A tear-drop falling from the southern tip of peninsular India, suspended on the blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was known over the centuries, as 'The Pearl of the East’, 'Swarndvip’ (Golden Isle) and 'Serendib’ - the root of the word 'serendipity’ – the faculty of making happy discoveries by accident – names which, though rather grandiose, are not too far from the truth.
Sri Lanka has always epitomised the exotic – a place where the earth opens up to yield precious bounty of 'pigeon blood' rubies and bright green emeralds, of yellow and blue sapphires as big as rocks and sloping tiers of rubber, tea, coffee and spice plantations on hillsides. Although tiny, Sri Lanka is one of the world’s major tourist destinations, with enough spice gardens, temples, elephants and tea plantations to hold its own against the rest of the Far East.
Travel Facts
Full Name : Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
; Capital City : Colombo
; Area : 65,610 km˛ ; Population : 20,000,000 ;
Currency : Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) ; Country Dialing Code : +94 ;
Electricity: 230V 50Hz ; Time Zone : GMT/UTC +5.5 ; Languages : Official: Sinhalese, Tamil ; Religion : Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% ; Climate : The climate is generally temperate, with temperatures rarely rising above 35° C. The central highlands have a much cooler climate with mean temperatures hovering at a comfortable 16° C ; Best Time to Visit : Between December to March
; Electric Plug Details : Plug with two circular metal pins ; International Airport : Bandaranaike International Airport.
Sri Lanka’s past is steeped in lore and legend. It is believed that the first Sinhalese arrived on the island from the Indian mainland sometime around the...
Required by all nationals referred to in the chart above,all nationals will be issued with visas free of charge for a period of 30 days on arrival at Colombo Airport....
