Country Profile

Name: The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Location: An island in the Indian Ocean is located to the south of the Indian subcontinent. It lies between 5° 55' and 9° 55' north of the equator and between the eastern longitudes 79° 42' and 81° 52'.

Area: 65,610 sq km (25,332 sq miles) [Land: 64,740 sq km  Water: 870 sq km]

Climate: Tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to ctober)  

Average Temperature: 27ºC  (In the higher elevations it can be quite cool with temperatures going down to 16ºC)

Average annual rainfall: 1861mm

President: Mahinda Rajapakse ((since 19 November 2005)

Prime Minister: Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka (since 2005)

Population: 19.4 million (UN, 2005)

Population growth rate: 0.78% (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ,under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female ,15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female ,65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female ,total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 24.1% , 15-64 years: 68.6% ,65 years and over: 7.3% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Median age: total: 29.8 years ,male: 28.7 years ,female: 30.9 years (2006 est.)

Suffrage: 18 years of age

Net migration rate: -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Capital: Colombo (commercial), Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative)

Major languages: Sinhala (National language), Tamil (National language), English

Ethnic Groups: Sinhalese (74%) ,Sri Lankan Tamils (12.6%), Indian Tamils (5.5%), Muslim (7.1%), others(0.8%)

Life expectancy: 73.41years (total population),  70.83 years (men), 76.12 years (women) (2006 est)

Literacy: 92.3(total population) 94.8% (male) 90% (female) (2003 est)

Monetary unit: Sri Lankan rupee

Main exports: Clothing and textiles, tea, gems, rubber, coconuts

GNI per capita: US $1,010 (World Bank, 2005)

Internet domain: .lk

International dialling code: +94

Time zone: UTS/GMT +5:30 hours

Unesco heritage sites:  Sacred City of Anuradhapura (1982) , Ancient City of Polonnaruva (1982), Ancient City of Sigiriya (1982) Sinharaja Forest Reserve (1988) Sacred City of Kandy (1988), Old Town of Galle and its fortifications (1988), Golden Temple of Dambulla (1991)

Galle

   The port town of Galle in the southwest of Sri Lanka has a splendid natural harbour. The port was in use in pre-Christian times, but gained in importance after the 12^th century. By the 14^th century it was arguably the most important port in the country, and it retained this preeminence until 1873 when an artificial harbour was built in Colombo. The great Chinese admiral Zheng He commemorated his visit by leaving a trilingual inscription in 1411; the three languages were Chinese, Tamil, and Arabic, implying a cosmopolitan trading community. The Portuguese arrived in 1505, and later built a small fort; but it was after Galle was captured by the Dutch in 1640 that the city rose to its greatest prosperity. The Dutch rebuilt the town and strengthened the fortifications.  

The English took over in 1796 but made few changes to the infrastructure, and it is Dutch architecture of the 17^th and 18^th centuries which gives the town its present character and charm. Among the Asian ports of the United Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, or VOC), Galle was second only to Batavia (now Jakarta). 

Galle harbour has an impressive number of heritage sites, some dating back well before the Dutch. Several stone anchors of Indo-Arabian pattern have been discovered, one weighing almost a ton (so implying a ship of some size), made of stone probably from Oman, and with a wooden anchor stock around five hundred years old. (The wooden stocks would have been regularly replaced, so the anchor itself may be older.) Another anchor has been found of Mediterranean pattern, similar to those used in Roman times. A celadon bowl of the Southern Song dynasty (C13th) is one of our few relics of the early trade with China; later blue-and-white Chinese tradeware is abundant. 

While Sri Lankan archaeology is rich in treasures from much earlier periods, it is the combination of several Dutch East India Company wrecks with the VOC's extensive historical archives which makes Galle Harbour so interesting. The Dutch administrative records and maps are helping us to identify the shipwrecks and to understand the historical context.

Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle Fort is a world heritage site (declared by UNESCO in1988) and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European invaders. 

Galle is the main town in the most southerly part of the island, with a population of around 100,000, and is connected by rail to Colombo and Matara. It is home to a cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium, where test matches are played.

Rumassala Kanda is a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of the Ramayana.

