Negombo

Negombo situated by the shores of a lagoon by the same name once has been a trading port for Portugese and Dutch and is a ideal place for those who want quick access to and from the airport. Attractions in the city are the old Dutch fort gate built in 1672 now a part of the prison, the Dutch Canal which was then a supply route to the Dutch administration, old churches and fishing villagers. The 100km long canal running through the town is still being used and is an attraction for those who want to see the country from a different perspective.

The stretch of road towards Kotchchikade comes to life at dusk (most shops are open at daytime too) with many handicrafts and curio shops, gem shops, restaurants and internet cafes catering for tourists.

Fine sandy beaches of Negombo has been mostly unexplored but less crowded as most tourists use the town for the first or the last night of their stay in Sri Lanka. That is where the advantage where you have the beach mostly to your self. Nevertheless those who have identified it's secrets have been visiting the town year after year. Fine beach stretches are superbly maintained by the hotels while some are always busy with fisherman and their equipment. Equipment for water sports such as diving, wind surfing are available at most hotels and private vendors. There are few schools offering reasonable diving courses.

Polonnwala old Kindem

Just north of present-day Polonnaruwa town, 140km (90 miles) north of Kandy, are the ruins of ancient Polonnaruwa, which date from the late 10th century, when the Chola kings of southern India invaded Sri Lanka and conquered Anuradhapura. The invaders moved their capital to Polonnaruwa, strategically located for defence against attacks from the unconquered Sinhala kingdom of Ruhuna, in the southeast (which has lent its name to Sri Lanka's most visited national park). Their defences ultimately proved inadequate and in 1070 they were forcibly evicted from Polonnaruwa by the Sinhalese ruler Vijayabahu 1. Recognizing, however, that Anuradhapura's location made it vulnerable to any assault from southern India, he and his successors made their capital at Polonnaruwa, adding enormous temples,palaces, parks, gardens and huge tanks. By the 13th century AD, however, new waves of attacks from southern India forced the Sinhalese kings to abandon the north of the island, and the kingdoms of Kotte in the southwest (near modern Colombo), and Kandy, in the highlands, became the centres of Sinhalese power.

The ruins of the ancient city stand on the east shore of a large artificial lake, the Topa Wewa Lake, or Parakrama Samudra, created by King Parakramabahu I (1153-86), whose reign was Polonnaruwa's golden age. Within a rectangle of city walls stand palace buildings and clusters of dozens of dagobas, temples and various other religious buildings.

A scattering of other historic buildings can be found to the north of the main complex, outside the city walls and close to the main road to Habarana and Dambulla. To see many of the relics excavated from the site such as the stone lion which once guarded the palace of King Nissanka Malla, or the fine Hindu bronzes unearthed from the ruins of the Siva Devale Temple - you may have to visit the National Museum in Colombo, where they are kept. However, with the opening of the new Polonnaruwa Visitor Information and its museum in 1998/9 some of the key exhibits were scheduled to return to the place where they were discovered.

Namal Uyana Sri Lanka

The national Namal Uyana in Galkiriyagama which has the largest Rose Quartz mountain in South Asia consists of 972 hectares or more. On May 8, 2005 Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will declare open the forest as a National Forest Reserve.Twelve years ago, Venerable Wanawasi Rahula thera, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk settled in Namal Uyana, an ironwood forest in Sri Lanka's Dry Zone. He built for himself a little tree-house 40 ft above ground in the branches of a Mora tree, to live and to meditate. This was his home for almost a year, after which he moved into a humble hermitage of cheap wood.

Now firmly established as head monk of the forest hermitage, he acts as guardian of the forest and its environs, a role played by Sri Lanka's Buddhist monks for over two millennia in the long history of Namal Uyana. Rahula thera believes it was a role he had played in a previous lifetime 800 years ago. When Rahula thera first came to the forest, he did not realize the extent of its natural and historical treasures. Here you find ruins of an ancient monastery that received the royal patronage of King Devanampiya Tissa (307-267 B.C) and granite foundations of very old buildings strewn on a section of the forest bed.

