Sri Lanka Tourist Info

Sri Lanka’s history

There have been a wide range of influences over the island. It has a recorded history of over 2,500 years. In ancient times, it was known as Taprobane by the Ancient Greeks, Serendib by the Arabs, Ceilao by the Portuguese, which then became known as Ceylon by the British. It finally became the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1948. (Lanka coming from the Sanskrit name, meaning “resplendent land” which was how the Island was described in the Indian Epic “Ramayana”). The earliest peoples were ancestors of the Wanniyala-Aetto people known as the Veddahs, descendants of which, live on the edge of the Knuckles Range in the centre of the Island. Our 8 Day Group Highlights Tour will take you on a unique journey to many of the historical and religious landmarks of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan population

The population is approximately 20 million made up as follows:-Sinhalese 74%, Tamil 8%, Muslim 7%, Burghers (descendants of Dutch & Portuguese) & Veddahs 1%.

Religions in Sri Lanka

Buddhists – 67% of the population, Hindus – 15% of the population, Christians – 8% of the population, Muslims – 8% of the population.

Languages spoken

Sinhala is the official language, Tamil is spoken by 18% of the population. English is used as a second language.

Currency used

1 Sri Lankan Rupee consists of 100 cents. 195 Rupees is worth approximately £1.00  (Jan 2015)

Your health & safety in Sri Lanka

• Hotels are not legally obliged to install ‘toughened’ or safety glass in their windows and doors
• Be aware of the height of balconies and their rails  –
• At high viewpoints such as Sigiriya, World’s End etc, there are no guardrails at the edge (extreme caution is required)
• Swimming pool safety – children to be accompanied at all times, do not drink alcohol when swimming and do not take glasses to the pool
• Swimming on the beach –  as above and do be aware there are strong currents around Sri Lanka
• Care crossing the road – the traffic is very unpredictable in Sri Lanka and buses and lorries will often not give way to pedestrians!

Terrorism – fact vs fiction (updated Jan 2020)

For more than 25 years, Sri Lanka had had a conflict with the LTTE who wanted a separate state for the Tamils in the North and East of the country.  A lot was written in the press in the UK as to how dangerous it was to travel to Sri Lanka, though it should be remembered, that throughout the conflict, not one single tourist was injured or killed. In May 2009, the LTTE were overthrown and peace has returned to the whole island.

After the war ended, the people, security forces & the politicians dropped their guards assuming that Sri Lanka was safe and there was no security threat any longer. This is why, despite receiving security warnings about the Easter Sunday attack, the authorities did nothing to address the issue and took it all very casually.
But now, the whole country has gone back to where we were . The people are vigilant and observant; the security forces are on red alert and the government is watchful and national security gets priority over everything ells.
With these recent developments   our country is now safer than ever and the chance of another attack is extremely slim.

Sri Lanka is safer now than it has ever been.

What to wear in Sri Lanka

Light cotton or linen clothing. It can be chilly in the hill country at night,
so a sweater/microfleece is recommended. Shoulders and knees must be covered to enter temples.
Would suggest you take socks to wear when entering temples as the ground can be very hot!