Beautiful Sri Lanka

   Sri Lanka is truly a wondrous place, a subcontinent's diversity packed into one tiny island. There aren't many placed in the world where one can be snorkeling in the morning in swarm seas with rich coral reefs and be in the mist draped coolness of a cloud forest by evening, listening to the alarm calls of sambar warning against a hunting leopard.

By Yashoda Somarathne

    In the lowlands on the south west, rain forests are a cathedral of bio-diversity. These are amongst the richest rain-forests of South Asia. In the dry lowlands, the largest terrestrial mammal, the elephant roams. the largest concentration of Asian Elephant in the world occurs seasonally in Sri Lanka during ' The Gathering'. The island is also the best chance in Asia for seeing leopard and sloth bear. No less than thirty three species of birds are found only in Sri Lanka. In Sinharaja, the 'Sinharaja Bird Waves' can be seen the mixed species feeding flocks, which are the largest of its kind in the world. 

    Sri Lanka is one of the most bio-diverse places in the world. It has a phenomenally high number of species of plant and animals in terms of density of species and their endemicity. This together with the relative ease of access and the availability of good facilities for travellers make it an excellent destination for eco-tourists. 

    Sri Lanka is endowed with an abundance of tourism resources of considerable diversity, including beaches along its 1585 km coastline, natural/ ecological and wildlife attractions, indigenous culture, Buddhist heritage, and remnants left by Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and British seafarers. Since its independence in 1948. Sri Lanka has enjoyed a growing number of visitors and sustained growth in the tourism industry. However, tourism activities declined dramatically in the mid-1980's due to ethnic unrest and violence between Tamil Hindu minority and the Sinhalese Bhuddhist majority. But now the war has finished and Sri Lanka having the largest tourists attraction with compared with its history.

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   Endowed with a unique mixture of golden beaches, abundant wildlife, and rich cultural heritage, Sri Lanka is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region. According to the World Tourism Organization, Sri Lanka has the advantage of having 49 sited classified as unique attractions, 91 as rare attractions, and 7 world  heritage sites, and 6 of the 300 ancient monument in the world.