"Wow – where do I start?? I have just had the most amazing experience of my life, the only bad part was that it had to come to an end."
Sri Lanka is famous for its 1,600 km of unspoilt, golden beaches. It's a paradise Island shaped like a tear drop in the Indian Ocean. Formerly known as Ceylon and famous for its wonderful Tea, Sri Lanka is a vibrant country with an incredible history. It's a country of 18 million people; rich in its diversity of culture, race, language and religion.
The island has an abundance of natural resources, fauna and flora, mountains, rivers and beautiful beaches. It is located at the crossroads where East meets West and is regarded as the gateway to South Asia. The hill country has gorgeous rolling hills and tea plantations. The entire island is teeming with bird life and exotics like elephants and leopards.
The people are friendly, food delicious and costs low! A stunning island filled with beaches and wild life sanctuaries like the Elephant Orphanage, ancient cities, hills, beaches - and most of all, it's incredible beauty.
Letter from Travellers Volunteer Alice Nimmo: ‘Hello Travellers, I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time I had in Sri Lanka in March this year at the elephant orphanage! I can't fault the experience at all, and the staff were fantastic.
I have definitely taken a love for visiting countries of completely different culture now, and hope I can take part in another voluntary work placement in Africa in the next couple of years. Thank you for all your help, you were fantastic at sorting it out for me and nothing ever went wrong, apart from the monsoon season coming a little earlier than planned!
Siresh was fantastic and was always concerned for the safety of us - he also had a very good sense of humour and the language barrier was ever so funny. And also Chandana, who cooked amazing food, I was in heaven with all the spicy curries, and Ajeet for keeping the house so clean, oh yes, and who could forget Mandulla the van driver, always on time and Nirangela the wacky chirpy lady. Thank you again and hope to see you in the future.'
There's good swimming at any number of beaches along the south-western coast. Excellent scuba diving, snorkelling and surfing are found at Hikkaduwa, there's pleasant snorkelling at Unawatuna, and sailing, windsurfing and water skiing on the Bentota River.
For trekking, try climbing Adam's Peak or walking across the strange silent plateau of Horton Plains near Nuwara Eliya to see the 700m (2296ft) drop at World's End.
"The people I spoke to at Travellers in the UK were fantastically helpful and very friendly. I felt I could have asked them about anything." Joanna Blundell – Sri Lanka.
Animal life is profuse and includes the ubiquitous elephant, as well as leopards, deer, monkeys, sloth bears, wild boar, cobras, crocodiles, dugong and turtles. The island is an important seasonal home to migrating birds, including flamingoes, who flock to the lagoons, wetlands and bird sanctuaries for respite from the northern winter.
Climate: The driest and best seasons are from December to March on the west and south coasts and in the hill country, and from May to September on the east coast. December to March is also the time when most foreign tourists come, the majority of them escaping the European winter.
The coastal stretch south of Colombo offers palm-lined sandy expanses as far as the eye can see. The Kandyan dances, a procession of elephants or the masked devil dances. Then there are the ruins, ancient and inspiring architecture in the cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa to satisfy any archaeologist.
Udaya Nanayakkara, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourist Board, says ... "Sri Lanka has been the focus of the world’s attention since the tsunami hit our shores on December 26, 2004. And while we will never forget the enormous impact on our coastline and the sadness caused by the deaths of 107 tourists and 30,618 Sri Lankan's, our people have shown a remarkable resilience, an amazing determination to rebuild our lives and our nation, to emerge even stronger than we were before.
Tourism is key to that rebuilding process. A healthy tourist industry will provide jobs and in turn the dignity that will put the world-famous smile back on Sri Lankan faces. In urging visitors to return to our shores, it is important to present the real facts about Sri Lanka, a true picture of the situation on a daily basis."
“Having finally returned home from Sri Lanka, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Travellers for helping to organise my trip. I had the most amazing time and will definitely be going back there as soon as possible! I really enjoyed my placements, living in both the Ja-Ela and Kegalle houses was great fun and I’ve made some fantastic friends.” Jennifer Rowe
No comments:
Post a Comment