Feature
Celebrity Whale-watching at the GLF!
Rummaging through an ordinary day scampering for stories, I was pleasantly surprised when I got an unexpected call. Just when I thought I couldn’t even think of making it to the Galle Literary Festival (GLF) this year, here I was given an opportunity by Jetwing to rub shoulders with literary celebrities on the official GLF whale-watching excursion!
Property of the Month
It already feels like home...
What makes a house a home? Is it beauty? Ambience? Or maybe it is the simple straightforwardness and simplicity that relates to the world in general, almost a matter of fact statement to anyone that would grace her doors, that this dwelling is made for comfort and security, a refuge and sanctuary that has heard and recorded many pleasant memories and resonates them back to all who seek the perfect family home.
Villa of the Month
Eragoa
Eragoa... as exciting and exotic as its name. The drive up to this villa could be a bit bumpy, yet serves to add to the adventure and charm of this superb location, half an hour’s drive inland from Weligama.
This Month's Top Story
A colourful pageant – 62nd Independence Anniversary celebration in Kandy
Sandasen Marasinghe
As the rays of the golden sun touched the pinnacle of the Sri Dalada Maligawa amidst the balmy chill of the Hill capital and the cool breeze that made ripples in the placid waters of the beautiful Kandy Lake celebrations to commemorate the Country’s 62nd Independence Anniversary.....
Book of the Month
by James Fennell & Turtle Bunbury
‘Much more than an armchair travel appetiser: interiors featured are of a consistently high standard and there is much here to inspire’ – House & Garden
Living in Sri Lanka has also received substantial coverage in Vogue Living, The Financial Times, The New York Post, The Irish Times, The Scotsman, Sunday Express, The Australian, The Independent, House & Garden, International Homes Magazine.....
Recipe of the Month
Sri Lankan fare is often mistaken for yet another Indian regional cuisine. Yet to the culinary explorer, Sri Lankan Food is as intriguing and unique as the many other customs of this island paradise. In spite of its tiny size, Sri Lanka boasts an amazing variety of food and styles of cooking. The island has a rich heritage of indigenous dishes and its regional cooking is strongly individual and varied. For example, Kandyan Sinhalese cooking, with its emphasis on hill country vegetables and fruits; coastal cooking, making the best of the abundant seafood with which the land is blessed; Tamil cooking, closely linked to that of southern India, which is especially prevalent in Jaffna, in the north.
NEWS
All National Parks in the country will soon be open to foreign and local visitors, said Environment and Natural Resources Minister Champika Ranawaka. He said this on Saturday after opening the Kumana National Park that had been closed to the public from 1985 to 2003 due to terrorist activities, and also after being badly affected by the tsunami in 2004.
The park has also remained closed from 2006 with the Government launching its humanitarian mission to liberate the country from the clutches of terrorism. The Minister also opened two new national park offices at Lahugala and Kumana.....
More tourists visiting sunny Lanka
The number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka has increased sharply with a recovery in traditional Western European markets and more visitors from newer south Asian markets after the end of the war.
Tourism Authority data revealed that arrivals rose 31.9 percent to 50,757 last month, from a low base the year before.
Tourism Ministry sources said the number of visitors has been on the rise since the end of hostilities and hotels have been reporting high occupancy rates in the current winter season, with listed hotel companies also reporting profits after years of losses.....
Over 200 tourist locations to be developed
Over 200 tourist locations will be developed by the Ministry of Tourism during the next three months in order to achieve the desired foreign exchange earnings for the year 2010.
According to a recent Tourism Ministry research, these unidentified tourist locations are found in the country's rural and remote sectors and also in the Northern and Eastern regions.
Tourism Minister Achala Jagoda said that with the dawn of peace in the country, Sri Lanka is targeting 600,000 tourist arrivals this year....
Sri Lanka climbs Kuoni list of best travel destinations
Sri Lanka has climbed the Kuoni list as the fourth best selling travel destination for 2010.
Kuoni Travel Ltd is one of the largest travel companies in Switzerland, and also one of the leading travel organisations in the world. It is UK's most successful specialist tour operator.
The operator's annual Longhaul Report, first published in 1980, reveals the best-selling destinations so far for 2010.
A colourful look at Sri Lankan Culture
Batticaloa gets Rs 700 m bridge across Valaichchenai lagoon
Hambantota port, gateway to the world
Kerawalapitiya power plant complete
Lanka pledges to protect sea turtles
New Look for SriLankan – We are changing the way we fly
Number of tourists to Jaffna on the rise
Peak optimism drives economy forward
Project to increase room capacity - Lanka ready to face tourist influx
Small and medium hoteliers request marketing mechanism, strategies for tourist increase
Sri Lanka gains economic momentum with tourism
Sri Lanka to start ocean survey in oil search
TIK for more info on destination
Tourism fast recovering
Tourist influx from UK
US website ‘DailyCandy’ lauds Sri Lanka
Quote of the month
"This country is an oasis, prosperous and happy; its people are well-to-do; they all have received the faith, and find their amusement in religious music".
Fa Hien (414 A.D) – A Chinese pilgrim who spent two years in Ceylon
