Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා; Tamil: இலங்கை), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and abbreviated as “SL”, is a country in Southern Asia. Sri Lanka is known for having the biggest tea distribution in the world and for being a hotspot for tourists. Ever since Marco Polo’s discovery of Sri Lanka as the “finest island in the world” in 1292, Sri Lanka has been a go-to destination for many European travelers. The island-nation is also known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

From July 1983 to May 2009, the country was heavily rocked by a civil war between the SL government and the Tamil Tigers, a separatist militant group that sought an independent nation for the Sri Lankan Tamils after decades of discrimination by the government.

Sri Lanka is located in Southern Asia and is around 55 miles south of Rameswaram, a Tamil Nadu city located on Pamban Island. Sri Lanka is also northeast of the Maldives, south of India, east of the Arabian Sea, and west of the Bay of Bengal.

Such a tiny country, yet so many people! As of 2013, about 20.48 million people live in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is growing at a rate of 0.913% per year.

Sri Lankans speak several languages due to their diverse cultures, but the official languages are Sinhalese and Tamil. Sinhalese is spoken by around 16 million people in Sri Lanka and is widely recognized as Sri Lanka’s mother tongue.

Tamil is a classical language and is the oldest language of the Dravidian language family. Not only is it spoken in Sri Lanka, but in India, Singapore, and Malaysia as well! In 1996, Tamil was the 18th most spoken language in the world with 74 million speakers worldwide.

English is widely spoken in Sri Lanka as well, and is taught in schools.

The common religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism. But other religious minorities exist in Sri Lanka as well, such as Hindus, Christians and Muslims.

The most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket and the national cricket team won the Cricket World Cup in 1996.

In addition to cricket, Sri Lankans also play rugby and soccer - but these sports aren’t as popular as cricket.

Although cricket is the most popular sport in the country, the national sport of the country is volleyball.

• The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It’s a royal temple where the tooth of Buddha is kept. It is a sacred place for Buddhist people. Surprisingly, this little tooth has played a big role in Ancient Sri Lankan politics! It is believed that whoever has the tooth in position will govern the country. This is why the ancient kings used to protect the tooth with all their might, so they could remain in power! The relic is a historical site by UNESCO (a United Nations peace-keeping organization). This temple is located in Kandy, which served as the capital of the Sinhalese Kings from 1592 to 1821.

• Anuradhapura is an ancient city in Sri Lanka. This city is best known for its old, ruined civilizations, evidence of the ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka. This city was the 3rd capital of the Kingdom of Rajarata and is listed as a historical site by UNESCO. Anuradhapura was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 4th century BC to the 11th century AD. Many tourists visit Anuradhapura to get a glimpse of what Sri Lanka used to be!

• Dambulla Cavekovil (also known as The Golden Temple of Dambulla) is a historical site in the central part of Sri Lanka. The Golden Temple of Dambulla is 92 miles east of Colombo and 45 miles north of Kandy. This sacred site has been in Sri Lanka for 22 centuries and is the largest historic site complex in Sri Lanka. The 58 statues and Buddhist paintings are one of the main reasons why tourists visit this sacred place.

• Mulkirigala Temple (or Raja Maha Viharaya) is a temple located in the Mulkirigala Junction on the Beliatta - Weeraketiya main road. The Rock of this Temple is 676 feet. There are seven cave temples located on the Lower Terrace (Patha Maluwa), Bo Tree Terrace (Bodhi Maluwa), Great King’s Temple Terrace (Raja Maha Vihara Maluwa), Upper Bo Tree Terrace (Uda Bodhi Maluwa), and Chetiya Terrace (Chaitya Maluwa). There are many cave paintings in this temple, such as the Reclined Buddha, Seated Buddha, and Standing Buddha Images, paintings of Buddhas, Arhats, Gods, and Jataka.

• Sinharaja Forest Reserve (translated: Mountain of Lion) is a national park in Sri Lanka. This park is a biosphere reserve (an area proposed by residents, ratified by a national committee, and has been set by UNESCO, to work in harmony with nature) by UNESCO. This area is 13 miles from east to west, and 4 miles from north to south. This forest is home to several endemic (species that are only found in one country) trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

• Jaffna (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil) is a city in Sri Lanka, the city is more close to India rather than Colombo. Jaffna was settled by early Tamil immigrants, their culture one which owes as much to Hindu India as to Buddhist Sri Lanka. From 1983 to 2009, Jaffna was engulfed in Flames by the big terrorist organization in Sri Lanka, the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, or simply Tamil Tigers) who controlled the city and called it an independent state on its own. The LTTE bombed numerous structures/areas in Jaffna and killed several people as well (it wasn’t safe to go to the Northern Part of Sri Lanka because children were being kidnapped by the LTTE). The painful rebuilding of shattered towns and villages, de-mining fields, and roads is most likely to still continue. Since 2009, the LTTE has been removed from the island, allowing tourists to revisit Jaffna again. There is the Jaffna Peninsula and the many other islands around the Jaffna area that provide many beautiful attractions (such as beaches and temples).