Botanical Gardens

Peradeniya Botanical Garden

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya is the oldest with its origins going back to the 14th century. Only 7 km from Kandy and 110 km from Colombo,  One of the best and most valuable collections of Plants and Trees in the world (more than 4000 species, indoor and outdoor). Giant trees of "Ficus" family, different Bamboo and Palm trees of the world, rare Ayurvedic plants, Orchid House, spice garden, timber trees such as ebony, teak, satinwood, mahogany, tamarind and jak etc.  can be seen here. It’s the biggest botanical garden (60 ha) in Sri Lanka. The best know attraction of the garden is the orchid House, which houses more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids. A spice garden gives you a first hand introduction to the trees and plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Mahaweli river, Sri Lanka's longest river surrounding this garden gives an added beauty to this garden. It wont be wrong to say that this garden is one of it's best kind in the world and the best in Asia.Most of the honorable guests who visited Sri Lanka, for instance The Queen Elizebath, Marshal Tito, Chancellor Henry Kiesinger and Juri Gagarin, have planted memorable trees in this park.

Hakgala Botanical Garden

Where plants and trees from around the world seen in one place, Hakgala Botanical Gardens, just 10km away from Nuwara Eliya City. Hakgala is one of the places one visits as an essential part of a pleasant journey in the famous hill resort of Nuwara Eliya.  The present botanic gardens were founded in 1860 by the eminent British botanist Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites who was superintendent of the more famous gardens at Peradeniya, near KandyIt was the site initially for experiments with cinchona whose bark yielded quinine, esteemed as a tonic and febrifuge. Quinine at that time was widely used as a specific for malaria. This was perhaps the reason for the popularity of and tonic in these parts - quinine being the principle ingredient of tonic water. The cool, equable climate of the hakgala area, whose mean temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, encouraged the introduction of suitable temperate zone plants, both ornamental and useful. These included conifers and cedars from Australia, Bermuda and Japan, and cypresses from the Himalayas, china and as far a field as Persia, Mexico and California. New Caledonia gave Hakgala a special variety of pines and there are specimens of this genus from the canary Island as well.The Hakgala Botanical Gardens is one of the lovely contrasts of Sri Lanka, a home to plants and trees from around the world, making them seem to be part of the scenic beauty.

Henerathgoda Botanical Garden, Gampaha

Henaratgoda Gardens, in the low country, are 28 km from Colombo and within easy reach from Gampaha railway station. Spread across 14,16 hectares, these beautifully laid out gardens have a unique collection of exotic indigenous flora. The Garden was laid out in 1876 to introduce Para Rubber to Sri Lanka by the British rulers. In 1919 Rubber seedlings were imported from the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and the Project was handed over to Muhandiram A. de Soyza who was the first OIC of the Garden. The trees blossomed in 1880 and from the next year Rubber seeds were distributed throughout the country as well as some other British colonies. Remnants of these first Rubber trees are new protected as a national monument.
Later the garden was developed as a standard Botanical Garden by adding and developing new plants and sections. Many of these trees of the 19^th century are still available in the Garden. It now serves as a tropical low country Botanic Garden.

Handicrafts

Sri Lanka have a large verity of traditional handy crafts. Sri Lanka is known world over for her handicrafts. These products are manufactured by applying age-old techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation.
These artifacts are manufactured by using only the tools particular to them and from raw materials found abundant in nature.

Sri Lanka has a varied heritage for of traditional crafts and arts. These products are a result of age - old techniques, indigenous raw materials and tools of natural Handicrafts are fashioned in rural Craft Centers. It was with in these Castes that traditional skills were preserved with a high degree of distinct ethnic identity,
Sri Lanka handy crafts men have been able to success fully combines certain raw material in to modern Crafts. Sri Lanka is well renowned to produce exquisite handicrafts.

Woodwork

Woodcarving is one of the oldest crafts still practised in Sri Lanka. Artisans of old had a preference for low-relief woodcarving, which lent itself to decorative wooden panels, boxes, and tables. Today, many decorative panels are still carved using traditional designs. In the handicrafts industry masks and wood carvings have remained as prestigious items reflecting not only traditional craft skills but the theatrical and cultural values of a past age.

