Sri Lanka BACK FOR GOOD
From deserted picture-book beaches to the ruins of ancient civilisations, from wildlife parks to fabulous cuisine, few destinations can match Sri Lanka’s heavy-hitting line- up of attractions, says Steve Hartridge
I
t’s been a heady couple of years for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry. In May 2009, the country that is
shaped like a teardrop – appropriate given its troubled history – emerged through the back of a destructive 28-year-long civil war and, almost overnight, found itself one of the most in-demand destinations on the planet. Visitor numbers surged and a country
that just a year earlier was offering two- for-one deals and holidays as low as £449pp for a week found itself with a severe shortage of accommodation. Tourist arrivals set an all-time record of 654,000 in 2010, and arrivals grew by a further 34 per cent in the first nine months of 2011 (although only by 1.3 per cent out of the UK).
“In a very short time we went from a situation where our hotels had 25 per cent and 30 per cent occupancy rates to being 90 per cent or 100 per cent full, and our accommodation sector
struggled to keep up with the demand,” said Sanjika Perera, outgoing UK manager for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. In fact Sri Lanka, with ‘hotel full’ signs
up across the island, found itself in the unusual situation of being just about the only country in the world to welcome – for a short time at lest – the cooling of long haul travel by British travellers brought on by the global recession. However, with a goal of increasing the
number of hotel rooms by 45,000 by 2016, the country is positioning itself to take advantage of any recovery. Sri Lanka’s appeal is in part down to a large range of attractions packed into a relatively small size. It is well-endowed with natural beauty and sun-kissed beaches, is rich in culture and heritage, and also appeals for its wildlife parks, spice gardens, tea plantations, museums, art galleries and colourful festivals. The country has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the latest addition, The Central
Highlands, located near Haputale. A biodiversity hotspot the
Central Highlands is home to some of Sri Lanka's diverse flora and fauna, which features 24 species of mammals, eight species of amphibians, 87 species of
birds and nine species of reptiles. Most
first-time visitors pencil in Sri Lanka's well-established Cultural Triangle. Key highlights include Dambulla’s sacred temple, the Golden Temple, which consists of five separate caves housing Buddhist statues and many paintings, both religious and secular;
Anuradhapura's 12th Century Palace; and the medieval capital of
Polonnaruwa, a compact area of sculptures, friezes, ruins and temples. The country’s most recognisable
landmark is Sigiriya’s Lion Rock, where the remains of a Fifth Century fortress palace sits 600ft above the countryside. Those who climb to the top are rewarded with magnificent views. Kandy, Sri Lanka’s ‘Culture Capital’, is the home to the
country’s most important Buddhist
temple, the 18 December 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
Temple of the Tooth, where a tooth relic of Lord Buddha is enshrined. Other must dos include the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala, a short drive from the beach resorts close to
Colombo, where visitors can bottle-feed baby elephants and watch handlers (or mahouts) lead a herd of 80 to the river. Then there’s ‘Hill – or 'Tea' – Country’, based around Nuwara Eliya, where visitors can sip broken orange pekora tea while they watch the pickers, usually women, going about their backbreaking work on steeped landscaped terraces. The country’s line-up of tourist
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