subject: Famous Landmarks In Sri Lanka [print this page] Sri Lanka goes by many names throughout its historical past. Until only recently, the tropical isle country was officially named as the Dominion of Ceylon. The ancient Arabs once called it Serendip, and although the name didn't catch on quite well, it has nevertheless spawned a very enjoyable English word - serendipity, coined by Horace Walpole on the title of a story, "The Three Princes of Serendip", the protagonists of which "were often creating discoveries, accidentally and sagacity, of things they weren't on the lookout for". And this phrase remarkably describe what you should quite expect when producing Sri Lanka your travel destination.
This pearl-shaped island country in South Asia, which is 31 kilometers off the southern coast of India, has a population of about 20 million inhabitants in all of its 65,610 sq. km. acreage. Sri Lanka is an epitome of rich variety in its physical compactness - a collective variety which stamps an indelible signature in virtually all areas of Sri Lankan lifetime. From the awesome geographical features like wetlands, lagoons, tropical rain forests and rivers, copiously enclosed by a wide expanse of scenic beaches and crystal-clear waters at the fringes; towards varied indigenous plants and creatures; and obviously, for the rich cultural variety of the persons - a perfectly assimilated mix of ethnicity, religion, festivals, customs and traditions, and food, descriptive of the island's continuous encounter with foreign traders and immigrants all through its colored history.
Sri Lanka may be the residence of six Archeological Planet Heritage Sites from the UNESCO that characterize effectively the country's deep cultural heritage, namely:
The ancient town of Sigiriya
The sacred city of Anuradhapura
The ancient metropolis of Polonnaruwa
The golden temple of Dambulla
The old town of Galle and its fortifications
The sacred metropolis of Kandy
There is in addition a seventh World Heritage Web site - the Sinharaja Forest reserve, that is accordingly designated as an Ecological Planet Heritage Web page by the UNESCO.
