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| At a Glance | |
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Currency - Sri Lanka Rupee 1 US$ = Rs 64.10 As at 16 May 1998 | |
| IDD country code - 94 | |
| Population - 18.5 million | |
| Time Zone +6.00 from GMT | |
| Climate - Tropical | |
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Sri Lanka is the wonder tourist destination. It's one of the most
beautiful countries in the world, with a huge variety of geographical
features.
The administrative capitol Sri Jayawardanapura is centered the lake Diayawanna
which lies below sea level.
Just 180km away is the 2524m high Piduruthalagala mountain the highest in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is home to great variety of endemic species of animals and about one fourth of the country are wild life reserves. The Diyawanna lake and surroundings in Sri jayawardanapura is a bird sanctuary. (Why the former president Jayawardane chose to build the parliament in the middle of this lake is anybody's guess.)
The commercial capital Colombo is just a few kilometers away.
and it's home to many five star hotels, restaurants, clubs, discotheques,
and casinos.
The restaurants in Colombo stay open late into the night. But very few
open for breakfast. But most of the Indian Restaurant's
(there are many of them) in Colombo do open for breakfast,
while most of the hotels have Coffee shops that are open at all hours.
Despite the terrorist activities of the LTTE.
Sri Lanka is still a safe place to visit.
The recent attack in Colombo was the first in over 15 months.
And it is unlikely that the LTTE will strike again for quite some time
Upto now The LTTE have not carried out any bombings out side Colombo.
And when traveling out of Colombo, The major gateway to the hill country
lies over the historic Kelani river. The route down south (the Galle Road)
starts from the Galle Face Green.
It's a large open area close to the beach just outside the commercial center
the Colombo Fort. And the road never lies more
than a kilometer or two away from the sea, Sometimes running right next to it.
At the other end of the Galle road lies the city of Galle, centered around
the ancient Dutch fortress, a world heritage site.
Now that you have made up your mind to visit Sri Lanka, how do you check your mail while here. Well nine Internet Service Providers + 4 cyber cafes operate in Colombo. And the Hill Capitol Kandy has another cafe.
While you are in Colombo don't forget to take a ride in a Three
Wheeler taxi!
Please bookmark this page, it's due for a major update soon. Please see the what's new page for the latest additions to this site. This page was last updated on - Oct 30, 97
raditha@usa.net revised May 16, 1998
