Sri Lanka

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For a small island, Sri Lanka has many nicknames: Serendib, Ceylon, Teardrop of India, Resplendent Isle, Island of Dharma, Pearl of the Orient. This colourful collection reveals its richness and beauty, and the intensity of the affection it evokes in its visitors.

Head for the rolling hills to escape the heat of the plains in the cool of tea plantations. The entire island is teeming with bird life, and exotics like elephants and leopards are not uncommon. To top it all off, the people are friendly, the food is delicious and costs are low.

Depending on your viewpoint, Sri Lanka's shape resembles either a pearl or a teardrop, cast adrift in the Indian Ocean.
Those who consider this country a teardrop may do so because of its long history of troubles. The first Europeans to arrive in Sri Lanka were the Portuguese, quickly supplanted by the Dutch in the 17th century. The British acquired Sri Lanka (as Ceylon) from the Dutch in 1796, assuming full control in 1802. But once the country became a Republic in 1972, adopting a new constitution along with the Sinhala name, Sri Lanka, serious conflict arose from the Tamil minority’s (occupying the north and east parts of Sri Lanka) demands for a separate Tamil state, with terrorist activity by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam prevalent since the 1970s. The Tamil are Hindu by religion and ethnically linked to the Tamils of southern India, in contrast to the majority (70 per cent) of Sri Lanka's population who are Buddhists of Sinhalese descent. The Indian Government became involved in this conflict, initially as official mediator but then, after the failure of an armistice in 1987, intervening militarily (on the Government’s side). Its two-year military campaign ended with the death of over 1000 Indian soldiers and an ignominious retreat. The assassination of Indian premier Rajiv Ghandi in 1991 was the apotheosis of the Tigers’ campaign of revenge. After that, the war entered a period of effective stalemate. Outside the Tiger-controlled areas in the north and east, the political environment was dominated by the struggle between the country’s two main political groupings – the centre-right United National Party and the People’s Alliance (a coalition of social-democratic and socialist parties). In 1995, the UNP’s 17-year stranglehold on power was finally broken by the People’s Alliance, under Chandrikha Kumaratunga. Kumaratunga was determined to resolve the Tamil conflict and a deal between the Government and the Tamil Tigers was finally concluded in early 2002. Despite scepticism, the ceasefire has more or less held, despite a serious feud between President Karamatunga and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, which led in 2003 to suspension of Parliament and the dismissal of three ministers, seemingly catalysing a sudden resurgence in Tamil Tiger activity. As with any conflict of that length and hostility, many issues remained to be resolved, not least the future Government of the Tamil-dominated northern and eastern parts of the island and the control of aid for reconstruction and rehabilitation. Being badly hit by the tsunami on December 26 2004, especially in Tamil-controlled areas, also escalated ethnic grievances.
Yet there is also much to champion Sri Lanka as a pearl: past colonisation by the Indians, Portuguese, Dutch and British have all left their marks in ancient architecture; palm-fringed beaches are never far away from mountainous greenery in this jewel of an island. Indeed, Marco Polo proclaimed Sri Lanka as one of the best islands in the world, and for variety and splendour in such a relatively short space, it is a proclamation that is difficult to decry.

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Introduction - Travel Advice - General Information - Passport/Visa - Money - Health

Top Things To Do &See - Travel International -Travel Internal - Climate - Links - Partners