Sri Lanka travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

At the corner of the sacred ancient cities region of central Sri Lanka sits Ulpotha, the impeccable base to practice yoga and enjoy ayurvedic treatments. It was a pilgrimage site for thousands of years, but today it offers peace and tranquility to soothe the pressures if life in the modern world. Most guests called this retreat ‘paradise on Earth’. The village is surrounded by mountains and looks out across lotus-studded lakes. Photo by: theambalama

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Casa Colombo, Sri Lanka is an extremely stylish boutique hotel that blends a contemporary designer style with the charms of a magnificent 200 year-old Moorish mansion. The mansion is adorned with acres of original Indian intricate mosaic floors, carved arches, molded ceilings, elaborate columns and arches and ornate balconies, and is one of the few remaining treasures of its era.

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This is the south-western coast of Sri Lanka (26th December 2004). In this picture we can see the ocean rapidly retreats 400 metres,  just 5 minutes prior to the arrival of a devastating tsunami.

Continue reading Extraordinary Images Of Earth

Sigiriya is a major archaeological site in North Central Sri Lanka. At Sigiriya we find the ruins of an ancient palace complex built during the reign of King Kasyapa. It has been ascribed by UNESCO as one of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. Probably the most recognizable feature in Sri Lanka is the spectacular rock fortress of Sigiriya. Originally built in 477 A.D. as an impregnable fortress and palace, Sigiriya was later used as a monastic refuge in the 16th and 17th centuries. The rock dramatically rises 200 meters above the surrounding plains and it is a wonder to imagine how they managed to carry up the materials necessary for its construction. At the base lies the remains of the royal rock and water gardens in what once was the lush pleasure gardens of the royalty. The most significant feature of the Rock would have been the Lion staircase leading to the palace garden on the summit. Lion staircase leading to the palace garden on the summit of Sigiriya Rock. Based on the ideas described in some of the graffiti, this Lion staircase could be visualised as a gigantic figure towering majestically against the granite cliff, facing north, bright coloured, and awe-inspiring. Built in the 5 century AC this magnificent complex of geometrically laid gardens, pools, fountains (still working today) as well as oldest surviving murals of maidens has been a palace of the King Kasyapa.

Continue reading Sigiriya – The 8th wonder of the World

For a small island, Sri Lanka has garnered a lot of names – Serendib, Ceylon, Teardrop of India, Resplendent Isle, Island of Dharma, Pearl of the Orient – an accumulation which reveals its richness and beauty, and the intensity of affection which it has evoked in visitors.For centuries it seduced travellers, who returned home with enchanting images of a languorous tropical isle of such deep spirituality and serenity that it entered the Western imagination as a Tahiti of the East.

Continue reading The Spirit of Sri Lanka