Sri Lanka Holidays
Sri Lanka is known as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’, the tropical teardrop at the toe of India. An island filled with beauty from the swaying palms on the golden sandy beaches to the rolling hills, which boast dazzling waterfalls. Mixed with the colourful Buddhist temples, tropical forests and the grand ruins of the ancient cities, Sri Lanka could well be the most scenically interesting islands in the world. Apart from offering beauty and charm, Sri Lanka is an island to explore, visit the precious gem mines, sip the finest of tea and meet the orphaned Elephants. Choose from lazy days on the beach to fascinating tours. The resort of Negombo is the liveliest resort with plenty of shops, bars and restaurants and known for its delicious lobsters. Waikkal & Kalutara are popular for tropical beaches and low-key nightlife and the resorts of Beruwela & Bentota are virtually untouched, with stunning beaches and no nightlife.

Weather
Sri Lanka has a good climate all year round with the average of 27C. The best time to visit is December – March and August & September when there is less rainfall.By Day
Apart from offering beauty and charm, Sri Lanka is an island to explore offering lots of places of interest, there is something for everyone whether you are looking for history, activity, culture or simply relaxation on the golden beaches. Visit the ancient cities, Buddhist Temples, heritage sites, elepahnt orphanage and precious gem mines or go on safari, try white water rafting, rock climbing and hot air ballooning.
By Night
A typical tropical nightlife, the hotels mainly provide the entertainment, whilst the resorts boast traditional restaurants, offering fine seafood and spicy curries. The city of Colombo is great for shopping at night.
Top Attractions
• Visit Colombo- the are gallery, Museums, Buddist and Hindu temples
• See the gem mines
• Visit the Elephant Orphanage
• Visit the Golden Temple of Damulla
• Go swimming at Hikkaduwa – popular for watersports, scuba diving and glass bottom boats
Events
Buddhist Temples around the country celebrate their pageant or Perahera at different times of the year, parading throughout the streets with music, dancing and medieval costumes.

New Year is celebrated between 12 – 14 April.

One of the loveliest Hindu festivals is the Deepavali(Diwali), the festival of light, this is generally celebrated in November to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

Local Flavours
Hot curry and other rice dishes are the main meals, with side dished of vegetables. The local snack is called a Hopper, this is similar to a pancake, served with egg, honey or yoghurt. The costal resorts serve excellent fish dishes, and you can’t go to Sri Lanka without tasting the Tea.History
It was 1505 when the Portuguese arrived in Colombo and gained monopoly on the spice trade. In 1658 the powerful Sinhalese kingdom of Kandy enlisted the Dutch to help expel the Portuguese. When the British arrived in 1796, they wore down Kandy’s sovereignty and in 1815 became the first European power to rule the entire island. Labourers were imported from southern India to work on Coffee, tea and coconut plantations and English was introduced as the national language. Sri Lanka finally achieved independence in 1948 and promoted Sinhalese interests, making Sinhalese the national language and reserved the best jobs for their own; this prompted the Tamil Hindu minority to press for greater autonomy in the main Tamil areas in the north and east. Bandarnaike spent time trying to reconcile the two communities, this led to his assassination in 1959 and his widow became the first female prime minister, as the economy went from bad to worse a revolt led to the death of thousands in 1971. It was 1972 when country became a republic and made Sri Lanka its official name. Geography
Sri Lanka is an island of the Indian Ocean, located just south of India, in Southern Asia. Most of the land is flat with a coastline of approx 1,340km, the rolling mountains in the south-central region rise to over 8,000 ft (2,438 m).
Population is around 20,000,000