Till the recent past, Srilanka was seen as a Beach destination for package Tourists. But there is so much to explore in Srilanka, than just sitting on the Beach. Its rich History and culture, Fun activities, Wild life, flora and Fauna are worth explored. Srilanka has so many native species of Wild life, Trees and Plants. The hot spot for Endemic species is, the Sinharaja rain forest which is Home for many Sri Lankan endemic species. Some of the endemic Animals found at Sinharaja are Giant squirrel, dusky-striped jungle squirrel, badger mongoose and purple-faced leaf monkey. Some of the common native Birds are Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Green-Billed Coucal, Sri Lankan white-headed starling, Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Caucal, Sri Lanka Spur fowl, Sri Lankan Blue Magpie, and Ashy-headed Babbler. The Sri Lankan Elephant is a sub species of the Asian Elephant. The Srilankan Elephants have pigmentation on their Trunks and ears. Elephant Gatherings happen in Srilanka very often, where you get to see over two hundred Elephants.
One of the advantages of visiting a small country is that, you can get to different places of the Country within a short space of time. From the Coast of Srilanka you can get to the Hill station called Nuwara- Eliya within four Hours. The Temperature would drop from nearly 30 Degrees to 15, which is probably a nice summer day for you. The Hill country offers stunning, breath taking scenery covered by thousands of Acers of Tea which looks like a green carpet on the Hills. You will get to see the Tea pickers moving around in their bright and colorful cloths with the sack of tea leaves on their backs. Some Guide books describe Nuwara- Eliya as a misplaced English Village because of the Gregory’s Lake with Trout, The 18 hole Golf course, the race course and the old Colonial Buildings that showcases the ancient Glory of the Colonial era. One place that you cannot miss is the Hill Club which is an amazing Hotel locked in time. You can visit a Tea factory to experience the Journey from Leaf to Cup and have a Cup of Ceylon Tea; you could do various excursions from Nuwara- Eliya such as visiting the Horton Plains National Park, Climbing the Single Tree Mountain, Climbing Kirigalpottha .the second tallest Mountain, and Thotupola Kanda the third tallest Mountain in SriLanka. The Haggala Botanical Garden is a great place, if you are in to Trees and Plants. You can easily spend a whole day here in peace and quiet. Ella is one of the best places to visit in the Hill country. It is very popular among the younger generation as it offers cheap accommodation and food. There are some good hikes here and the most popular are Little Adam`s peak and the Ella rock. The nine Arches Bridge that was built by the British is also a Highlight in Ella.
The life of the Srilankans had been based around Water and the History reveals the value of Water. The whole mark of our civilization had been Agriculture. Even today, we are nearly self-sufficient in Food. Huge man made reservoirs [We call them Tanks] were built to store water. When you travel to the dry Zone which is about two thirds of the Country, you will get to see massive ancient reservoirs. These Reservoirs are fed by the rain water from the Wet Zone. Water is been diverted along long Canals from the Wet Zone to the Dry Zone. Some of these projects are seen as Hydro- Engineering wanders as they are still functioning and the most impressive project being Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa which was the second indigenous Capital of the Country. This particular Tank is in an area of over six thousand Acers and is the largest man made Reservoir in the Country. Had it not been for these irrigation schemes, growing crops in Srilanka would have been restricted
