Picturesque Locations that Boost Up Tourism in Sri Lanka
Worldwide, people are used to tourism as a mean of enjoyment and spending vacation at resorts in different parts of the world with beautiful sceneries. Tourism deserves an important place in the economy of a country as it provides job opportunities and other advantages regarding the development of that particular area or the country. Apart from the annual income, the government of Sri Lanka earns from GDP (Gross domestic products) like coconut, rubber and tea, tourism has been playing a major role in the annual income of Sri Lanka.
Foreign tourists as well as locals annually come to the country visit the amazing landscapes, and the ancient monuments of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a country with a history of more than 5000 years. Therefore, holds the most unique and mesmerising cultures that can’t be found in any other parts of the world. There are some special factors that contribute towards the tourist attraction to this amazing island in the Indian Ocean.
Geographical location that attracts the tourists
Geographical importance is one of the key factors that gain the tourist attraction to this amazing island. Sri Lanka has the most varying landscapes and the climates. Sri Lanka has amazing and beautiful beaches such as Hikkaduwa, Nilaweli, Unavatuna and Arugambay each of which holds an importance to either for whale watching, corals or surfing. Most of the European tourists visit Sri Lanka mainly to have an experience in these beaches. Middle part of the island is the mountains which is locally called the central highlands.
North part of the country has the arid land which is called the dry zone and the southern part is called the wet zone, because of its higher annual rain fall. The island gets rain mostly from the monsoons. Therefore, Sri Lanka has an agriculture that is closely knitted with the monsoon. Apart from mainly been an island and having amazing beaches, Sri Lanka holds much more precious adventures and experiences for the visitors, ranging from waterfalls, mountains, rain forests, ancient ruins to even smaller islands like Delfts in the Northern parts of the island.
In the central highlands and even in the southern parts, waterfalls are in abundance. Sri Pada which is one of the highest mountains on the island is the birthplace to 4 main rivers in the island which creates most of the beautiful waterfalls. Highest waterfall in the island is called the Bambarakanda falls. Piduruthalagala is the highest mountain in the country followed by Kirigalpotta and Adam’s peak. There are also many other mesmerizing places in the island such as rain hortain plains, riverston, sinharaja forrest, Ella rock, Mandaram Nuwara and Meemure. Hortain plains is a grassland with mesmerizing landscapes, abundant in various wild animals like sambur deer. Meemure is a rural village located in the central province of Sri Lanka which gives a glimpse of what Sri Lankan culture and agriculture has been through the years.
One of the most popular and sacred places in Sri Lanka is Sripada which is also known as Adam’s peak. In the Sripada season, thousands of local and foreign tourists climb this mountain. Locals believe that Lord Buddha has been on this mountain and has left a print of his foot. The tourists on the other hand climb this mainly to witness the rare beauty and the glory of the nature and for the soul adventure buried within. There are also other adventurous activities like water rafting, safaris in national parks like Yala and camping in the nature.
Sri Lanka as an island with bio diversity
Looking at the bio diversity on the island it is more than evident that there is no other place on planet earth where there is such a variety of flora and fauna is in abundance. The island is compact with rain forests, dry zone forests and also highland forests. There are also several national parks which are popular among tourists. Udawalawa and Yala are two national parks that are popular for watching elephants. Nuwara Eliya is a city of extreme popularity because of its climate. It is said that its climate is quite similar to England. There are lots of things in Nuwara Eliya that has won the attraction of the tourists. Among them, Gregory Park, Ambewela farms, golf course, botanical gardens with attractive flowers and trees and vegetable cultivation are in the front.
Sri Lanka as an island with historical importance
Other than geographical importance and the bio diversity, historical importance and the culture of Sri Lanka have been factors of attracting tourists. Sri Lanka has a great history that goes beyond over 5000 years. Therawada Buddhism is the main religion in the country. Therefore, the historical importance always has a close connection with the Buddhism. Ancient temples and stupas are preserved are one of the main tourist attractions. Ancient ruins in Polonnaruwa Galwiharaya, Sri maha bodiya in Anuradhapura and Temple of tooth in Kandy are very popular among the foreign communities. Ancient Sri Lanka also possessed an irrigation system that even amaze the modern engineers. Parakrma Samudra, Yoda ela are some of the well-built irrigtion systems. It is still an absolute secret how the ancients managed to build these great irrigation systems and the kingdoms like Sigiriya, polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura. There are also the ancient creations like wood carvings in Ambakke and the drawings of Sigiriya that have become the major tourist attractions in the country. In the central province there are several important temples including Temple of Tooth Relic and Aluwiharaya.
Tourists come to this island to watch and experience the cultural events held by the different nationalities living in this country. Nuwara Perahera and Katharagama Perahera are two major events that shows the extreme cultural heritage of Sri Lanka and every year thousands of tourists travel thousands of miles to witness these amazing cultural displays. The festivals in Sri Lanka are mostly religious. Among them the Buddhists celebrate the Vesak and Poson festivals eminently. Vesak is celebrated in remembrance of the birth, enlightenment and the nibbana of the Lord Buddha. Sinhala and Hindu New Year is one of the festivals held in advance by the Sri Lankans and it is even more popular because of the cultural importance of these festivals. Hindus often celebrate Deepavali and Maha Shiva Rathri festivals while the Muslims celebrate Ramazan. These festivals often attract the tourists to the country providing a large income.
Other important aspects to visit Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a rich country with natural resources. Therefore, these natural resources like gems and other minerals and spices earn a lot of money to the country. There are also the ancient handicrafts like ambalangoda masks, wood carvings, pottery and other industries like brass industry which often attract the tourists. Among the aesthetic values of Sri Lanka, dancing and literature play a major role. Udarata and pahatharata dancing displays uniqueness and the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka.
After the 30 years of war, prevailed in the northern part of the island, it is now open to the tourists to travel and experience another hidden culture that has been out of reach for more than three decades. In the northern part of the island majority of the population is Tamil. The arid landscape of this area has driven people to adapt to these extreme climate conditions. Therefore, it displays a completely different culture. Therefore, the end of the war has opened another aspect of tourism within the country.
The advantage of tourism to Sri Lanka is of paramount important. Tourism contributes to develop the underdeveloped areas and as well as to make job opportunities for most of the communities in the rural areas. Sri Lanka has become an obscured country in the past few decades. However, with the help of the tourism it has now gained the recognition as a natural paradise with a unique cultural and historical background in which the visitors are able to enjoy their best. It is also evident that the ancient humans from the stone age also lived in the caves of Balangoda area. Therefore, it has obviously attracted the archeologists’ attention as a country of great importance. Furthermore, tourism helps to take the Sri Lankan culture to every part of the world. The reason behind the huge tourist attraction to thi amazing island is the options that are available to the tourists.
The tourists who value nature, cultures, religions, history, business, varieties of food, dresses or any other field are not disappointed or dissatisfied coming to Sri Lanka, because Sri Lanka consists of every possibility of experiencing the things that they love and admire. As the tourism plays a major role in the country the people are also adapted to it. Therefore, for the tourists who are visiting Sri Lanka it is easier to cope with them and it is often considered that Sri Lankan people are very hospitable. Visiting Sri Lanka will be a wonderful adventure and an experience for each an every tourist because of its unique geographical location, culture, people, food, nature, and the history.
