Anciant Cities
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Exquisitely carved stonefriezes, serene statues of Lord Buddha, dazzlingly decorated temples built in to rocky overhangs, and feats of irrigation thatamaze the world eventoday are just some of the treasures left by a proud civilisation stretchingback more than twothousand years. Glorious Reminders of a Resplendent Past The remains of Sri Lanka ancient and medieval civilisations palaces, monasteries, shrines, water gardens and temples bear witness to thriving kingdoms and tothe influence of Buddhism.These reminders of the past are so outstanding that fiveareas have the distinction of being designated WorldHeritage Sites by UNESCO. Fortunately for the visitor, four of these are conveniently located in the same region, dubbed the Cultural Triangle.

Anuradhapura (“The Royal Capital”), the first ancient city in Sri Lanka
Polonnaruwa "The Medieval capital"
Kandy (“Beauty of the City of Kandy.”)
Ancient city of Sigiriya (“The Lion Rock”)
The Golden Rock Temple of Dambulla
Mihintale (“Cradle of Sri Lanka Buddhism”)
Kataragama, (“the Holy city”)

Natural Diversity
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Sri Lanka is an island, 65,610 km2 in area situated close to the Southeast corner of the peninsula of India. Despite its relatively small size, Sri Lanka possesses a high level of bioddiversity. A nortworthy feature of Sri Lanka's biodiversity is the remarkable high proportion of endemic species among its flora and fauna: 23% of the flowering plants and 16% of the mammals in the island are endemic. Sri Lanka has a wide range of topographic and climatic variation and this contributes to the special features of its biodiversity.

Sri Lanka has been identified by the environment activist group Conservation International (CI) as one of 25 biodiversity hot spots in the world, reported the Time weekly in its January 11 issue. Sri Lanka's tropical rain forest ecosystem is considered as an area which is disturbed by human activity, but still exceptionally rich in animal and plant species found nowhere else.

Culture
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The culture of Sri Lanka has been influenced by many things in the past, but has managed to retain much of its ancient, rich aspects. Mostly it has been influenced by religion and colonization by the Dutch, the Portuguese and the British

Throughout the past centuries Sri Lanka has been going through a dramatic make over. A vast majority of the Sri Lankan community were only influenced by their own traditional food and nothing more. But, due to economical growth and intense competition in developed countries, companies have taken themselves overseas to developing nation.

Wild Life
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Sri Lanka’s wildlife is as varied as the island itself, ranging from elephants and leopards to egg-laying turtles and a huge variety of birds. With 12 per cent of the country designated for wildlife protection it is easy to get a taste of Sri Lankan wildlife. Safari parks and sanctuaries, particularly in the southern and central zones, offer the easiest way to see animals in their natural habitat. Stay alert for a sighting of the endangered leopard; take your time as you watch the elephants feeding and washing in a tank or lagoon; or walk quietly near to the turtles until they stop to lay their eggs.