Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Among the green hills of Kegalle, about 50 miles (85km) from Colombo on the road to Kandy in the hill country, a herd of about 75 elephants roam free in the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. This popular attraction, established as a sanctuary covering 25 acres of lush forest by the Sri Lankan Government in 1975, is unique. Its purpose is to feed, nurse and house young elephants lost or abandoned by their mothers. Recently the sanctuary has also started a breeding programme.


HISTORY

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was started in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife on a twenty five acre coconut property on the Maha Oya river at Rambukkana. The orphanage was primarily designed to afford care and protection to the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers. In most of these cases the mother had either died or been killed. In some instances the baby had fallen into a pit and in others the mother had fallen in and died. Initially this orphanage was at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo.

From the Dehiwala Zoo it was shifted 1975 to Pinnawala. At the time it was shifted the orphanage had five baby elephants which formed its nucleus. It was hoped that this facility would attract both local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage.

There are only a few elephant orphanages in the world. Pinnawala has now become one of the bigger orphanages and is quite well known world wide.


DAILY ACTIVITIES

• At Pinnawala an attempt was made to simulate, in a limited way, the conditions in the wild. Animals are allowed to roam freely during the day and a herd structure allowed to form.

• 08.00 The babies are fed on milk in the mornings and allowed to range freely on the 12 acres large grassland.

• 10.00 Each morning and afternoon 14.00 the animals are walked 400 meters to the river Maha Oya for a two-hour bath.

• Between 16.30 and 18.00 in the evening the animals are taken to their stalls and tethered for the night.

• They are then given their evening feed which is milk again for the babies and leaves for the older ones.

Sigiriya

Sigiriya was created by King Kasyapa who reigned between 477-495 AD. The summit of this almost inaccessible rock is 180 m (600 ft) above the surrounding jungle, and was the setting for a courtly paradise of elegant pavilions amid gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into a recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts of which only the paws remain. The rock's natural defences were augmented by broad moats and stone perimeter walls. In the event of an enemy approach, the outer moat was built so as to flood the entire area between the two moats.

The Water Gardens of Sigriya

The terraced gardens slope down to the boulder gardens and then to the geometrically laid out water gardens, with running water and fountains, pools and ponds, aquatic flowers and birds, and tropical trees. The entire water garden is in a walled enclosure.

The miniature water garden was discovered not long ago. It has winding waterways, shallow reflecting pools, cobbled watercourses, marbled floors and an intricate layer of tiled roof buildings.

Adjacent to this is a central island surrounded by four L-shaped water pools. These pools appear to have been used as bathing pools. These had polished walls, flights of steps and surrounding terraces - similar to a modern-day swimming pool.

There are fountains fed by water under gravitational pressure from the artificial Sigiriya Lake. Symmetrically perforated limestone plates fashion their spouts. These fountains operate in rainy weather even today.

An octagonal pool is set at the transition point from the water gardens to the boulder gardens. It is surrounded by a wide terrace, which follows its shape. A gigantic boulder almost the height of a six-storey building shelters the pool.

Costal areas

Hikkaduwa

Hikkaduwa is the most famous beach among back Packers and Budget travellers. This fun filled city has over 18 locations for great scuba diving and sea adventures. Narigama, Thiranagama beaches south of the city are wider and best for sailing.

Arugam Bay

Arugam Bay is one of the TOP 10 surf points in the world. It is also a pristine sandy beach of stunning natural beauty. Arugam Bay's proximity to Lahugala National Park & Yala East National Park makes it a unique surfing beach.


Location
Arguam bay is located 320 km from Colombo. Some 60km due east from Monaragala, Arugam Bay is a tiny fishing village 3km south of the small fishing village of Pottuvil (12000 inhabitants) at the remote southern end of the Eastern coast & on the edge of Yala East National Park.

Tea Industry

James Taylor a Scottish Tea Planter is recognized as the pioneer of the Tea Industry of Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. He began the first commercial tea plantations in 1867 on 9 acres of land at Loolecondra Estate with tea seed from Assam. In 1872, he sold a package of 23 pounds of tea in London for the princely sum of Rs.58. The first recorded tea export was, however in 1987, consigned to London on board the Steam Ship, Duke of Argyle.
This formed the beginning of the tea industry of Ceylon, on the footsteps replacing coffee, which was then being wiped out by ‘leaf rust’. The Tea Industry has since grown to be one of the largest exporters in the world with exports last year valued at Rs. 65 billion. Sri Lanka produced 310 million kilos of tea in the year 2002 and exported 292 million kilos. Details of production and export figures are given later on this page.


Production

Sri Lanka is predominantly an orthodox tea producer. Tea is grown in the central and lower central part of the country and spreads towards the east. There is also new growth in the southern part of the nation.