This Sinhala monarch holds an exalted place in Sri Lankan history. It was his cordial relations with the great Buddhist emperor Asoka of India that led to the arrival on the island of Arahat Mahinda thera and a retinue of missionaries. Arahat Mahinda's delivery of a simple but profound discourse to King Tissa (as he was then known) while he was out hunting deer in Dambulla forest, led to the king's and later, the entire population's adoption of the precepts of Gautama Buddha. Arahat Mahinda also delivered the following message on the king's obligation to the environment, "O" great King', the birds of the air and the beasts on the earth have an equal right to live and move about in any part of this kingdom as thou. The land belongs to the people and all other living things, and thou art but the guardian of it."

At the beginning of the 8th Century, a section of the forest became what probably was the world's oldest recorded human sanctuary. Anyone fleeing their enemies or on the run from even the king was entitled to sanctuary in this forest, which was under the sole jurisdiction of Buddhist monks. The king had no automatic right of arrest. Legend has it that outlaws and the persecuted seeking sanctuary in Namal Uyana were transformed into Na trees. Closer to fact was that they were obliged by the monks to plant and care for the trees. Indeed, the semi-orderly formation of the forest strongly indicates human plantation. When Rahula thera arrived, the forest was being denuded by chena cultivators from nearby villages who used to slash and burn sections of the forest to clear land for seasonal crop cultivation. It had also fallen prey to illegal loggers and treasure hunters. At that time, there was little public awareness of the unique place about which Rahula has worked hard to educate the public. Thanks to these efforts, the government, in 2001, declared Namal Uyana an archaeological reserve. Now, chena cultivation and logging have almost ceased. In August 2003, the Namal Uyana Trust, funded by donations from organizations, philanthropists, and the proceeds of the very nominal park entrance fees was established.

The trust funds have helped uplift the lives of the people of the surrounding villages, and to build a Community Environmental and Research Centre. Moves are afoot to have the forest declared a World Heritage Site. Rahula thera's efforts to conserve, develop and protect 'his' forest future generations have been recognized by the Sri Lankan government, which has bestowed on him the honorific Parisara Vibbushana, Sri Lankan Haritha, and Parisara Vedi Sasana Jyothy. He also holds the Indian, Seda Salu title. All these honour his conservation efforts. To protect 'his' forest, Rahula has focused much of his efforts on providing alternative means of livelihood to surrounding villagers.

Rathnapura Gems

Sir Lanka has always been famous for its precious stones. Rathnapura is more famous for gems though there are several areas which are also famous for them. In the past traders from overseas visited the island looking for gems. This is still an important export market today.

The gems of Sir Lanka are woven in to his history. The Mahavansa, the ancient chronicle of Sir Lanka too mentioned about gems and jewelery. Indeed, the lord Buddha himself is sad to have had to come to Sir Lanka from India to settle a dispute between two kings, Chulodara and Mahodara, over a throne of gems.

King Solomon is reported to have had gems brought from this island to win the heart of beautiful Queens. The great traveler, Marco Polo, Was said to have been so awe struck by a priceless ruby in the possession of the king of Sir Lanka that he recorded it as been “ span in length, with out a flaw, brilliant beyond compare.

Sir Lanka became known as Ratna Deep(Sir Lanka Gems). Some of the rarest precious stones in the world are found in abundance in the reach earth under our feet and the hills above us. Among the Several world famous gems Sir Lanka blue sapphire Weighing 466 carats.the largest known sapphire in the world. Weighing in at 19kg was also discovered here. Other famous gems include the Blue giant of the Orient, Weighing nearly 500 carats and the bluebell of Asia, which weighs in at 400 carats. The renowned Sir Lankan Star sapphire is on permanent display at the Museum of Natural History in New York, but due to an oversight, the stone has been called the star of India.
he gem-mining center of Sir Lanka is also a major crossroad between southern plains and the hill country to the east. A bustling market city servicing most of the surrounding towns. Many of the prominent gem dealers in Sir Lanka operate from this town. Scenery around the town is excellent and charming.

