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Despite its smallness, it has garnered a plethora of names- Serendib, Ceylon, Teardrop of India, Resplendent Isle, Island of Dharma, and Pearl of the Orient-an accumulation that reveals its richness and beauty, and the intensity of affection that it has evoked in visitors.
| Fast Facts: |
| Area | 66,000 sq km |
| Population | 19 million |
| Capital | Colombo |
| Languages | Sinhala, Tamil, English |
History:
Recent excavations show that even during the Neolithic Age, there were food gatherers and rice cultivators in Sri Lanka. Very little is known of this period as documented history began with the arrival of the Aryans from North India. The Aryans introduced the use of iron and an advanced form of agriculture and irrigation. They also introduced the art of government. Of the Aryan settlements, Anuradhapura grew into a powerful kingdom under the rule of king Pandukabhaya. During the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa, Arahat Mahinda, the son of Emperor Ashoka of India, introduced Buddhism in 247 BC. This is the most important event in Sri Lankan history as it set the country on the road to cultural greatness. As a new civilization flourished, Sri Lanka became rich and prosperous.
The account in the Mahavamsa (the principal historical chronicle of the Sinhalese) of this Indo-Aryan immigration and occupation thereafter is corroborated by the discovery at Anuradhapura of Prakrit writing in the Brahmi script which has been reliably dated to a period between 600 and 500 BC. These immigrants were the first Sinhalese; they gave the island its first historically known government and name-Sinhaladipa or "the Island of the Sinhalese." All the Sinhalese were converted to Theravada Buddhism in the years after its formal introduction in the 3rd century BC.
The Greeks called the island Taprobane, which is derived from the Sanskrit Tamraparni. The Pali form was Tambapanni. In India, it was also called Lanka (meaning beautiful). However, the European name of Ceylon derives from the ancient name of the Sinhalese. The Portuguese Ceilao, and the Arabic, Serendib all stem from the Pali Sinhala or Sinhaladipa, and until 1815 the kingdom was known as Simhala. The Tamil name for the island Eelam is also derived from Sinhala.
Foreign invasions were intermittent and the capital was moved constantly until the Portuguese arrived in 1505, when the chief city was established at Kotte, in the western lowlands. The Portuguese came to trade in spices but stayed to rule until 1656 in the coastal regions, as did the Dutch thereafter. Dutch rule lasted from 1656 to 1796, in which year the British displaced them. During this period, the highland kingdom, with its capital in Kandy, retained its independence despite repeated assaults by foreign powers that ruled the rest of the country. In 1815, the kingdom of Kandy was ceded to the British and thus they established their rule over the whole island. Modern communications, western medical services, education in English, as well as the plantation industry (first coffee then tea, rubber and coconut) developed during British rule. By a process of peaceful, constitutional evolution, Sri Lanka won back her independence in 1948 and is now a sovereign republic, with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations Organization.
Best Season, Climate, and Clothing:
In the lowlands, the climate is typically tropical with an average temperature of 27°C in Colombo. In the higher elevations, it can be quite cool with temperatures going down to 16ºC at an altitude of nearly 2,000 m. Bright, sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the height of the monsoon-climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season. The southwest monsoon brings rain mainly from May to July to the western, southern and central regions of the island, while the northeast monsoon rains occur in the northern and eastern regions in December and January. In the summer months cotton clothing is ideal. You may carry woolens while visiting the hill areas of Sri Lanka.
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