Elevational classification is on the basis of factory location as shown below:-

Factories situated

Upto 600 meters from sea level - Low grown
Between 600 & 1200 meters from sea level - Mid grown
Over 1200 meters from sea level - High grown

High grown teas come from estates predominantly in the central hills which are again divided into sub districts such as Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Bogo/Maskeliya, Agrapatna, Uda Pussellawa and Uva. Each of these areas produce teas with distinctly different characters. Hence, Sri Lanka is blessed with the ability to titillate the palates of many countries due to its variety of liquors. For instance, Nuwara Eliyas with its very delicate strength and distinct aroma are much favoured by the Japanese and the North Americans.


The strong brisk teas from Bogo/Maskeliyas are fancied by the UK, South Africa, Russia and for tea bags by Japan, USA and even Canada. Uvas produce especially during the period between July and October possess vintage pungent character and they are much sought after by the Germans and the Japanese.

Our low growns are primarily consumed in the Middle East and to some extent Russia and CIS. These tea drinkers prefer the dark, strong cup with a slightly bakey taste.

CTC production is approximately 6% of the total tea produced.

Today the ownership of the country’s tea lands and processing plants (better known as factories) are in private hands. There was a period from 1975 to 1992 when the industry was mostly under the ownership of the government. However, following an aggressive privatization programme launched in 1992 resulted in the change over to private ownership.

Approximately 55% of Sri Lanka’s production is low growns whilst of the balance, 25 - 28% is accounted for by the high growns, leaving the smallest harvest from the mid growns. In short, 60% of the production is from 40% of the area under tea, which is the smallholder segment. Teas grown in these areas are high yielding compared to the older bushes in the larger extents of the high and mid grown districts.

Exports are dominated by the Middle East accounting for approximately 55% of the total. Low growns dominate the exports to this part of the globe. Sri Lanka now has a 22% export market share in the global exports of producing nations and commands the top position. Russia/CIS heads the list of importing countries with a 24% share and has been holding this position for the last 5 years and more.

Cultural Heritage

The people of Sri Lanka have inherited a great culture and a civilization. Archeological evidence exists to prove that Sri Lanka has been populated for over 3000 years. There is also confirmed archeological evidence to say that in about 800 B.C. the Sinhalese had settled down in the citadel area in Anuradhapura with a highly developed culture.
There are many places of historical and cultural importance. Lot of ruins can be seen at these places. Some of these places are Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya, Yapahuwa and Panduwasnuwara. We can imagine the skills and talents of Sri Lankan ancestors through these buildings, structures, and images.
Buddhism has not only moulded the lives and thoughts of the people, but also has served as the chief source of inspiration to the cultural and social achievements of the nation. During the long and eventful history the island was subject to numerous foreign invasions. But citizens were able to protect almost all the objects that were of cultural value.
In cities like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa we can see huge stone pillars, Buddha statues, Moonstones, Guard stones and Dagabas. These cities have become very popular places of tourists.

Welcome to FancySriLanka

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country that is surrounded by the Indian ocean and located in the Indian sub continent separately.
Capital city of Sri Lanka is Colombo (Sri Jayawardhanapura).
Population is about 20,000,000.

Area: 65,610 km2
President is Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksha since 2005.
Nil Manel is the national flower of Sri Lanka.
National bird is called "Wali Kukula" in Sinhala.

Tourists Attractions in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is famous throughout the world as a tourist paradise. There are many tourist attractions in this island. Most of the come to Sri Lanka for holidaying or sight seeing.
Sri Lanka has attractions of various sorts to satisfy the varying interests of foreigners. Some of them are ancient ruins, waterfalls, sanctuaries, botanical gardens and sandy beaches. This country has a proud history. The tourists who are interested in ruined cities, arts & crafts, sculpture & painting can visit historical cities like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Kandy. Sri Lankans have religious festivals and processions. The Kandy Esala Perahara is world famous. Thousands of foreign tourists visit this perahera which is held in the month of July every year. The fire walking ceremony at Kataragama too attract thousands of tourists.

There are three main sanctuaries in Sri Lanka. They are Yala, Kumana, Wilpattu, Sri Pada and Horton Plains. Yala is famous for deer and tigers. Wilpattu is famous for wild elephants and Kumana is famous for birds. Horton plains is a wonderful geographical area. At these sanctuaries, tourists can see wild animals in their natural habitat. The botanical gardens at Gampaha, Peradeniya and Haggala have become very popular with tourists. People say Dunhinda is the most beautiful waterfall in Sri Lanka. But I think that place should goes to the St. Clair waterfall. The other attractive waterfalls are Ramboda, Diyaluma, Devon, Aberdeen, Rawana and much more. Beaches around the country have become very popular with tourists, particularly, the beaches at Bentota, Nilaweli, Hikkaduwa, Arugam bay. In these beaches there are facilities for tourists for sun-bathing and swimming. Arugam bay is a one of best ten zones for water surfing. Another attractive place is the Coral Gardens at Hikkaduwa.

Sigiriya is famous for its frescoes. Sigiriya is considered as the eighth wonder of the world.
A large number of tourists hotels with modern facilities has been set up by the Ceylon Tourists Board throughout the island. Even the private sector companies have put up many tourist hotels.
Nuwara-Eliya has a salubrious climate and this city has become a popular tourist resort today.