Mat weaving

Mat weaving used to be practiced by every female villager because the craft was considered a necessary domestic accomplishment. Mats, after all, were essential items, used as both floor coverings and beds. Today, mat weaving is still popular among villagers but it is a cottage industry with few established sales outlets. Instead, weavers generally peddle their mats at festivals, fairs, and pilgrimage sites. Visitors may see them during the Kandy perahera in July, when the pavements of the city are colourfully lined with rolled up mats for sale. The mats of the highest quality with the best designs are made in the villages of the Dumbara valley in the Kandy district. These mats are traditionally woven on a simple loom using fibres from the bowstring hemp, mostly of white or black colouration. Often they are decorated with stripes or bands, or animal or floral motifs

Metalworks 

Sri Lanka has a long tradition in metals such as gold, silver, brass, tin, lead and iron, as well as their various alloys, in all sorts of work, from ornamental casting and pierced designs, to damascene- and filigree-work. Brass is the most common ornamental metal used outside of jewellery, and therefore the one most likely to be encountered and purchased by visitors. The alloy used in Sri Lanka is excellent for both castwork and cutwork. Castings in brass are usually created by the “lost wax” method, in which the model is sculpted in wax, covered with clay, and baked so that the wax melts and a mould is formed. Cutwork, on the other hand, involves cutting the pattern onto a flat sheet of metal and then embellishing the work by engraving, hatching, or repousse to produce items such as trays and plaques. Repousse is the most characteristic type of Sri Lankan metalwork, used on brass, copper, silver, or all three together to create a variety of traditional designs.

Lacquerwork

 Lacquerwork involves the intricate decoration of wooden objects such as bowls and ashtrays with a resin secreted from the bark of certain trees that have been infested with the lac beetle. The resin, also called lac, is scraped from the bark, melted down and strained. While the lac is soft, pigment is beaten in to produce the desired colour. Then it is left to dry. Two different techniques are used to apply lac. One method, called beralu veda or spool-work, involves putting the object to be decorated on a lathe, spinning it, and applying a hardened stick of lac to it at an angle, rather like a woodcarving tool. The resulting friction melts the lac, which seeps into the grain yet gives a glossy coating.The other technique involves drawing heated and softened lac into a fine thread and laying it in a pattern. This method is called niyapothu veda or nailwork, since the thumbnail is used to fashion the thread of lac. Today, lacquerwork is also produced by the inferior method of painting the object and covering it with layers of varnish. Visitors who wish to witness this craft should travel to the villages of Angalmaduwa near Tangalle, which is famous for beralu veda, and Palle Hapuvida near Matale, which is renowned for niyapothu veda. Laquerwork image

Lacemaking

Lacemaking is not an indigenous art. Dutch ladies probably introduced it during Dutch colonial times, particularly in the Galle area. Sinhalese ladies caught on, and lacemaking soon became an established local craft. During the 19th century, when Galle was at its zenith as a port, it became popular with passengers. Today, many older village women in the Galle area still spend their spare time making pillow lace and crochet lace, but when that generation passes the craft may die.

Handloom textiles

Although hand woven materials have lost their pre-eminence since the introduction of machine-made textiles, the craft of weaving high quality handloom textiles has experienced a remarkable resurgence in Sri Lanka over the past half century.

Jewelry

Sri Lankan Produced Excellent Costume Jeweler. In Jewellery there Are two traditions (branches) namely Galle. Traditional and the Kandyan Tradition. The Galle Low Country Traditional also called Western Traditional. The Stones are more conspicuous than the metal in the Law Country Traditional. The metal is only binding the Stones. But in the traditional kandyan Jewellery it is the metal work that is found more. The European tourists prefer the law Country tradition. There is also a technique Called filigree Work. This filigree work is found in the Silver Jewellery. In this type of Jewellery you get grainy finish. These telescopic grains are made of hairy Silver wire and welded to the surface. This technique is very difficult and finds therefore, it is Expensive.

Pottery

Pottery, like mat weaving, is a craft essential to village life in Sri Lanka. Robert Knox observed in An Historical Relation of Ceylon (1681) that the Sinhalese are adept at crafting “all sorts of earthenware to boil, stew, fry and fetch water in.” Today, as then, the potter can invariably be found demonstrating his or her skills in the verandah. Most of the pottery is thrown on small wheels turned by the potter himself. The output consists largely of simple undecorated pieces, but there is an increased demand for decorated pottery. Such decoration is usually done by incising patterns or stamping with a wooden die while the clay is still wet. Sometimes a glaze is painted prior to firing, which is done in a traditional kiln built of brick or stone and covered with a vaulted wattle-and-daub roof.

