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Over one thousand kilometers of
palm fringed sandy beaches encircle the Island. Sri Lanka is never
out of season for a beach holiday. There is always some part of
the beach that has friendly and warm waters. The beach resorts in
the North Coast, West Coast, East Coast and the South Coast are
popular among the tourists who enjoy taking a dip in the warm
waters and relaxing on the sandy beach.
Hikkaduwa's 'coral
sanctuary' is stretching out from Hikkaduwa shore to a
group of rocks a couple of hundreds meters offshore. It is a large
and shallow that enclosed by a reef - fishing and spear fishing
are prohibited in the area.
Sri Lanka is a paradise for
animal lovers who enjoy animal or bird watching. There are many
national parks and sanctuaries in Sri Lanka that offer you an
opportunity to observe a real wildlife once in your lifetime. The
animals that roam the national parks and sanctuaries are variety.
Example of animals that you can see in a national park such as
Yala National Park are elephants, leopards, sloth bears, deer and
monkeys, wild buffalos, wild boars (pig), porcupines, ant-eaters,
civet cats, jackals, mongooses, Loris (unique to Sri Lanka),
several varieties of lizards, squirrels, reptiles and amphibians.
Sri Lanka has recorded more than
468 species of birds. There are a total of 339 varieties of birds
found in Sri Lanka and a further 129 species of migrant birds. A
total of 26 species of the birds found are native birds. The
seasonal migrant birds those shuttle between the North and South
Pole often use the island as the point of relaxation due to its
strategic location. A bird watcher could expect to observe much as
230 species at any given time.
This is an Asian standard zoo
situated in Dehiwala 10 km south of the Fort, Colombo, in which
animals are well kept. The major attraction of this zoo is the
elephant show which is held daily at 5.15 pm. The zoo has a wide
collection of other creatures, including a fine range of birds and
an aquarium. The zoo opens from 8.30 hrs to 18.00 hrs daily.
National Museum, Colombo
Housed in a fine colonial-era building on Albert Crescent, the
National Museum is the first public Museum to be established in
Sri Lanka (1877). It is the best known for its collection of
ancient royal regalia, Sinhalese artwork (carvings, sculptures and
so on), antique furniture, china, and Ola manuscripts. It includes
the national treasures and art facts from all parts of the island.
A section of the first floor houses the Puppetry and Children's
Museum. It also houses a library with a collection of about
500,000 books including very valuable and rare ones and more than
4,000 ancient palm leaf manuscripts. Open daily from 09.00 hrs to
17.00 hrs except on Fridays when it is closed to the public for
cleaning.
Temple of Tooth (Dalada
Maligawa)
The Temple of Tooth houses the most important part of Buddha
relics, the sacred tooth of the Lord of Buddha. The tooth was said
to be taken from the flames of Buddha's funeral pyre in 543 BC and
was smuggled into the island during the 4th century AD, hidden in
the hair of princess. The tooth was moved from place to place, up
and down Sri Lanka from Anuradhapura, the first place, eventually
to Kandy.
Kandy
Nestled in a hilly inland area, only 115 km from Colombo, Kandy is
Sri Lanka's second biggest and considered as a capital of the hill
country. It was also a capital of Sinhalese kingdom that fell to
British in 1815. The Kandy's town and its countryside are fully
lush and green. In the town center there are several old shops,
antique and gem specialists, and bustling market. The focus of
Kandy is its lake, with the Temple of Tooth, that lies on its
north side. The city directly stands on the north and west of the
lake, with a clock tower that is always catching your attention.
Not far from the lake, train station, market, and various bus
stands are in walking distance.
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