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| Golden Days In Sri Lanka | ||||
| The Indian Ocean's second largest island, Sri Lanka is suspended like a giant teardrop just 50 miles off the southern tip of India. Once conquerors, spice-merchants and jewel-hunters were its only visitors. Today it is the sun-lover and peace-seeker who are lured by the exotic spell of this beautiful island, where the curling surf and warm sapphire-blue waters of the Tropics sweep ashore on nearly 1,000 miles of beaches fringed by serried ranks of leaning palms. | ||||
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But Sri Lanka's 'Resplendent Isle' is more than just a magnet for beach-lovers. Into its 25,000 square miles it compresses colours and contours spanning an incredible spectrum of contrasts. Local history goes back over 25 centuries. Echoes and enigmas from the past are everywhere - from legends of Solomon and Sinbad and deeds of Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Phoenicians to the more recent influences of Portuguese, Dutch and British regimes. And perhaps most intriguing of all are Sri Lanka's stunning Buddhist ruins and shrines. Anuradhapura, holiest of cities, with its colossal dagaba temples, Polonnaruwa, setting of gigantic |
ancient reservoirs. Sigiriya, the awesome 'Fortress in the Sky'. Sri Lanka's vast canvas doesn't stop there. The lush emerald green interior is another delightful dimension. As you progress inland paddy fields and water-buffalo give way to working elephants, mahogany and sandalwood. The temperatures of the Tropics dissolve in a cool upland spring, over 6,000ft high, where cascading streams plunge from mountain peaks. The bright saris of tea pickers hover across tea estates that cover the landscape in a vast cool carpet of green, location of charming old 'hill stations' like Nuwara Eliya. The interior is also home to the vibrant lakeside |
town of Kandy, once the last stronghold of Sinhala kings - and of the Yala, Gal Oya, Bundala and other national parks whose forests and plains are the haunt of elephant and leopard, bear and monkey and prolific birdlife. It's surely no accident that the word serendipity ('the happy ability to come upon good things by chance') was coined from the island's old Arab name of Serendib. Explore Sri Lanka for yourself and you'll quickly discover why. Golden Days can tailor a Sri Lanka holiday to your needs, whether on a stay-put, multi-centre or a tour basis - in combination with other Asia destinations or just as a stopover. |
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| SRI LANKA - WORLDS WITHIN A WORLD | ||||
| The wonderfully varied topography of Sri Lanka belies the island's relatively modest size. Here, within an area smaller than Ireland, extends a land of extravagant grandeur of scenery - from glorious beaches to dense jungles and lofty mountains. Its enduring traditions and ancient monuments offer the visitor a vibrant canvas brimming with colour and contrasts, and alive with insights into a treasure chest of history, culture, cuisine and charm that together ensure there's much to please the eye and stimulate the imagination in equal measure. | ||||
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• SRI
LANKA'S GLORIOUS BEACHES The island coastline is renowned
for its countless sandy beaches along which cluster leaning groves
of coconut palms. Most of the major hotels are located in Sri Lanka's
south-west corner and here you will find some of the finest golden-sand
beaches, washed by the Arabian Sea surf. |
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