Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island nation in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Strait of Palk. The island is mostly flat with some mountains in the central-southern parts.
Sri Lanka is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia/USA or about double the size of Belgium or slightly larger than Lithuania.
Sri Lanka celebrates its independence day on February 4th. It gained independence from Britain on that day in 1948.
It takes a 10.5-hour flight from London/UK to reach Colombo/Sri Lanka, 17 hours from New York/USA and 14.5 hours from Sydney/Australia.
Sri Lankan fishermen developed “stilt fishing” during World War II, when food shortages led to overcrowding on fishing beaches. Instead of standing on the beach, fishermen sit on crucifixes out in the water to fish.
The largest city of Sri Lanka is Colombo with about 600,000 inhabitants. Colombo is the main business centre of the country.
In Sri Lanka, it is common for Buddhist temples to also serve as libraries, schools, and nursing homes.
The Lotus Tower in Colombo is the highest tower in Sri Lanka with 350 m/ 1,148 ft. Lotus Tower is among the 50 tallest skyscrapers in Asia.
Although Sri Lanka is famous for its “Ceylon Tea,” the nation was actually the world’s largest coffee producer until after the 1870s, when a fungal outbreak decimated the island’s coffee plantations.
Sri Lanka’s highest mountain peak is the Piduruthalagala with 2,524 m/ 8,281 ft.
Tea exportation is the second largest industry in Sri Lanka, after tourism.
The longest river of Sri Lanka is the Mahaweli River with 335 km/ 208 miles.
Sri Lanka is home to around 50,000 Malay people, an ethnic group from Indonesia.
The largest water reservoir in Sri Lanka is called Kala Wewa and is almost 7 km/ 22,000 ft long.
Sri Lankan civilization has existed since the 6th century BC.
There are more than 125 mammal special such as the Asian elephants or the Sri Lankan Leopard in Sri Lanka.
One of Sri Lanka’s famous landmarks, known as the “World’s End,” is a 4,000-foot, near-vertical cliff located in the highlands.
The Horton plains in the central highlands of Sri Lanka are home to many endemic species such as the sambar deer and the purple-faced langur and many endemic bird species.
The predominant language spoken in Sri Lanka is Sinhalese.
The Sri Lankan people mainly live in rural areas and only 19% live in urban areas.
Sri Lanka’s literacy rate of 85% makes it one of the highest ranked among developing nations.
The religions in Sri Lanka are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.
Sri Lanka’s oldest piece of written history is the Dipavasma, a 4th-century chronicle that is believed to have been created by Buddhist nuns.
Most of the people in Sri Lanka are Buddhists or Hindus. Buddhism is Sri Lanka’s major religion, practiced by over 70% of the population.
A typical Sri Lankan tradition is when greeting or when meeting a person, you should put your hands together and say the phrase “Ayubowan” which means ‘hello’ in a much more formal way.
