10 Good Reasons to Visit Sri Lanka
Here are the 10 good reasons to visit Sri Lanka;
- Diversity
- Beaches
- Wildlife
- Cultural Heritage
- Foods
- People
- Climate
- Hotels
- Festivals
- Ceylon Tea
Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean with an area of 65610 sq km. You can easily identify this little country on the world map just below India. It is an island with so many beautiful and interesting things. Annually, 2 million tourists visit Sri Lanka for so many reasons. We should say that Sri Lanka is a perfect destination for global travelers.
In this article, we are going to discuss more deeply about those 10 Good Reasons to Visit Sri Lanka.
More About These 10 Good Reasons
1) Diversity
Sri Lanka is a pearl-shaped island with so many geographical features. Being an island, there are so many beautiful beaches all over the country. You can observe wetlands, rivers, lagoons, bays, and forest covered in coastal areas. But central Sri Lanka is dotted with a lot of mountains. When you go to the middle of the country, the elevation gradually increases. This has made those mountains popular for hiking and trekking. Waterfalls are another attractive thing that you can observe in central Sri Lanka.
Most of the Sri Lankan people live on the western side of the country. The Eastern, Uva, and North Central provinces have fewer people. Sri Lanka is a multi-religious country with four main religions. Those are Buddhism, Hindu, Muslim, and Christianity. The majority of the Northern Province is Tamil. Their religion is Hinduism. However, Buddhism and Buddhist culture predominate in southern Sri Lanka.
The North Central Province of the country consists of many historical and cultural sites. As well, you can see many man-made tanks in those areas. A lot of paddy fields and agricultural sites can be observed in the dry zone of the country. Western and central Sri Lanka are home to many tea and rubber plantations. Most of the wildlife sanctuaries are also situated in the dry zone of the country.
2) Beaches
Sri Lanka is a superb destination for beach lovers. There you can identify so many beautiful beaches all around the country. But most of them are situated on the southern and western sides of the country.
Negombo Beach, Panadura Beach, and Bentota Beach are some of the popular beaches that are situated in the western part of Sri Lanka. Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa, Hiriketiya, Tangalle, Mirissa, Polhena, and Weligama are some of the popular beaches in the southern part of Sri Lanka. The beaches of Pasikudah, Arugambay, and Nilaveli are also well-known in the Eastern province.
Those beaches are suitable for different kinds of water activities. In particular, Arugambay and Mirissa are superb for surfing. But the majority are good for water activities. You can swim and enjoy it with your loved ones. Don’t forget to feel relaxed and enjoy the sun bath.
There are so many hotels, villas, guest houses, home stays, and restaurants out there on the beachside for visitors. The delicious sea foods and king coconut drinks will definitely double your beach experience in Sri Lanka. Beaches are always a good reason to visit Sri Lanka. If you love to explore Sri Lankan beaches, then our Beach Tour Packages will be ideal for you.
3) Wildlife
Sri Lanka is a superb destination for wildlife in Asia. It is a country where you can experience safari tours outside of Africa. There are many wildlife sanctuaries available for local and international visitors. Yala National Park, Udawalawe National Park, Wilpattu National Park, and Minneriya National Park are some of the key wildlife sanctuaries among them. Once again, we should say that Sri Lanka is a magnificent place to explore the marine wildlife too.
Leopards, elephants, sloth bears, blue and sperm whales are the most must-see wild animals in Sri Lanka. As well as buffalo, spotted deer, jungle fowl, and monkeys are abundant in most wildlife sanctuaries. There are so many endemic plant and animal species that also have to watch for visitors. If you love wildlife safaris, then you can plan your Wildlife Tour Package with us.
Kumana National Park is the best place to explore the bird diversity in Sri Lanka. Yala and Wilpattu National Parks are well known for seeing leopards, while Minneriya and Udawalawe are popular for their elephant population. You can watch whales in the Mirissa, Kalpitiya, and Trincomalee sea areas.
4) Cultural Heritage
Do you know Sri Lanka has over 2500+ years of written history? The ancient ruins in the North Central Province will provide evidence of that. The Sri Lankan Cultural Triangle connects the three cities of Anuradhapura, Kandy, and Polonnaruwa. Most of the ancient ruins can be found inside the “cultural triangle.”
As well, there are six archeological world heritage sites in Sri Lanka. Those are:
- The Ancient City of Anuradhapura
- The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
- The Golden and Cave Temples in Dambulla
- The ancient city of Sigiriya
- The sacred city of Kandy
- Galle Old Town and Fortification
.
The Buddhist culture has influenced most of Anuradhapura Kingdom. But Hindu culture combined with Buddhist culture in the Polonnaruwa and Gampola Kingdom periods. European culture has influenced a lot of Sri Lankan culture in the 16th-19th centuries.
Sigiriya, Kandy City, Polonnaruwa Ancient City, Anuradhapura Ancient City, and Dambulla Cave Temple are the main cultural sites that you must visit in Sri Lanka. You should note that we will cover those places during our cultural tour packages.
