Sri Lanka Overview

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) June 12, 2006 -- Intro
Marco Polo considered Sri Lanka the finest island of its size in all the world, and you'll likely agree after exploring the country's fabled delights. What takes your fancy? Beaches? The coastal stretch south of Colombo offers palm-lined sandy expanses as far as the eye can see. Culture? Try the Kandyan dances, a procession of elephants or the masked devil dances. Ruins? You'll find enough ancient and inspiring architecture in the cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa to satisfy that inner archaeologist, we promise.

And then there's the natural wealth for which Sri Lanka is rightly renowned. Head for the hill country to escape the heat of the plains, where the coast fades away to reveal gorgeous rolling hills often carpeted with tea plantations. The entire island is teeming with bird life and exotics like elephants and leopards are not uncommon. To top it all off, the people are friendly, the food is delicious and costs are low.

Warning
The civil war that has torn Sri Lanka apart since 1983 may finally find resolution, thanks to bipartisan support for peace talks by the island's main political players: President Kumaratunga's People's Alliance and Prime Minister Wickramasinghe's rival United National party. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to renew a ceasefire agreement in January 2002, while the Sri Lankan government lifted the seven-year-old embargo on LTTE-controlled areas of the island.

Despite the apparent success of the Norwegian-brokered peace talks, much of Sri Lanka is still considered quite dangerous for travelers. Areas to the north and east of Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Badulla are best avoided. The Jaffna Peninsula is basically off. Visitors traveling on major inter-city routes, particularly those linking the north and south of the island, may be searched by local and less-than-official armed militias called Home Guards. In Colombo and southern tourist resorts, theft and violent crime are often aimed at foreigners.
That said, southwestern Sri Lanka is safer now than it has been in years, and the rest of the country may re-open to tourism in the near future.

Destination Facts
Full country name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Area: 66,000 sq km
Population: 19 million (annual growth 1.04%)
Capital city: Colombo (pop 2 million)
People: 74% Sinhalese, 18% Tamils, 7% Moor, 1% other
Language: Sinhala, Tamil, English
Religion: 69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Muslim, 8% Christian
Government: Democracy

President: Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
Prime Minister: Ranil Wickremasinghe


Source: http://www.yahoo.com

buddhist     Christian     colombo     hindu     kandyan dances     marco polo     muslim     sinhalese     sri lanka     tourism