Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean southwest of the Bay of Bengal and southeast of the Arabian Sea. Sri Lanka has been called “the pearl of the Indian ocean” because of its shape and location.
•
Capital: Colombo
• Population: 21.4M in 2021
• Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee. 1 US$= 194.4 LKR
• Official Language: Sinhala, Tamil
• Visa Requirements: Apart from a few exemptions, all nations need a visa to visit Srilanka. Since 2012, an established online visa process is started by Sri Lankan Government and you can get your ETA for 20$ for a short-term visa of 30 days.
• Best Time to Visit: December to March for west and south coasts. April to September for the East coast.
Petty theft is comparatively less than in many other parts of Asia, though you should still take sensible care of your belongings. Pickpockets sometimes work in crowded areas so you have to be very careful while in crowded areas. Also, you can leave your valuable in the hotels as many hotels and guesthouses ask guests to deposit valuables in their safe, and it’s sensible to do so from a protection point of view.
Transportation
- We can use public buses for intercity transfers. Rail transfer is also available but apart from the Scenic Train ride, we found delays in other routes like Columbo/Hika Duwa.
Uber is also operational within the country. However, tuk-tuk is the main budget-friendly transport and easily available within the country.
Accommodation - All types of accommodation start from 10$ budgeting to high end above 100$ are available easily. Best sites to plan and choose our accommodation are Booking.com, Agoda and Hostel World.
Food
and local Dishes - You can taste the local foods which have a rich cuisine. We tasted the following dishes on our entire stay there.
• Kottu. It is a tasty mixture of salty pieces of fried dough with chicken and different sauces.
• Fish Ambul Thiyal (sour fish curry). A fish such as a tuna is cut into cubes, then sauteed in a blend of spices including black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, pandan leaves, and curry leaves.
• Wambatu Moju, a flavored and candied eggplant pickle served mostly with rice and curries.
• Egg Hopper, a pancake type street food
• Parippu, or dhal curry, is the most common curry in all of Sri Lankan cuisine.
• Tea. Tea is the national drink of Sri Lanka and you can get the world's best tea from here.
Suggested daily budget – 20-25 USD (Note: This is a suggested budget assuming you’re staying in a hostel, eating out a little, and using local transportation. By keeping in view your your travel style you can up or lower this number. However, if you stay in fancier accommodation or eat out more often, expect this to be higher!
•
Use 2nd class ticket for a train ride as you can open your windows to take the best photos.
• Tuk-tuk ride is very convenient and you take a ride that is metered.
• Change currency from Banks at Columbo. You can get different rates at different locations within the country.
• Keep a passport copy to enter into the Casino of Columbo.
Adam’s Peak is commonly known as Sri Pada is a sacred mountain in the highland region of Sri Lanka which...
