With a suitable location for navigation, Sri Lanka which is an island in the Indian Ocean has become the navigational hub of the Orient in the ancient world. It has a length of 447 km and its widest point of 219 km with a total land area of 65,610 sq km.

The Island enjoys pleasant tropical climate relatively hot in the plains and cooler in the central highlands.

The majority is Singhalese 74 percent who speak an Indo Aryan language called Sinhala. Other major ethnic groups are Tamils and Moors. Majority of the population is Buddhist.

Sri Lanka, the Isle of Serendipity is a tourist paradise with an abundance of tourist attractions like the sunny beaches, glorious ancient cities, salubrious hill country, beautiful fauna and flora, exquisite handicrafts, world renowned gems, traditional dance and drama, colourful festivals, smiling people and not forgetting the mouth watering cuisine.

Sri Lanka is fast becoming the shopping centre of South Asia. It is also the ideal venue for Meetings, Incentive travel, Conferences and Exhibitions in this part of the world. It is the Mother Natures gift to eco tourism enthusiasts.

Over one thousand kilometres of palm fringed sandy beaches encircle the Island. Sri Lanka is never out of season for a beach holiday. There is always some part of the beach that has friendly and warm waters. The beach resorts in the West Coast, South Coast and the East Coast are popular among the tourists who enjoy taking a dip in the warm waters and relaxing on the sandy beach.

Fauna and flora are protected and preserved in several national parks and nature reserves offering the visitor an opportunity to taste the natural beauty. There are eleven such National Parks in the Island but the most popular for viewing animals are the Ruhuna. From the safety of a park bungalow or a covered jeep, visitors can watch several species of animals and birds roaming freely in these extensive reserves

Most Sri Lankan towns, except the larger cities like Colombo and Kandy, are rather low on entertainment. In large hotels, there will often be nightclubs; some hotels, clubs and other venues also offer cultural performances by traditional artistes.

It is fast becoming the shopping centre of South Asia. Several new shopping Malls are opened up in the City offering international brands of mens and womens wear. Garments manufactured in Sri Lanka are of the highest quality which is in great demand in most countries including USA and UK.

Souvenir hunters will find the Handicraft shops including the government handicraft emporium very interesting with a large and wide array of local handicrafts on offer. Tourist shops approved by the Ceylon Tourist Board are found in all tourist resorts.

Besides the above, there are still various choices for your shopping. Just going to Sri Lanka, your dream of shopping for valuable Asia items comes true.

Learn about history of a country before going to the country is a necessity. You are intending to Sri Lanka for your travel or some reason, you also need to know the history of the country. There was a very interesting story behind its history which began in the 6th Century BC with North Indian settlers. Then buddhism shaped the culture which is very visible in the pyramid – like architecture which can still be seen today.

It was formerly called Sinhale or Heladiva and comprised of naga, yaksha, deva, raksha and possibly other tribes as well. It is thought that the island was colonised by the Balangoda people 34,000 years ago after their remains were discovered there. Many artefacts have been found in caves that suggest that they were Mesolithic hunter gatherers. No doubt anyone who is interested in Sri Lanka travel will be keen to investigate these theories.

It is thought that Sri Lanka had trading links with Ancient Egypt thousands and thousands of years ago. This is because cinnamon, which is native to the island was used in Egypt at that time. Even today cinnamon is still one of the main exports of Sri Lanka which is something that those on Sri Lanka travel will discover.

A prince of Kalinga invaded the island from 1215 – 1232 AD using the Tamil and Kerala mercenaries and the country never recovered from this. This is because irrigation works were destroyed and mosquitoes developed and it was during this time that Jaffna emerged as a sub – kingdom.

In 1505 the Portuguese were the first Europeans to embark on Sri Lanka travel. As the country was unable to fend off intruders the Portuguese established a fort in Colombo and gradually extended their control over the coastal areas.

In 1638 the Dutch invaded the island and by 1660 they controlled it all except for the kingdom of Kandy. This wasn’t a happy time for the island as the Catholics were persecuted and people were taxed a lot more than they had been in the past.

The only reason why the British became aware of Sri Lanka travel is because in 1659 a British sea captain was captured by the king of Kandy after he landed there by mistake. He managed to escape 19 years later and wrote an account of what happened while he was imprisoned there.

With briefly introduced history above, it is clear that Sri Lanka is not only interesting and intriguing in landscape and culture but also in the politics that go on today. This always makes a great attraction for anyone who is planning a travel in Asia.