Sri Lanka

"I want you to understand that the island of Ceylon is, for its size, the finest island in the world - from its streams come Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz, Amethyst, and Garnets."

Marco Polo 1292 A.D.

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Many who visit Sri Lanka arrive in Colombo via sea or air, and my advice is to move on as quickly as you can. 

Go to the Cultural Triangle. 

Rankot Vihara in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa - the fourth largest dagoba (stupa) in Sri Lanka. A stupa is a Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with Lord Buddha. Its association is similar to that of reliquaries found in Christian churches.

Remains of the Royal Palace
The ruins of Polonnaruwa are considered the highlight of the cultural triangle. The city was the centrepiece of the Sinhalese kingdom established by King Vijayabahu l, who ousted the invading Cholas in AD 1077.

Visit the hill country in Kandy, whose verdant slopes are busy with tea pickers.

Scale mountain tops

    then visit the jungle where Marianne North the intrepid British Victorian Botanical artist came to paint the flora in 1876. If you wish to know more about her then visit a post I wrote about her here. 

 Enjoy the cloud forests,

and the coastline fringed by the Indian Ocean.

Coastal stilt/stick fisherman
Sri Lanka's southern coast was a scene of devastation when it was struck by the Tsunami in 2004 - it is estimated that over 36,000 people lost their lives.

Go to the spice gardens to see the newly cut cinnamon bark air-drying on rope made using the fibre from the local coconut trees. 

 Sri Lanka produces 90% of the worlds cinnamon from the Cinnamomum verum tree which is native to Sri Lanka and considered to yield the finest cinnamon in the world. The rolled bark keeps its scent and flavour for many, many years.

Abutilon (pictum or tigers eye?)
Enjoy seeing exotic flowers

flowers that I nurture with care grow like weeds in Sri Lanka,

Ixora coccinea 

and what about the birds - this little Bee-eater is exquisite.

Then gaze in wonderment at some of the worlds biggest fruit.
These Jack fruit strangely grow straight out of the trunk of the tree, but you need a strong arm just to carry one of these fruits home.
Sri Lanka is smaller than Ireland, but has 26 national parks and 8 UNESCO heritage sites, all of which are representative of Sri Lanka's unique natural and historical diversity.

Next time - animals in Sri Lanka