Welcome to Sri Lanka

About Welcome to Sri Lanka

By the ULTIMATE Sri Lanka Editorial Team

Regional Editor, South Asia: Tara de la Motte

A welcome to the island from our Regional Editor, South Asia: beaches and rainforests, sunsets that set the whole horizon alight, Pinnawala’s elephants, Ceylon tea in Little England, the Perahera, three royal capitals and the island garden of Taprobane.

Sri Lanka is the teardrop in the Indian Ocean and is often called the Garden of Eden. From its white sandy beaches and swaying palms to lush rainforests and cool tea-growing hills, the island’s landscape is wonderfully varied. You will find elephants, leopards, monkeys and exotic birds in the dense forests of Sri Lanka. Ancient ruins and giant Buddha statues sit among the lush green landscape. Women are seen in their colourful saris, and schoolchildren in whiter-than-white uniforms on their way to school.

Sri Lanka has the most breathtaking sunsets, where both the sky and the horizon glow together, and you have to see it to believe it.

The tea plantations are a wonderful sight, like a giant patchwork against the mist.

This is an island rich in colour and flavour. The exotic flavours of Sri Lanka are now being discovered by the world. Its cuisine is distinctive, unlike any other, with a wonderful blend of spices, fragrant flavours and exotic ingredients. It is a cuisine that delights the senses, and the memories of the flavours stay with you forever.

The elephant orphanage at Pinnawala

One of the most memorable stops in Sri Lanka is the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, where you can watch gentle giants being cared for, and seeing the young elephants splashing in the water or wandering together is a truly special sight. The orphanage also sells visitors a short, ticketed session bathing an elephant in the river; animal-welfare groups question this kind of hands-on contact, and our honest guide to the sanctuaries sets out both sides so you can decide for yourself.

The orphanage, run by the Department of National Zoological Gardens, offers care to orphaned and injured elephants and a captive breeding ground for them; the department puts its herd at 65 elephants.

Nuwara Eliya and Ceylon tea

The cool, misty hills of Nuwara Eliya are home to some of the world’s finest teas: Ceylon tea. The tea plantations are a wonderful sight, like a giant patchwork against the mist.

One has to drink a cup of Ceylon tea to taste and savour the distinctive flavour that is unique to Sri Lanka.

Nuwara Eliya was known as Little England. It has a distinctive charm, with Tudor-style homes reflecting its colonial past and giving the town a character all its own.

The Kandy Perahera

One of Sri Lanka’s most spectacular festivals, held each year, is the Kandy Perahera, where decorated elephants, dancers, drummers and fire performers parade through the city in a dazzling show of tradition and faith. It honours the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha, kept in Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth.

Three royal capitals

Sri Lanka is rich in archaeological treasures, with three former capitals forming a fascinating triangle of history: Anuradhapura, the first great capital, founded in the 4th century BC and the seat of kings until the early 11th century; Polonnaruwa, which flourished in the 12th century; and Kandy, the last royal capital.

Set among the hills, Kandy stayed independent through Portuguese and Dutch rule, its difficult access helping to protect its sovereignty until the British took control in 1815. They opened up the city with new roads, turning it into a fashionable resort, with the magnificent Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya. Kandy also became the base of a rather famous figure in history, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who used the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya as the headquarters of South East Asia Command during the Second World War.

Taprobane: a personal Eden

Over the years, Sri Lanka drew in European adventurers, artists and romantics looking for their own personal Eden. One of them was the Count de Mauny-Talvande, who first came to the island in 1912.

The count fell in love with Sri Lanka, bought a small rocky island in the bay at Weligama and created a magnificent villa with the most luscious gardens. He called his private haven Taprobane, the ancient Greek name for Sri Lanka. He received many guests there, and in 1937 published a gardening memoir, The Gardens of Taprobane, inspired by the wonderful place he created.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Welcome to Sri Lanka before you go.