If asked what is the best tourist destination in Southeast Asia, the answer is Sri Lanka. There are many reasons for this and the main reason for this is the beauty of nature. So, let’s look at the details of this beautiful island today

What Is Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island nation with a tropical climate in the Indian Ocean. This island is surrounded by the sea and has a very beautiful natural beauty and the climate of the country is very suitable for living. The history of the country is more than 2500 years and the country has been influenced by Buddhism. Four main tribes and many other ethnic people live in the country and they have chosen agriculture as their primary source of income and major industry.

Where is Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is located south of India in the Indian Ocean and represents latitude and longitude 7.8731° N, 80.7718° E. And this island is seen on the world map in the shape of a very small bean below India.

Location

The island is located in the middle of the east-west sea route of the Indian Ocean and has received the attention of powerful traders from all over the world. The island has been an international trade hub during the period of using the sea route for domestic travel and the location of the country has been a contributing factor to this.

Due to its location in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the country has acted as a meeting place for international traders and a market for the exchange of goods. The country is surrounded by the continent of India to the north, Antarctica to the south, Africa to the west, and Australia to the southeast. The location of this island nation is the most important in the world.

Important of location

Because the country is independent without bordering any other country, the country has many benefits. Among them, the Major one is the island is granted no border disputes. And this location has also been very important to not have an acute caste divide like in India. Also, the country has benefited from trade for a long time and the country has a mild climate due to the ocean surrounding the country. The importance of the location has also affected the absence of any severe natural disasters in this country. And this location has also been a reason to preserve the identity of the people of the country and the culture

Climate

Regarding the climate, the country is located in the tropical climate zone, close to the equator, and every part of the country receives an equal amount of sunlight. It can be considered that most of the sunlight receives vertically and Sri Lanka also has two sun arises. It is on 8th April and 5th September every year.

Considering this, you may think that living in this country is very difficult. But it is not so. But the average temperature in all parts of the island is only 27 degrees Celsius. Isn’t it amazing? Yes, that is one of the reasons why Sri Lanka is a very popular destination among tourists. Well, let’s see how it happens.

Reasons For Favorable Temperature

Many reasons have influenced the temperature on the island to be under control. One is the high mountains in the middle of the country. Accordingly, the temperature decreases by 0.64 degrees Celsius for every 100 meters of elevation above sea level. This is called the adiabatic lapse rate. According to that, the average temperature in Kandy is 24 degrees, in Talawakela it is 18 degrees and in Nuwara Eliya, it is 15 degrees. Thus, there is a favorable temperature throughout the country.

Moreover, the fact that the country is a very small island relative to the Indian Ocean has also led to a favorable temperature in the country. That is, the temperature of the land areas bordering a water pool is controlled by the water pool. The land is heated quickly by the sun, but the water is not, so even when the land heats up, the water pool is kept cool. Due to this, the temperature of the island is controlled. The average distance from any place on the island to a beach is about 113 kilometers.  Due to this, a large area of the country is filled with sea breezes.

Seasonal breezes are another reason for controlling the heat in the country. Among these are the monsoon winds are main. Accordingly, the monsoon winds, which are rich in water vapor, blowing across the country have also caused a favorable temperature in the country.

Rainfall

Rainfall is considered an important environmental factor for the country as an agriculturally based country. Moreover, most of the people lead a lifestyle based on agricultural land, so rain has become a part of Sri Lankans’ lives.

Except for a few areas in the western and southeastern parts of the island, the rest of the areas receive a minimum rainfall of 1250 mm.  The highest rainfall receives on the western slopes of the Central Highlands and the highest rainfall area is Watawala with more than 5000 mm of rainfall. A minimum rainfall of 2500 mm is also received for the southwestern lowlands of the country.

From this point of view, a large area across the country receives rainfall between 1270-1905 mm, but due to the location of the country near the equator, the water evaporates quickly and the ground dries up. so its make difficult to get the maximum results from the rain.

The island receives rain in 3 ways. These are Monsoonal, Convectional, and depressional rain.

Among these, the convection process takes place throughout the year as the country is close to the equator. Due to this, convective rains can be received in any part of the country at any time of the year. Normal periods have been identified getting convective rains from March to April and September to October.

Monsoon rains are a significant source of receiving rain in Sri Lanka. Monsoon rains occur due to the strong winds that blow across the island at certain times of the year, and two types of monsoons affect the island. Namely South-West Monsoon and North-East Monsoon.

Southwest Monsoon is active for only 4 months from May to October. Due to this, the southwest of the island and the western slopes of the central highland receive rain.

The activation of the North East Monsoon occurs in December and till February it gives rain to the North and east parts and also the North East parts of the Central Highlands.

The country usually receives rains from October to November due to storms due to low-pressure conditions in the Bay of Bengal, and rains can occur at any time of the year due to this. The storms are the main method that receives rain in the northern and eastern parts of the island.