Sri Lanka Economy

The economy of Sir Lanka is both agricultural and trade based. Tea, rubber and coconut products are important exports. Spices, for example, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper are exported to markets overseas. Rice is grown in Sir Lanka for home consumption. A new industry is the export of clothing and textiles. Tourism is also important.

Nilaweli Hikkaduwa & Unawatuna

Since Sir Lanka is an island, it belongs a beautiful and attractive beach around the country. Though the whole beach is very elegant the beaches in Nilaweli, Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna are most popular ones among the visitors.

Nilaveli Beach Hotel, is located 275 Km East to Colombo in one of finest tropical beaches. A clean secluded beach is approached through a tangle of trees where there is white sand sloping gently with miles of picture perfect shores into a clear, shallow ocean. Guestrooms in this hotel room gives a fantastic view of the morning sun rise, beach and the ocean through the wide glass windows.
Hotel Nilaveli Beach offers 80 delightfully designed and furnished rooms, categorized into Standard Air conditioned & non Air conditioned sea view rooms, Deluxe rooms and Luxury suites. The Hotel offers wonderfully comfortable place to stay, with its spacious rooms.

Nuwara Eliya

Even though Sir Lanka is a warm country the climate of the hill city called Nuwara Eliya is quite contrast to it because it is very cold there like the city of London. There are fields of Tea bushes all over the hills in Nuwara Eliya and it is a very pleasing sight for any one. The beauty of bio diversity can be experienced in the Hoten Place where the world’s end is situated and the Sinharaja rain forest also a live testimony for bio diversity is situated covering three districts.

Kandy

Kandy, the hill capital of Sir Lanka also an ancient city though it is not old much as Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The sacred tooth relic lies in the famous religious palace called Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. Once in every year there is a world famous procession called Kandy Esala Perahera which consists of various cultural and traditional dances and proud elephant walkings. The historical cave temples like Aluviharaya and Dambulla are situated in Matale district

Anuradhapura

There are number of historical cities in Sir Lanka. The most important and interesting among them are Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Anuradhapura the ancient and sacred city bears many ruins of proud Sir Lankan history. The ruins of the palaces of the ancient kings, ponds, temples, statues, the beautiful art works like moonstone, guard stone and many more can be visible there. The eighth wonder of the world Sigiriya the rock fortress of the great king Kashyapa is a miraculous creation. The water management system of the water garden of it stills a secret. Polonnaruwa is also a ruined city and the giant tanks like Parakkrama Samudraya, Girithalay wewa can be seen there.

KuttamPokun

The Kuttam Pokuna was built as the bathing ponds for the monks of Abhayagiri Monastery in northern Anuradhapura. Water is carefully channelled to gush out of a lion's head, and through a sophisticated system of filtration. At the far end of the Kuttam Pokuna ponds is a system to trap mud and dirt. Water flows into a pit, where the mud and dirt sinks to the bottom. It ensures clean water flow into the Kuttam Pokunaponds.

The monks perform their ablutions under the protective gaze of a five-hooded naga, the cobra believed to bring good fortune. Steps leads down to the two ponds while around them are shallow pools to cool off one's feet befond diving into the ponds. The Kuttam Pokuna demostrates not only great engineering feat by also workmanship and artistry of the ancient Sinhalese builders.

Sri Lanka

Sir Lanka is a very historical island which is situated in the Indian Ocean., south east of India and it lies between longitude 79C and 81C east and latitudes 50 and 100 north. From north to south the island is 425 kilometers long and from west to east it is 225 kilometers wide. Pidurutalagala, the highest mountain, which is 2,524 meters high, and the longest river is the Mahaweli which is over 300 kilometers long.

The island has a tropical climate. The monsoons called north east and the south west bring rain to all parts of the country. The temperature differs between 200 to 300 centigrade. In the central hills the climate is cooler. There are many different wild flowers, shrubs and trees here, and the Peradeniya and Haggala Botanical Gardens have a large variety of tropical plants.