MIAMI.- The island Sri Lanka, located south of India, is an exciting “paradise” that offers a mix of cultures, paradisiacal beaches and tropical jungles, seeking to be reborn after years of war and adversity.
This island, with a population of 22,156,000 people according to 2021 data, is much more than a sun and beach destination. Now more and more tourists take this place into account, due to the hospitality of its people, its great beaches recognized as the best in the world, its culturetemples, towns, elephant and its gastronomy.
In addition, it has a large number of national parks where you can go on safaris that allow nature lovers to observe animals such as elephants, leopards, buffaloes and many other species in their habitat.
In 2019, the island nation was chosen by influential travel guide publisher Lonely Planet as the No. 1 country to visit in the world.
Famous for the production and export of cinnamon, tea, coffee, rubber and coconut, Sri Lanka boasts modern natural beauty.
The high tourist season in this Asian country, which very few overlook when making a trip, occurs between December and March, coinciding with the dry season. This time is perfect to visit the southern and western beaches, as well as the highlands.
Colombo, the capital
In Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, a bustling South Asian city on the island’s western coast, you can enjoy a diversity of dimensions mixed between jungle and sea.
The most populated city on the island at the same time offers you exceptional places to relax and enjoy nature.
Another of the most popular places that you can visit in the country, located in South Asia, is the renowned town of Pinnawala, known par excellence as “the home of the elephants.” A visit to this city will allow you to enter its origins and learn about the life of this majestic animal.
Most popular festivals in Sri Lanka
Every month there are traditional and popular festivals in Sri Lanka. In Colombo, the capital city of the island, the Duruthu Perahera festival is celebrated in January, which is the largest Buddhist festival in Sri Lanka after the Kandy Perahera.
However, if you travel to Sri Lanka in the months of October and November, you can enjoy the famous Deepavali. During this Hindu festival, the lights and colors celebrate the triumph of good over evil and the return of Rama from exile.
In the month of December until March, the “Adam’s Peak” season begins, a time in which Buddhists climb this peak, especially on full moon nights and they wake up from this emblematic place where the footprint of Adam, or Buddha, is. .
Likewise, the Full Moon in December is also a traditional and popular holiday in Sri Lanka, especially in Anuradhapura, where the sacred “Bodhi Tree” is located, the oldest planted by the hand of man.
Sri Lankan cuisine
In Sri Lanka, travelers will be able to enjoy a cuisine full of a mix of native traditions, with foreign influences from nearby countries such as India and European cuisine, due to its colonial roots.
Kottu is one of the typical Sri Lankan dishes. Rice, a wide variety of spices, intense smells and flavors are characteristic of its cuisine.
In addition to curry rice, a characteristic dish, in the coastal area of the island, visitors will enjoy a variety of fish and seafood.
Tourism recovery
Sri Lanka has been seeking to recover the tourism sector since 2009, when more than two decades of civil war, the pandemic and the subsequent political and economic crisis that besieged the island nation ended.
Since August 1, 2020, the authorities of that country have followed an exhaustive plan to reopen the country to tourism that began with the so-called “bubble trips.” After a gradual relaxation of the measures, in 2023 it is finally possible to travel to the country with hardly any restrictions.
Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka exceeded 900,000 at the end of August, according to figures from the South Asian country’s Tourism Development Authority.
@Lydr05
FOUNTAIN: With information from Directia Travel and Loney Travel
