Amazing Lanka – A photo Journey to the Island Nation in the Indian Ocean

The Perfect craftsmanship of the ancients at Gal Viharaya – Polonnaruwa
The solid rock Hetadage Dalada Maligawa of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom
The Elephant Gathering at Minneriya National Park
Novice monks on a field visit to the gigantic Yudaganawa Stupa in Buttala.
built before Christ, the stupa house at Medirigiya is one of the best examples of such architecture demonstrating the ability of the ancients to form the rocks them as easily like wood.
The misty Duwili Ella waterfall at Kaltota
Mahiyangana Stupa, built on the very spot blessed by the Buddha’s presence is the first stupa to be built during the time of Buddha around 5th century BC
Fresh vegetables straight out of the fields of Nuwara Eliya
A lone tusker takes a walk along a waterhole at Yala National Park
A leopard hides in a shade after a hefty meat at Yala National Park
A group of Elephants Taking a dip in a partially dried up water hole before retiring for the day at Udawalawe National Park
Early in the morning a peacock calling for a mate at Udawalawe National Park

Sri Lanka has a documented history that spans over 3,000 years, but there are facts to suggest that Sri Lanka had pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbors made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to many religions, ethnicities and languages. It is the land of the Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist Council in 29 BCE.

The purpose of this site is to create a deeper awareness of all the attractions of Sri Lanka thus develop a richer appreciation of what our ancestors and nature has provided us with.

AMAZINGLANKA.COM IS A GUIDE TO HERITAGE, WILDLIFE, NATURAL BEAUTY AND OTHER ATTRACTIONS WITH TRAVEL TIPS AND GPS LOCATIONS ON EVERY LOCATION

SRI LANKA IS HOME TO ONE OF OLDEST CIVILIZATIONS IN THE WORLD WITH A WRITTEN HISTORY COVERING THE LAST 2600 YEARS.

SRI LANKAN CIVILIZATION WAS NATURED AND NOURISHED BY BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY AND WAS BUILT ON A THEME KNOWN AS “WAWAI DAGOBAI, GAMAI PANSALAI” WHICH SIMPLY MEANS EVERY VILLAGE CONSISTED OF A IRRIGATION TANK, A BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND A STUPA.

HERITAGE OF SRI LANKA

DESPITE THE RELATIVELY SMALL LAND AREA, SRI LANKA IS BLESSES WITH A EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH DIVERSITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. WITH A HIGH ENDEMIC BIODIVERSITY, SRI LANKA HAS BEEN NAMED ONE OF THE 35 BIO DIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN THE WORLD.

WILDLIFE IN SRI LANKA

Wildlife and Nature

Kande Ela Forest Park – කන්දේ ඇල වනෝද්‍යානය
Driving past the picturesque road to Horton Plains from Nuwara Eliya, just has you pass Kande Ela reservoir you will come across the Kande Ela Forest Park (aka Kande Ela Forest Garden), an forested area developed for education purposes by the Department of Forest Conservation. […]
Kokilai Lagoon Sanctuary – කෝකිලායි අභය භූමිය
Kokkilai Lagoon is partly surrounded by mangrove swamps and sea grass beds. The surrounding area includes cultivated land, scrub and open forests. Numerous varieties of water and wader birds are found in the sanctuary including cormorants, ducks, egrets, flamingoes, herons, ibis, pelicans and storks. […]
Nilgala Conservation Forest Area – නිල්ගල වනාන්තරය
Nilgala Forest which is lowland tropical dry mixed evergreen forest lies on the boarders of the Senanayake Samuraya covering area which the Gal Oya River falls in to the reservoir. […]
Weheragala Reservoir and Archeological Ruins – වෙහෙරගල වැව හා පුරා විද්‍යා ස්මාරක
The Weheragala Reservoir was built in 2009 by damming the Menik Ganga at Weheragala to store and divert the excess water of Menik Ganga to Lunugamvehera Reservoir to supplement the water collected from Kirindi Oya. […]
Whale watching in Sri Lanka
While the world was counting whales elsewhere a small population of whales around Sri Lanka, was growing unseen and unchecked by everybody due to the 30 years of old terrorist war. […]

CONSIDERING ITS SIZE, SRI LANKA PERHAPS HAS THE LARGEST DENSITY WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD. THERE ARE OVER 450 KNOWN WATERFALLS NAMED AND UNNAMED, SEASONAL AND PERENNIAL WITH THE TALLEST BEING 241 METERS AT BAMBARAKANDA

WATERFALLS OF SRI LANKA

Waterfalls

Pitabeddara Viharamaldeniya Ella Falls – පිටබැද්දර විහාරමල්දෙණිය ඇල්ල
Height :8 meters District : Matara Viharamaldeniya […]
Pitabeddara Kudalu Dola Ella Falls – පිටබැද්දර කූඩළු දොල ඇල්ල
Height : 10 meters District : Matara Kudalu Dola Ella […]
Rotumba Biso Ella Falls – රොටුඹ බිසෝ ඇල්ල (බිසෝමළ ඇල්ල | බිසෝදොළ ඇල්ල)
The enchanting Rotumba Biso Ella (Bisodola Ella, Bisomala Ella) is 15-20 meters high and is located in the village named Rotumba in the Matara District. Access to this waterfall is about 2 Km from Rotumba. […]
Meeyan Ella waterfall – මීයන් ඇල්ල
The 30 meter high Meeyan Ella waterfall has been split in to two by the British during the construction of the Colombo Kandy railway to avoid building a tunnel through the Alagalla mountain. […]
Mandaramnuwara Kabaragala Ella waterfall – මන්දාරම්නුවර කබරගල ඇල්ල
This large Kabaragala Ella waterfall lies inside the Kabaragala Estate off Elamulla in Mandaramnuwara. To reach the waterfall you need to hike for about 1 hour through the estate. […]

CONSIDERED THE LOST PARADISE BY ANCIENT TRAVELERS DUE TO WHAT NATURE HAS OFFERED IN FORM OF PRISTINE BEACHES TO ROMANTIC LANDSCAPES GOVERNED BY RISING MOUNTAINS, LUSH FORESTS, TANKS AS LARGE AS OCEANS AND ROAMING ANIMALS, SOME MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS WHO FIRST LANDED IN SRI LANKA BELIEVED THAT THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THE ORIGINAL GARDEN OF EDEN.

