Wednesday, August 24, 2011

kandy,Temple of tooth



Sri Lanka's hill capital, stronghold of the Sinhala Kings, is our most beautiful town. It is 488 metres above sea level and next to Colombo is Sri Lanka's most visited place. The focal point of the town is, without doubt, the golden roofed Dalada Maligawa where the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is enshrined. Major restoration work is in progress here by the UNESCO - aided Central Cultural Fund. The highlight of the year is the Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is taken in procession accompanied by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and about 80 to 100 elephants during ten glittering nights in July/August. Visit Kalapuraya in the beautiful Dumbara valley 8 km. from Kandy, where descendants of the ancient craftsmen still create items of rare elegance in metal and wood. There are many shrines and temples in and around Kandy, where you will see rare paintings, frescoes, wood and stone carvings. Don't miss the Peradeniya Gardens begun as a pleasure garden by a Sinhala King, with its amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers.








                 Pinnawela ,ElephantOrphanage




Sri Lanka is renowned world over for its Elephants and Pinnawela Elephant orphanage is one of the best places in Sri Lanka where you can blend with these majestic beasts and have a fulfilling Elephant watching experience.One thing to keep in mind though is that most of these animals were brought here from different forests around Sri Lanka because they suffered injuries because of human activities. So you are not supposed to touch them or get very close to them, especially the large Elephants. Sometimes you are allowed to touch them and take picture close to them when a mahout is present and usually you have to give a small tip. There are around 60 Elephants in the orphanage and most of the activities are planned and on schedule. If you are visiting the Elephant orphanage make sure to time your visit so you wont miss any of the interesting activities.Most popular activity with locals and tourists alike is feeding the baby Elephants.
  
How to get to Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage
Pinnawela Elephant orphanage is located in Kegalle district and its around two and a half hours drive from Colombo. If you are going there from Colombo you have to take a left turn after passing the Kegalle town.you have to go around 4-5 Km from the main road to get to the orphanage.The roads are in very good condition and you can go there in almost any vehicle.If you are coming from Kandy then you have to take a right turn after passing Mawenalla. There are buses available most of the day if you want to get there by bus. There are plenty of notice boards in the junction so it is not that hard to find it. If you are taking the trip make sure to time your journey so you will get there for the view and participate in the activities.














                                                     Sigiriya

There was an attempt to name Sigiriya as one of the wonders of the ancient world. In fact there was a campaing to name Sigiriya as the 8th wonder of the ancient world. It really deserves a place of the list of ancient wonders and has named as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Sigiriya is regarded as one of the best planned cities of ancient times which includes the Citadal, the water technology with , symmetrical and asymmetrical gardens and the frescoes













                         Sinharaja Rainforest




Sinharaja Rainforest is the largest rainforest and national park in Sri Lanka. This forest is one of the most valuable virgin rainforest which was protected in Sri Lanka. This forest has been named as Biosphere Reserve and world Heritage site by UNESCO. The meaning of Sinharaja is Kingdom of Lion and this forest is covered with endemic species and trees. Sinharaja is very highly environment rich place and there are so many unique plants, birds, reptiles and mammals available in Sri Lanka. There are several rivers such as Maha Ganga ,Kudawa Ganga,Pitakele Ganga ,Aranuwa Dola,Koskulana Ganga  and Gin Ganga cross Sinharaja forest.
 Sinharaja forest is located in South-west area of Sri Lanka and and this forest is fall under primary tropical rainforest. The vegetation of this forest can categorize in to three major types such as Lower slopes and valleys, middle slopes and upper slopes. This is very rare type of forest and 60% of trees are endemic and rare. Sinharaja forest falls under few virgin forest left in the world. There are so many beautiful scenery and cool water resources available in this rain forest .Sinharaja forest is one of very valuable place in Sri lankan and we have to protect this resource for our future generation