people

Sri Lanka has a population of 19.8 million with a population growth rate of 0.98%. The Sinhalese form the largest ethnic group in the nation comprising of approximately 74% of the total population; they speak Sinhala and are predominantly Buddhists (70%). Tamils, both of Sri Lankan and Indian origin make up of approximately 18% of the population, are predominantly Hindu (15%) and speak Tamil. The balance mainly constitutes of Moors and Malays who follow Islam (9%), Burghers and other minorities. The religion followed by both Sinhalese and Tamil converts is Christianity.

Climate

It is tropical, with two distinct seasons the dry and wet season. During the "Yala" monsoon (May to August), southwestern part of the country gets rain, while the dry season lasts from December to March. During the "Maha" season (October to January), North and Eastern part of the country gets rain, while the dry season is from May to September. During the inter-monsoonal period from October to November, rain and thunderstorms can occur in any part of the country.

Colombo and other low-lying coastal areas have an average temperature of 27°C, while Kandy at an altitude of 500m and Nuwara Eliya at an altitude of 1899m have average temperatures of 20°C and 14°C respectively.