In Sri Lanka – a drum beats, an elephant
trumpets and a mystical Buddhist chant fills the air all in one little
moment. This captures the essence of a magical island nation with all
its beauty as well as its complexities. Here is a land which traces its
lineage back to the beginning of time and here is a country within which
there is so much to discover and experience. The ruins of ancient
civilizations stand testament to a great past while man-made tanks
belonging to centuries long gone continue to amaze modern day
scientists. The jungles are home to wild leopards and the oceans are
filled with dolphins and whales. Modern fast-paced cities amidst
traditional rituals and customs. Culture and technology, beliefs and
development. When writing about Sri Lanka in the 14th century, Oderic, a
Franciscan Monk went on to say there were many ‘miraculous things’ of
which he could not write. Even in the 21st century this little island
continues to amaze and hold travelers captive by the range of
possibilities available is such a compact space.
Hanging like a teardrop off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is
located in the Indian Ocean and is one of the countries that makes up
the South Asian subcontinent. A tropical climate makes it warm and sunny
throughout the year aside from the time of the two monsoonal periods
which affect opposite sides of the island.
The indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Veddhas are a tribal group
with roots going back to pre-history. Around the 5th-4th century B.C
North Indian settlers migrated to the island and formed settlements in
the North-West and North-East of Sri Lanka. They came to be known as the
Sinhalese, the majority ethnic community in the country and the people
who also brought the philosophy of the Buddha to Sri Lanka.
Simultaneously as well as later on there came settlers from South India,
who came to be known as Tamils and in the 7th Century AD Moorish
traders from Arabia founded trading settlements around the coastal areas
of the Island. From 1500s to the 1800s Europeans in search of spices
and new lands systematically came, saw and conquered giving Sri Lanka a
Portuguese, Dutch and finally a British flavour until independence in
1948. The results of a continuous stream of migration, invasion and
colonialism was a nation with a vivid and multicultural heritage rooted
in centuries of foreign as well as local influences. In fact George
Bernard Shaw famously said that he was convinced that “Ceylon [was] the
cradle of the human race because everyone there looks an original”.
Visit Sri Lanka and encounter its people, places and customs first
hand. The Kandy Perehara is a annual temple procession cum festival
which comprises of fire-dancers, elephants, drummers and even stilt
walkers to name a few. The 5th century citadel of Sigiriya, also
considered to be the 8th Wonder of the World, was the palace of a
suicidal king. The bustling Bazaar of Pettah, on the outskirts of the
capital Colombo, is the place to experience shopping Sri Lanka style.
The beaches of Unawatuna and Passikudah mirror paradise regained while
the hills of Nuwara Eliya are reminiscent of a colonial era in a little
English town. The delicious local delicacies of rice and some spicy
curries, rotti, biriyani or lamprais washed down with some home-made
ginger beer or thambili will tantalize your senses.
Come and discover Sri Lankan hospitality with Visit SL Travels which is a reflection of Sri Lanka and all it
stands for.