Sajini Chandrasekera

Sri Lanka, the pearl of Indian ocean has a history dating back in time. It is a place where the original soul of Buddhism still flourishes and where nature’s beauty remains abundant and unspoiled. Few places in the world can offer the traveler such a remarkable combination of stunning landscapes, unspoiled beaches, captivating cultural heritage and unique experiences within such a compact location. Almost dangling like a pendant from the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka has been known as the Peal of the Orient for its variety of attractions. It is not a mere tropical isle known for sun, sea and sands, although it has all this in plenty. In fact the island has over 1400 km of sun-kissed beach..With its year-round summer and two different weather systems, whatever the time of year, there’s always a beach with sunshine and a choice of calm seas or steady surf depending on what you feel like. There’s a beach for all tastes, budgets and seasons in the lovely island of Sri Lanka.


Sri Lanka is an island that is captivating both by its name – that means Land of Splendor – and by what it actually offers to the visitor. The attractions of Sri Lanka – known to the world by several names from ancient days – have been known through the centuries. While legend has it that this is the Lanka of the Ramayana, it is the name by which it has always been known to its own people.The Romans called it Taprobane, marked on Ptolemy’s map of the world, derived from “Tambapanni” – land of copper colored earth and lotuses given by the first known migrants from North India. The Arab traders of the past called it Serendib – island of delight, which gave birth to the English word Serendipity – the prospect of discovering pleasant suprisess which the British called it Ceylon. But the people of the East, as distant as China, always knew the island by the name given by its own people – Sri Lanka.