5) Foods
Rice is the main food of the Sri Lankans. They eat rice with curries in their meals. Those curries are so tasty because of the added spices. Apart from rice, Sri Lankans eat wheat flour-based foods, including bread, short eats, and rotti. Some foods are very unique to Sri Lanka. Some of them are: Hoppers, Kottu, Lamprais, Malu Embul Thiyal, Batu Moju, Polos, and Kiribath.
Religion and culture have had a significant impact on food consumption in Sri Lanka. They make special foods for their Sinhala-Hindu New Year Festival. Milk rice is the key food for that festival. As well as that, you can eat Kevum, Kokis, Aluwa, Mung, and Pani Walalu during that festival time period. Hindus and Muslims prepare special foods for their festival times as well.
There you can taste delicious seafood in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Mango, wood apple, pine apple, Waraka, Rambtan, grapes, etc. are some of the most abundant fruits here.
We should say that those tasty foods are always a nice thing to add to your list of 10 good reasons to visit Sri Lanka.
6) People
Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic country. Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and Burgers are the four main ethnic groups in the country. The majority of them are Sinhalese. Most Tamils live in the northern, central, and eastern parts of the country. Muslims live everywhere, and the majority live in the Eastern Province. The main religions in Sri Lanka are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.
The majority of the Sri Lankan population lives in rural villages. Most of them are engaged in agriculture for a living. European influence can be found in every aspect of the country as well. Anyhow, Sri Lankans are very hospitable to foreigners. They are always smiling and shaking their heads. There, you should note that Sri Lankans are very helpful and friendly when in trouble.
7) Climate
Sri Lanka is a tropical country with hot and humid weather. Temperatures in the surrounding coastal areas are high. The average annual temperature of those coastal areas is around 27C. But the temperature is gradually getting lower when you are coming into the central mountains. Nuwara Eliya is the coldest city in the country, with an average annual temperature of 16 °C. Sri Lanka is a special place where you can go from a hot place to a cold place within a few hours. It is one of the best reasons to attract all kinds of tourists to the country.
The island also receives annual rainfall of 900mm to 5500mm. The western and south-western sides get massive rainfall of over 3000mm. But when it comes to the eastern and northern areas, the rainfall goes down to less than 2000 mm. Two monsoons bring rainfall to Sri Lanka. The North-East monsoon is active from October to February, and the South-West monsoon is active for the period from May to September. The wind speed and ocean currents are always changing with those two monsoons. That has caused every tourist attraction to have its own best time to visit. All in all, we can say that Sri Lanka has a very friendly climate for tourists. It is another thing that you should add to the list of 10 good reasons to visit Sri Lanka.
8) Hotels
There are a variety of accommodation options available in Sri Lanka. At every famous tourist attraction, you can book everything from luxury five-star hotels to small budget hotels. There are more than 90,000 rooms available for travelers.
You can find star-category hotels along with guest houses, home stays, colonial era hotels, eco lodges, villas, luxury tents, cabanas, or glamping sites anywhere in the country. You can select one of them according to your budget. The architecture of those hotels is very beautiful and mind-blowing. It is ideal for tourists to relax and enjoy their vacation.
9) Festivals
There are year-round festivals in Sri Lanka. Most of these festivals are religiously oriented. Buddhists observe the Vesak Festival on the Full Moon Poya Day of the month of May. They decorate their houses with beautiful Vesak lanterns. Another Buddhist festival which is held on the Full Moon Poya day of June is Poson. Kandy Esala Perahera is another well-known festival in Sri Lanka. It attracts more tourists and locals. This colorful festival is held every August in Kandy City. The Hindus celebrate Thai Pongal and Maha Shivarathri. They observe the Ramazan festival alongside Muslims.
Another cultural festival that is celebrated in the month of April is the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. It is the New Year season for both Sinhala and Tamil people. They celebrate this festival with some special foods and timely activities. You can see some attractive sports this season.
Kataragama Perahera, Madu Festival, Vel Festival, and Nallur Festival are some of the other popular festivals held in Sri Lanka.
10) Ceylon Tea
Sri Lanka is the 4th largest tea producer and the 3rd largest tea exporter in the world. They market their tea under the brand name “Ceylon Tea.” It is a fact to note that world-renowned Ceylon tea is produced in Sri Lanka. The tea industry in the country has its own culture.
Tea is grown in the Central, Western, Uva, and Southern Provinces. Upcountry tea estates are so scenic and beautiful to see. They always bring additional beauty to the country. If you can, go to the Nuwara Eliya side, where you can see a lot of greenish tea plantations and tea factories.
Enjoy a cup of Ceylon tea and then you can decide how nice it is. There are so many tea centers in the tea plantation areas where you can taste Ceylon tea. Sri Lanka has seven tea growing regions and they all have their own unique flavor and taste.
A Final Word about 10 Good Reasons to Visit Sri Lanka
This is our list of 10 Good Reasons to Visit Sri Lanka. We are Lanka Safe Tours, a leading tour agency in Sri Lanka. You can plan day tours and multiday tours with us. Please don’t forget to share this article with your friends.