The primarily utilitarian character of Sri Lankan pottery remains to this day. It lends charm to its elegance of form and simplicity of ornamentation. Items include small clay lamps, elegant water-jugs and practical cooking vessels. Figurines and delightful animals with distinctly Sinhalese characteristics are also made. These can be seen in abundance just outside Weligama.

Batiks

Titik" or "Tik" means a bit or a drop in Indonesian language. The melted wax covers the area of the cloth that dose not get a particular colour. This is a tedious process, depending on the colour scheme the already prepared cloth has to go into the colour bath several times.

The patterns are generally drawn on the white cloth with the help of a template, but an Artist who is talented has the ability comes from china not only cotton but pure silk as well used in this from of artThe lime drawing is the initial step. Then waxing begins and depending on the pattern and the zise of the Artwork several waxing and boiling sessions take place between the dyeing session.
The "Tie & Dye" method was popular sometime ago with this method the drawing is not necessary but there is only a uniform round patterns with multi colours available.

Cloth should be washed Thoroughly to remove the starch. To was the cloth should be pined to a Frame.A drawing pen with a heap with molten wax is used to trace the pattern with wax and all areas that do not take the first dye is waxed. The Temperature of wax 17° c. When wax is cooled the cloth is submerged in a Bowl of cold water and then placed in the dye bath added with soda & salt, for 30-60 minutes. Then the cloth is removed and paged to drip. Then to remove wax the cloth should be boiled in a container for 5 minutes with detergents. Then the cloth is Rinsed and dried. This is the process for each colour until the Final design is completed.

Caneworks

As the cane is naturally grown in SriLanka cane work is in practice since ancient times.Radawadunna near pasyala on kandy road is famous for these craft

Adventures

Scuba Diving Adventures

Sri Lankan warm seas house thousands of marine species for the fascination of any scuba diver. The recreational coral reefs around the island range from depth 5-10 meters to 40 meters. Many ancient wrecks, caves and special reef formations will make a diver to experience best of Scuba Diving. The diving centers and training schools are equipped with latest scuba gear and internationally qualified instructors.
 

Surfing

With a wide range of excellent Surfing locations on both the east and southwest coast (each suitable at different times of year according to the monsoon seasons), Sri Lanka is a year-round surfing destination.

Sri Lanka has been recognised by the international surfing community for some time now, with the east coast's ARUGAMBAY boasting an annual International Surfing Competition. So whether you're an expert or a beginner looking to ride the white stuff for the first time, there's something for everyone!

Wind Surfing

For a real wind-surfer's paradise, head down to Benthota on the south-west coast of Sri Lanka where the exhilaration of cruising across the azure water overlooking the idyllic beach won't fail to disappoint. For beginners of windsurfing, the more tranquil waters of the Bentota river or any of Sri Lanka 's many tanks and lakes offer an ideal training zone before heading out to the challenge of the ocean.   North of TRINCOMALEE , in the west coast of Sri Lanka , the sea off Nilaveli beach provides a fantastic east coast alternative for when the Yala monsoon brings strong winds and rough seas to the west.  So whatever your level of experience, leave your wetsuit at the door and make the most of what Sri Lanka has to offer this exciting sport.

N.B.  If venturing out on the south-west coastline, grab your sail and board between November and April before the monsoon hits. To ensure the best wind and water conditions on the east coast, go from May-October.

 Water Sking

Water-Skiing is the ultimate rush on the water's surface!  Whether you're a beginner who just wants to get round without too many falls or a well-seasoned water-sports fan, eager to check out slalom courses and jumps in Sri Lanka , you're guaranteed a good time!  Full training, on dry land and in the water, is available for both beginners and those more experienced water-skiers who simply want to brush up on their style while on holiday in Sri Lanka .  While you're there, why not have a go at jet-skiing and wake-boarding as well, or for maximum fun try bouncing along the water in a gigantic inflatable tyre!

Cycling and Mountain Biking

If you prefer cycling but aren't so keen on struggling with uphill climbs, there are many interesting trails in the lowlands of Sri Lanka that take you through a beautiful landscape of tea, rubber and spice plantations or even the ancient capital of POLONNARUWA .  For those seeking more of a challenge, the Sri Lankan hill country locations offer a number of steeper trails that are only suitable for m