HELLO Magazine - UK names Sri Lanka among world’s top five exotic destinations to Visit in 2012

UK’s most discerning monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine “HELLO” has named Sri Lanka as one of the top five destinations to visit in year 2012 in their latest issue published last week. Sri Lanka has secured second place among the top five list selected by the magazine being second only to Thailand. The travel experts of the magazine have highlighted that Sri Lanka is becoming one of the most sought after new holiday destinations in the world for the travelers who seek a mix of exotics and excitement.

Raving the richness of Sri Lanka’s diverse landscape, the magazine comments:

“ For an eclectic mix of exotic wildlife, culture and scenery - delve no deeper than the spiritual island of Sri Lanka. Don't miss the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage that is home to over sixty elephants, or the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa, boasting over thirty shrines and beautifully preserved buildings. Following a trip to Colombo's treasure trove markets, you can unwind on the heavenly stretch of Unawatuna Beach. Palm trees tower over the silk-like sand and the aqua sea breaks rhythmically as you relax with a cocktail or traditional Sri Lankan tea from the hillside plantations...”

Among the other countries on the top 05 list chosen by the magazine are Croatia,The Republic of Maldives and Sardinia -the the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily.

With its futuristic vision on the tourism industry,The government of Sri Lanka aims to attract 950,000 tourists to the country during year 2012. The revenue generated by the tourism industry is expected to surpass US$ 1 billion within the next year. During the next 5 year period the country targets to attract US$ 3,000 million worth Foreign Direct investment (FDI) from tourism sector most of which will be invested in tourism infrastructure development.


There will be an increase in the foreign exchange earnings from US$ 500 million in 2010 to USD 2.75 billion by the year 2016. A huge increase is expected in the tourism related employment from 125,000 in 2010 to 500,000 by 2016 and expansion of tourism based industry and related servicesIsland wide.  With these strategies in place, the tourism industry of Sri Lanka is poised for growth being in line with the national effort of making Sri Lanka, the emerging Wonder of Asia.

Ayurveda- Spa wellness centers

Imagine yourself in a jasmine scented world immersed in a bath filled with rose petals and sweet scented oil or gentle hands massaging your body with therapeutic oils while soothing music create an aura of perfect bliss…

An aura of tranquility embraces you as you enter the precincts of an Ayurveda health center. The sweet aroma of freshly brewed herbal tea sooth your senses as you take a sip to calm your nerves and prepare for the holistic experience…. The natural way.

The in-house Ayurveda doctor feels your pulse and indentifies the treatment best suited to you. You are also advised on how to maintain your health and beauty. You are cleansed, exfoliated, massaged and wrapped in a rich herbal paste of flowers, bark and leaves and rested, for juices to seep into your body and enrich you soul.

The history of Ayurveda goes back as far as 1500 B.C. with the arrival of a branch of Indo-Europeans in India. Here they developed a great culture rich in many aspects. The religious ideas and philosophical thinking of these people are found in their holy texts- the Vedas. Namely the Rigveda, the Yajurvesa, the Samaveda and the Arthavaveda. These texts are replete with data pertaining to botany and zoology and these ideas gradually gave rise to their medical science later famous as the Ayurveda. Ayurveda means the science of longevity.

Almost all prescriptions used in treatment are produced by raw materials found naturally and no artificial substances are used. These would come from roots, stems, barks, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits & nuts of many a plant. From animals: milk, honey, pearls, musk, shells and from earth: iron, silver & copper are used. Ayurvedic drugs do not harm the organs of the body and do not give any side effects.

Ayurveda or indigenous medicine as practiced in Sri Lanka and India has drawn the interest of the west quite sometime. A tourist is initiated this great form of medication through Ayurvedic health centers, health spa’s and wellness centers while on tour in our island. Most of the treatments practiced in these centers are based on Ayurveda and in some centers Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Balinese methods of therapy as well as Aromatherapy are used.

Eco Tourism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka,  blessed with an abundance of flora and fauna has a long tradition of conservation. This goes back to its ancient Buddhist tradition which teachers respect and compassion to all living things. The world’s first wild life sanctuary was set up by Royal edict in the 3^rd c. B.C. in Mihintale (where the Buddhist doctrine was first preached) and is still a sanctuary.

In Sri Lanka there are more than 70 sanctuaries, National parks & a number of wetlands and mountain ranges.  Therefore the bio-diversity in Sri Lanka is regarded to be greater per sq. meter of surface than any other country in the Asian region. When Sri Lanka’s ecosystem is compared to other Asian countries, Sri Lanka has many tropical rain forests, mountains, lowlands and virgin forests and wetlands. There are also many ecosystems with mangroves, sand dunes, beaches and coral reefs. Numbering over 220, Sri Lanka for its size has perhaps the largest number of waterfalls of any country in the world.

Sri Lanka is a global bio diversity hot spot. About half of its species are endemic including all fresh water crabs, 90% amphibians, 25-75% reptiles and vertebrates, around 50% fresh water fish, 26% flowering plants, and 145 mammals.