NATURE AND OTHER ATTRACTIONS OF SRI LANKA

Attractions

Bandarawela Porogala View Point – බණ්ඩාරවෙල පොරෝගල නැරඹුම් ස්ථානය
Mahaulpotha is a charming little town 3.5 km off Bandarawela. Porogala viewpoint is an amazing viewpoint in Mahaulpotha little known to the general public. So named due the rock resembling a axe head, you coud have a clear view of Bandarawela, Kinigama, Diyathalawa, Heel oya, railway line and peaks of Nuwara Eliya. […]
Sand Dunes of Kavutharimunai in Pooneryn Peninsula – පූනරීන් කවුතරිමුනෙයි වැලිපර
If you take the lesser traveled route to Jaffna […]
Keerimale (Keerimalai) Limestone Caves in Jaffna – යාපනය පෙරිය මන්ඩපම් හුනුගල් ගුහා සංකීර්ණය
An unkown small limestone cave can be found in Keeramale just before the Nakuleswaram Kovil near the freshwater spring. The cave lies in a bare land covered in scrub jungle just before the kovil. This is rather unknown and best obtain a villager to explore this site. […]
Periya Mandapam Limestone Caves in Jaffna – යාපනය පෙරිය මන්ඩපම් හුනුගල් ගුහා සංකීර්ණය
The limestone caves at Periya Mandapam is a true wonder of nature. A large open pit exposes a circle of caverns spreading in all directions. A large Tamarind (Siyambala) Tree stands at the center of the pit providing a natural roof for the caves. […]
Pokkanai Bottomless Well in Jaffna – යාපනය පොක්කනයි නොසිඳෙන ලිඳ
The Pokkanai Bottomless Well is is caused by collapse of the top layer, exposing a limestone cavern connected to a underground water source. It is said that this well never dries up even during severe drought and the water is used by the farmers in the surrounding area. […]

SRI LANKA IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD WHO INVENTED AND PERFECTED THE VALVE PIT SYSTEM CALLED BISO KOTUWA WHICH ENABLED THEM TO CREATE GIGANTIC IRRIGATION RESERVOIRS STARTING FROM 3RD CENTURY BC. THE EUROPEANS DISCOVERED AND USED THIS TECHNOLOGY IN THE 20TH CENTURY AND BY THIS TIME, SRI LANKA HAD ALREADY BUILD OVER 30,000 TANKS WHICH USED THE BISO KOTUWAS TO MANAGE PRESSURE CREATED BY THE GIGANTIC WATER VOLUMES

ANCIENT IRRIGATION WONDERS OF SRI LANKA

Ancient Irregation Wonders

Pavakkulama (Pavatkulama) Reservoir in Vavuniya – වව්නියාවේ පාවක්කුලම වැව
Pavakkulama Reservoir is the largest ancient reservoir found in Vavuniya district. According to a notice board installed by the Irrigation Department, Its embankment is 10,364 feet (3.2 km) long and has a gross capacity of 27,000 acre feet (33 million cubic meters). […]
Iratperiyakulama Reservoir – ඊරට්ටපෙරියකුලම (ඉරට්පෙරියකුලම) වැව
The Iratperiyakulama Wewa (reservoir) is the second largest reservoir in the Vavuniya district second only to Maha Pawakkulama Wewa which was created by joining Pawakkulama Wewa and the Ulukkulama Wewa. […]
Ancient Mamaduwa Wewa – වව්නියාවේ මාමඩුව වැව
The massive Mamaduwa reservoir with a 2km long embankment was built in the 6th century by king Aggabodhi I and has been renovated by many kings thereafter. […]
Tampitiya Reservoir Ancient Bisokotuwa and Sluice in Mahaoya – මහඔය ටැම්පිටිය වැව පුරාණ බිසෝකොටුව සහ සොරොව්ව
Tempitiya Reservoir is credited to king Saddhatissa (137-119 BC) of Anuradhapura kingdom and said to have been restored by the British in 1838 making it one of the first ancient reservoirs to be restored by the British in the Ampara District. […]
Mutukelina Wewa and the Observation Point in Kandy – මහනුවර මුතුකෙලින වැව
This one of the hidden jewels that Kandy which managed escape the average traveler. The Mutukelina Wewa lies in a tranquil background surrounded by mountains about 17 km away from Kandy town, The tank lies 1000 meters above sea level and is small with a surface area of about 15,000 square meters. […]

IT IS VERY LIKELY THAT THE FIRST SETTLERS FROM INDIA HAD REACHED SRI LANKA AT LEAST AS EARLY AS ONE MILLION YEARS AGO – PERHAPS EARLIER.

BY ABOUT 125,000 BP IT IS CERTAIN THAT THERE WERE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS IN SRI LANKA FROM THE EVIDENCE DISCOVERED AT BUNDALA. NUMBER OF CAVE SITES HAS BEEN DISCOVERED WITH EVIDENCE OF PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENTS HAS BEEN FOUND AROUND THE COUNTRY.