Philanthropic Travel: Sri Lanka

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Philanthropic Travel: Sri Lanka

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Sri Lanka

About Sri Lanka
Ethnic diversity enriches Sri Lankan heritage and life, endowing many unique and fascinating facets. Age old arts, crafts and customs still keep the soul of traditional culture alive. Colombo,till recently the capital, is itself an exercise in the kaleidoscope.The pear-shaped island of Sri Lanka consists mostly of flat-to-rolling coastal plains, with mountains rising only in the south-central part.

About Colombo
Colombo is dotted with many interesting and important tourist attractions. To the east are the criss cross of narrow lanes of the Pettah district with its more atmospheric and colorful bazaars. South, the main Galle road runs parallel with the coast. West and North, the road quickly enters the coconut shaded suburbs. Just 22 miles north from Colombo is the old fishing town of Negombo. Apart from the beaches and seafood, Negombo old town, with its narrow streets and small shops bustling with commercial activity, has an old world charm.

Why visit Colombo

* Colombo has one of the world's largest manmade harbors.
* Gem cutting is a Colombo specialty.
* Colombo is also Sri Lanka's financial centre.

The modern city of Colombo is home to a vibrancy of culture, arts, religion and education. Main tourist attractions include museums, historic buildings and churches, beautiful parks. What is especially enjoyable is the variety of cuisine that can be sampled at any one of the city's plentiful bars, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and kiosks.The University of Colombo, several colleges, an observatory, numerous churches, mosques, and Buddhist and Hindu temples are in Colombo.

The Galle Face Green is the city's largest and most elegant promenade. Lined with palm trees and adjacent to the coast, much like the tropical version of Hollywood Boulevard, this one mile long stretch in the heart of the city is a constant beehive of activity.

About Kandy
The stunning view over Kandy's 18th century lake towards the temple of the tooth hints at some of the reasons for Kandy's unique character. Kandy and its region offer rich insights into Sri Lanka's cultural traditions. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1998, the city is at the southern corner of the "The Cultural Triangle".The other two ancient capitals which enclose the heritage sites are Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.

Why visit Kandy

* Kandy is a UNESCO world heritage city.
* Cultural capital of Sri Lanka with a rich heritage of living monuments.
* The Temple of the Tooth is said to house a relic from the mouth of the Lord Buddha

Since its founding in the 14th Century, Kandy which remained the last stronghold of local kings had gone through many a vicissitude. Although Colombo represents the prime commercial and administrative centre, Kandy continues to remain the cultural capital of Sri Lanka with a rich heritage of living monuments. Kandy is surrounded by the most verdant countryside in which orchids are common place. Several, Buddhist temples are scattered in the district. Heading out towards Peradeniya is the Huduhumpola Vihara temple at Deiyannewela, also known as the rice field of the gods.

About Yala
Elephants are the most often-spotted inhabitants of the vast Yala National Park, but they share the reserve with 130 different species of birds and other mammals and reptiles like Sambhar deer, Spotted deer, Sloth bear, Crocodiles, Wild boar and Porcupines. There is also a healthy population of leopards. Yala is also dotted with a number of archaeological sites, like the Magul Maha Vihara ruins, dating from the 1st century BC.

Why visit Yala

* Yala is among the oldest and best known of Sri Lanka's National Parks
* Yala National Park is well recognised as one of the best parks in the world to observe and photograph leopards.
* Game is also much more diverse with elephants, sloth bears, leopards, buffaloes, wild boars, deer, and large crocodiles inhabiting this region.

The Yala reserve covers 1, 260 square kilometres. Much of the reserve is parkland, but it also contains forests, beaches, freshwater lakes , rivers and scrubland. The latter zone is punctuated with enormous rocky outcrops. The range of habitats gives rise to a good range of wildlife.

Yala has the world's highest concentration of Leopards, although seeing this largely nocturnal carnivore still requires some luck. There are good numbers of Asian Elephants, Crocodile, Wild Boar, Water Buffalo and Grey langurs amongst other large animals. The open parkland attracts birds of prey such as White-bellied Sea Eagle and the wetlands have waders, Painted Storks, and the rare Black-necked Stork.

Historical and religious sites such as Kataragama, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Maha Vihara and many archaeologically important places add additional significance to the area.

About Wilapatu
The Wilpattu park consists of dry-lowland forests, scrublands, open grasslands and coastal belt. A characteristic feature of the park is that majority of park area is covered with dense forest. The fauna of this national park mammalian diversity and ecological densities are highest.

Why visit Wilapatu

* Invaluable heritage and wildlife
* Wilpattu is Sri Lanka's largest national park and a refuge for elephant, leopard and sloth bear.
* The mammalian diversity and ecological densities are highest.

The Wilpattu National Park park covers an area of over 131,000 hectares. Elephants, leopards, sloth bear, water buffalo and spotted deer are among the large mammals. The coastal belt and willus support abundant birdlife such as Painted storks, White ibis, Open bill storks, Whistling teals, Spoonbills, Cormorants and Kingfishers. Apart from them Serpent eagles, Great racket tail Drongo, Malabar pied hornbills, Crested hawk eagles and Sri Lanka junglefowls are commonly seen. Both water monitors and mugger crocodiles can be seen in the willus.

The vegetation dominated by tree species such as Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria) & Satin (Chloroxylon swietenia). Milla (Vitex altissima), Ebony (Diospyros ebenum) and Wewarana (Alseodaphne semecaprifolia) are also found in fair numbers.

About Galle
Galle's main attraction is a 17th-century Dutch fort, one of the most extensive monuments left by European colonialists. Walking along the top of the walls at dusk, you'll see dozens of cricket games, an old lighthouse, and beautiful views of the town's harbour. Within the fort, visit any of several old churches or simply stroll the narrow streets to get a good look at the old buildings. Unawatuna, only 5 kilometres South of Galle, has a pretty cover - protected beach, good snorkeling and a hilltop dagoba.

Why visit Galle

* Best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and south-east Asia.
* Unawatuna beach popular for swimming, and an accessible, reasonably well-preserved coral reef for snorkelling.

Galle has retained much of its colonial atmosphere, it is more than a beach destination. It is a whole different culture and atmosphere bundled into a package, which includes some of the country's best sea bathing- Unawatuna Bay. The single story, tiled buildings inside the Galle fort have been preserved through three centuries. Several private museums display a grand array of old crockery, utensils, items salvaged from ship wrecks, jewellery and gem stones.

Unawatuna Bay, a wide arc of calm aquamarine south of Galle offers quite a choice in places to stay and eat out. Galle and its environs offer quieter, charming guesthouses run by locals, some in old buildings - often such hideaways turn to be the more pleasant alternative.

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