The richness in species is extreme and there are known to be over 3368 species of flowering plants, 314 ferns, 575 mosses, 190 liverworts, 896 algae, 1920 fungi, 400 orchids, 242 butterflies, 117 dragonflies, 139 mosquitoes, 525 beetles, 266 land snails, 78 fresh water fish, 250 amphibians, 92 snakes, 35 fresh water crabs, 21 geckos, 322 non migrant birds. The island also provides critical habitats for international mobile species, including 5 species of endangered marine turtles, about 100 species of waterfowl, and many other migratory birds.

Behold! The Gathering at Minneriya

Every year during the months of August and September, one of the most awesome wildlife spectacles in the world takes place in Sri Lanka. Over three hundred wild elephants converge for the famous ‘gathering’. Nowhere else in the world will one find such a high concentration of wilds Asian elephants within few square kilometers. 

It occurs in around the ancient reservoir Minneriya, picturesque when it is brimful all 6300 acres. When standing on the bund and looking across the vast sheet of water one sees the distant mountains and the jungle below in true verdant splendor. However soon after the south west monsoon and water given for irrigation, Minneriya is left with less than one fourth its surface area of water. Then the exposed tank bed becomes grassland. This is when Minneriya offers its most spectacular sight. This is when The Gathering takes place.

During the morning hours the herds lie hidden in the deep forest that lie on the edge of the plains and go right up into the nearby hills. Then about three o’ clock in the afternoon they emerge in to the open plains and once again the drama of the ‘Gathering’ takes place in all its glory. The ‘Gathering’ takes place every year for about two and a half months to three. Then as the first drops of rain of the north east monsoon falls the ‘Gathering’ gets agitated. As the rain increases the members of the individual herds gather together and then slowly make their way back to their home ranges. The bulls, the loners make their separate ways. Very soon, except for a few stranglers the plains of Minneriya lie deserted. As the monsoon increases slowly and Minneriya returns to its rippling glory.

Image courtesy of - Wikipedia Commons

Trip to the First Tea Plantation in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

  

Loolecondera Tea Estate

 

 

Sri Lanka is World famous for its high quality Tea (Ceylon Tea), and if you haven’t heard the name “Sri Lanka” there is a fair chance that you might have heard the name “Ceylon Tea”.

The story of tea in Sri Lanka began in 1852, when a Scotsman, James Taylor planted the first tea plantation  in what is now known as the No.7 field of “Loolecondera” Estate  close to Kandy. He lived in Sri Lanka more than half of his lifetime (57 years) until his death. He worked with Thomas Lipton, a millionaire in United Kingdom who visited Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in 1890's, and together they were largely responsible for the rapid growth of the Sri Lankan tea industry which became the best Tea in the world.

The “Loolecondera” Estate is one of the most beautiful tea estates in the world. The View from the top of the estate is simply breathtaking. Other than the beauty of the estate, the location is of historic importance as it is the first tea plantation in Sri Lanka. Even today the ruins of what is left of James Taylor’s Cabin, His Well, as well as a Seat made out of Rock at the top of the estate mountain can be seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up by 17.5 percent in May

 

Jun 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka's tourist arrivals rose 17.5 percent in May this year compared to the same period last year, the data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Tuesday showed.
The month recorded 57,506 tourists arriving in the country compared to the 48,943 arrived in May 2011.
Tourist arrivals from Western Europe reached 155,288 during the first five months of this year, a 20.0 percent increase from same period of last year.
Arrivals from South Asia however decreased 0.9 percent during the month of May in 2012 compared to the same month last year but, arrivals for the year increased 3.8 percent over the same period in 2011. Of the 20,829 arrived in May, a majority, 15,888 were from India.
Sri Lanka targets one million tourist arrivals this year. SLTDA statistics have recorded 855,975 tourist arrivals in 2011 compared to the 654,476 arrived in 2010.
Since the end of the war against the Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, the country has seen increasing tourist arrivals every year for the past three years.
During the first four months of 2012, revenue from tourism has risen 26 percent from the same period last year to $340 million, the Central Bank data showed.
Sri Lanka launched an ambitious five-year plan under the guidance of the Economic Development Minister to boost tourism in the country. Under the plan Sri Lanka expects to raise the number of arrivals to 2.5 million and to earn annual revenue of US$ 2.75 billion by 2016. 


Source - Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority

Ancient City of Polonnaruwa

The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, Pollonnaruwa was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 AD to reunite the country once more under a local leader. Today the ancient city of Pollonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom's first rulers. The Ancient City of Pollonnaruwa has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 

Image Courtesy of - Wikipedia Commons

Ancient City of Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura, the first capital of Sri Lanka was founded in 380 B.C. by King Pandukahabaya, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization. The city lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province; it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and one of the eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka. The ancient city is also considered sacred to the Buddhist world, as it is surrounded by monasteries and temples covering an area of over sixteen square miles.

Image Courtesy of - Wikipedia Commons

Sigiriya Rock Fortress

Sigiriya, considered by some as the eighth wonder of the world, consists of an ancient castle used by King Kasyapa of the 4th century AD. The Sigiriya site has the remains of an upper palace sited on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock, and the moats, walls and gardens that extend for some hundreds of meters out from the base of the rock. The site is both a palace and fortress and provides the visitor with a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders. The upper palace on the top of the rock includes cisterns cut into the rock that still retain water. The moats and walls that surround the lower palace are still exquisitely beautiful. The Sigiriya Rock Castle is one of the eight UNESCO .

Image Courtesy of - Wikipedia Commons