General Info

Why Book Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka’s popular slogan goes as “A Land Like No Other” doesn’t do justice to the laymen who has never heard of Ceylon very much, words cannot explain to you just exactly how beautiful and positively amazing Sri Lanka (Ceylon) really is, you’ve just got to trust us, in making this island your next holiday destination, hop on that flight and get down here.

Just to give you a brief idea of what exactly to expect (I’ll start with the negative first), the roads (well 90% of them anyway) are ‘bad’ to say the least, and travel time cannot be measured by the number of KM one covers due to this. Second is the ethnic conflict which has been volleying since 1983, but the rebels don’t target foreigners and tourists, so you are safe, tourism has had its ups and downs during the past 25 years of conflict, and we in the industry are well trained as in how to handle the situation, you will be safe in our hands.

Well now for the positives (YES THERE ARE ONLY TWO believe it or not), the long travel time is really worth it, HONEST! You see so much beauty en route and you can get from the hottest point in Sri Lanka (which could range from around 30 to 40 C – dependent on the time of year you are travelling in) to the coolest point in the tea country, which could range from 10 to 18 C (again dependent on the time of year of you travelling in) within a space of 3 hours. And the sites on route, the greens and the blues, the infamous Sri Lankan smiles, the friendly people offering you thambili (king coconut drink) when you break your journey for a “comfort stop”, it’s amazing to say the least. We’ve got it all, the golden sandy beaches, the blue green very inviting ocean, the palm trees swaying to the rhythm of the whistling winds, a few hours away the green, tea covered hills and mountains, rolling on and on as far as the eye can see, a cultural heritage spanning over 2500 years, ancient cities which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the 8th wonder of the world Sigiriya rock fortress, where the world’s most notorious ‘play boy’ King Kashyapa lived, with over 500 concubines, probably second only to Kind Solomon!

The Colonial Heritage which comes of being colonized by 3 European countries, being Portugal, Holland and Britain, the wild life with a species of leopard that is unique only to Sri Lanka and many other endemic species, the only Elephant Orphanage in the world, with over 60 Ele’s and their babies, frolicking around happy as larks! Coral reefs, diving, whales and dolphins at certain seasons, in several specific locations around the island, precipices in the middle of the island (if view at the correct hour of day) offer the most spectacular view up to the shoreline of Sri Lanka, mystic mountain pilgrimages to see the foot print of lord Buddha atop one of Sri Lanka’s highest mountain. Enjoy the experience and we welcome you to visit Sri Lanka “A Land Like No Other”.

 

Basic Info

Location: Indian Ocean, off the southeast coast of India.

Size: 65,525sq.km.

Capital: Sri Jayewardenepura

Commercial Capital: Colombo

Population: 20 million approx.

Local Time: GMT + 5.5 (winter) + 4.5 (summer)

Country code: +94

Electricity: 220/240 voltage

Languages

Sinhala, Tamil & English. Sinhala, (also called Sinhalese or Singhalese) is the mother tongue of the Sinhalese ethnic group which is the largest in Sri Lanka. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages.

Sinhala is spoken by about 16 million people in Sri Lanka, about 13 million of whom are native speakers. It is one of the constitutionally recognized official languages of Sri Lanka, along with Tamil. Tamil is a classical language and the oldest of the Dravidian language family and spoken by the Tamil population of Sri Lanka.

Currency

The rupee, LKR, is the official unit of currency of Sri Lanka. The currency is subdivided into 100 cents. The currency is unique in that it is the only currency that is printed vertically on the back. Like most currencies, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issues the Sri Lankan rupee.

Travel Notes:

Since most shopkeepers in Sri Lanka do not have change with them, it is worthwhile to break larger notes into the smaller coins.

The maximum local currency import and export is 1000 rupees. The import of Indian and Pakistani currency is restricted. All other foreign currency imports are allowed, however amounts over 5000 US Dollars must be declared.

Vaccination Info

Contact your GP prior to departure.

If Vitamin B6 is taken at a recommended dose approximately 2 weeks prior to your arrival in Sri Lanka this will ward off the mosquitoes away from you!