Sri Lanka's currency

In sri lanka the currency that they use is the Sri Lankan Rupee which concists of 100 cents and comes in denominations 5, 10, 25, 50 cents and the rest are notes and come in 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 dollars. A Sri Lankan rupee is also known as LKR in currency converters.

Usually when you exchange cash at trave agencies or banks, the will have a surcharge of 0.5% which if you exchanged $5000 US to Sri Lanka's currency you would get $557 500 rupees and would have to pay the bank $25 US

1 US dollar = 111 LKR
1 AUS dollar = 110 LKR
1 GBP = 178 LKR
1 Indian rupee = 2.4 LKR

1000 LKR

Bibliography
exchange rates from http://www.xe.com/
information from http://www.tourism-srilanka.com/currency.html

Religion of Sri Lanka

Buddhism came to Sri Lanka from India in the third century BC. They also followed Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.Singhalese are adherent to Buddhism but the ethnic group like Tamils, Moors, Burghes practice Hinduism, Islam and Christianity respectively. In a period of great tension between Singhalese and the Tamils, religion plays an important role of the Buddhist people. They hold many religious festivals and ceremonies.

Best times to Visit Sri Lanka

Best time to travel to Sri Lanka is between the main rainy seasons. The period from November to April is the driest season on the south west coast and up in the hills. Here, some of the best beaches and many other places of tourist interest are located. Therefore, period between November and April is the best time to visit this region and this period is also considered as tourist season in Srilanka. May to September is the best time to visit east coast, as it is dry during this period. Hence, Sri Lanka is round-the-year destination-there is always a good time to visit at least some part of the country.

There are two monsoons in Sri Lanka and a Summer.

How to get to Sri Lanka? TRANSPORTATION

Sri Lanka is an island in Indian Ocean off the southwest tip of India, about the half-size of Albama.

You can get there by planes to Colombo and some of the flights are:

• Perth to Colombo in Sri Lankan air lines

Return in ECONOMY class     
   15th Feb 2011   to   28th Mar 2011        
 Only   $ 646 / Person

• Perth to Colmbo in malasiyan airlines

Economy Class
16th Jan 2011  to  15 Jun 2011
Only $ 1079 / Person


For further detail, go to http://www.srilankan.aero/  or  http://www.emirates.com/

Sri Lanka main Languages

Major languages spoken- Sinhala ( also called Sinhalese or Singhalese).
Is a mother tongue of the Sinhalese ethnic group which is largest in Sri Lanka. It belonged to to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo- European languages. Sinhala is spoken by about 16 million people in Sri Lanka, 13 million are native speakers. Sinhala is one of the recognised languages of Sri Lanka, along with Tamil. Tamil is a classical language and the oldest of the of the Dravidian language family spoken by Tamils in India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Climate

this is a diagram of where rain in Sri Lanka is the heaviest, the heaviest rain ia at Adams Peak and is 5000 -6000mm and the lightest is at Mannar and is 500-1000mm yearly.

here is a diagram of colombo in Sri Lanka's climate and rainfall, the average rainfall yearly is 182.2mm and their average temperature is 26 degrees C, due to Sri Lankas placement just above the equator and has a high humidity all year, usually hovering around 70%.

I got both of these images in google search, and the information is interpretated from the diagrams.



By josh washington

Places of interest

Sri lanka the oasis just under india is a popular holiday destination. Sri Lanka is also overflowing with rich heritage and has lots of architectural ruins in the inner highlands this is an indication showing the presence of ancient civilizations.

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura One of the most important and extensive of Sri Lanka’s ancient cities, Anuradhapura is still scattered with remnants of the ancient Sinhalese architecture and culture.

The traces of Buddhism flourishing are revealed by the presence of The Sacred Bo-Tree and old temples like the Thuprama Dagoba. The Sacred Bo-Tree is a tree of the same type under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. The Thuprama Dagoba is the oldest temple in Sri Lanka and houses Lord Buddha’s collar bone. The lake on the South eastern part of the city is as old as 11th century and is still in a good state. The remains of the vast tank, which was part of the irrigation system of the ancient city, indicates to their advancement in technology in that age itself.

Ratnapura

Ratnapura is the city which has made Sri Lanka famous for Gems. 100 kms south east of Colombo. in Ratnapura they used to mine rubies sapphires and many other gems. Ratnapura is also famous for being the best place to get a good view of the Adam’s Peak. Ratnapura essentually helped put Sri Lanka on the trading map because royals always liked buying and trading gems.

Adam's Peak

Sri Lanka's only mountain which has an altitude of 7350 feet, goes by the common name, Adam’s Peak. it is known to buddhists as Sri Pada, Considered sacred by both Buddhists and Christians, this peak offers a fabulous view of sun sets and sunrise.

Apparently Buddha left his footprints on the summit of this mountain which is why it is considered sacred. The peak was named “Adam’s Peak” by the Christians as they believed that Adam and Eve resided here.

Colombo

Colombo was once just a small trading port. The Portuguese, the Dutch and then the British realized the importance of this small port and developed it. The canals were connected to the lakes and lagoons around Colombo, and the number of spice plantations was increased. As they developed the port, they also left behind reminders of their rule. Churches, Buddhist Temples, Hindu Temples, and Mosques are all a reminder of the past and are part of the architectural heritage of Sri Lanka.

Polonnaruwa

Rising to fame after the fall of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa was the capital of the Island during the time period of 11th to 13th century. At a distance of 216 kms from Colombo stands this city with the largest artificial reservoir – the Parakrama Samudra. This man made reservoir is even larger than the Colombo harbour.

Here you can experience the feeling of awe the huge sculptures of Buddha carved on one single boulder of rock surface – the Gal Vihare inspire. The other places of interest are the ruins of the Royal Citadel, the Royal Pavilion, the King’s Council Chamber and the Vatadage Relic House amongst others.

 By josh

image from: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/18707246