Flora and fauna

Sri Lanka is considered a country with the highest biodiversity in the world. The island has the highest biodiversity per unit area. The country is home to 3210 species of flowering plants, 27% of which are native and 22% of the flora and fauna are endemic. There are about 453 species of animals and 240 species of birds on the island. Out of these 240 bird species, 33 are endemic birds.

The country has 61 wildlife sanctuaries, 22 national parks, 4 nature reserves, 3 intensive nature reserves, and one forest corridor. The Island also has 65 conservation forests and one national heritage forest area. An area of 26.5% of the country’s land area is legally protected. This is a high percentage of protected forest land compared to the rest of Asia

People

Sri Lankans are known the world over as people who excel in hospitality. Their population is about 22 million and they are religiously and linguistically divided into three ethnic groups: Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim. 75% of the population is Sinhalese. 11% are Tamils and 9% are Muslims. The remaining 4% of people are considered as other ethnic groups.

Official languages

Among the languages used on the island, Sinhala is the official language and Tamil is also widely used. And a minority also uses English. However, the majority of people speak Sinhala and have the ability to understand English and Tamil to some extent.

Area

Regarding the land area of the country, it is only 65000 square kilometers. This includes the 1340 km long coastline too. Apart from this, an area of only 200 nautical miles from the coast belongs to the sea area. This is called the ocean economic zone. Of the total land area, 20.7% is estimated as arable land, 15.8% as permanent cropland, 7% as permanent pasture, 29.4% as forest, and 27.1% as other lands. There is also a large continental pool around 8400 miles around the country.

Population

The total population is estimated at around 22 million and the population density is 325/km2.

Economy

Considering the Sri Lanka economy is approximately US$ 53 billion. It was only 80 billion in 2020, but with the economic crisis in 2022, it fell to 53 billion. The country’s grant economy is generated by tourism, foreign workers, agriculture, tea, clothing and textiles, information technology, and mining.

Largest trading partners

The largest trading partners are the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Canada, and Japan.

Currency

The main currency is Rupee and One rupee is worth 0.0027 USD.

Religions

Regarding religions, according to the 2012 census, Buddhists make up 70.2% of the population, Hindus 12.6%, Muslims 9.7%, and Christians 7.6%. Most Sinhalese are Buddhist and most Tamils are Hindu. The majority of Moors and Malays are Muslim, while a significant minority of both Sinhalese and Tamils are Christian, most of whom are Roman Catholic. The Burgher population is mostly Roman Catholic or Presbyterian.

Culture

Sri Lankan culture is primarily made up of Buddhist and Indian Hinduism influences, and due to past invasions, some Western and European influences have also been added. Even so, there are still two prominent traditional cultures in the country. They are the Sinhala Buddhist culture based in Kandy and Anuradhapura and the Tamil Hindu culture based in Jaffna.

Food

When it comes to food culture, rice with cooked vegetable curries is the staple food, and foods made from flour are also common. Most of the country’s people drink tea and also use local medicinal drinks.

Festivals and Events

As festivals, the Sinhala and Hindu New Year are celebrated in April by Sinhalese and Tamil, while Vesak and Esala Poya are celebrated by the Sinhalese Buddhists. Easter and Christmas are celebrated by Catholics, while Maha Shiva Rathriya and Thai Pongal festivals are celebrated by Tamils. Hajj and Ramadan are cultural festivals among Muslims.

Arts

When it comes to art culture, dance, sculpture, painting, music, and drama are the main ones. However, we can easily see some traditional dances in many festivals that are still held today, and there are three dance traditions, Udarata dancing, Pahatharata dancing, and Sabaragamuwa dancing. Among these, Udarata dancing takes the main place.

 Q & A

• Why Sri Lanka Is So Special?

The country is so special in the world due to its location. It is important for international trade due to its location near the international shipping route in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Also, the Island has a special position geographically because it is close to the equator, has a favorable climate, and is located in the middle of the world

• Why is Sri Lanka famous in the world?

Recently, This country has become more popular in the world as a country suffering from a severe economic crisis due to irregular governance. But the Country is famous all over the world as the best tea in the world, has beautiful nature, beautiful beaches, and wild animals, and is the best place to see Asian elephants in the world as well as the best place to see blue whales.

• Why is Sri Lanka so beautiful?

As a country located in the tropical region and as an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, This island has received a very high-quality climate condition. Because of this, the Island has a breathtaking nature. The central mountains in the middle of the country, the sandy beaches around the country, and the tea estates and ancient ruins have made the country beautiful.

• Why do foreigners love Sri Lanka?

One of the main reasons why tourists love this country is the ability to experience beautiful nature with super weather in an affordable destination. Furthermore, The hospitality of people also makes the country much loved by tourists.

• Is Sri Lanka a rich or poor country?

This island nation was one of the most powerful countries in Asia before and was an independent country that was self-sufficient in all things. Also, the country was very rich But with time, the Country gradually became indebted to countries all over the world due to the evil actions of the corrupt rulers who ruled the country. Thus, Sri Lanka in 2023 is known as one of the poorest countries in the world, burdened with debt