Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka features a rich Buddhist heritage and is that the oldest continually Buddhist country within the world. It's also a rustic of tropical forests, diverse landscapes and warm, friendly people. A lush tropical island off the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka remains one among Asia’s overlooked gems – a standing that's slowly but rightly changing. Called Taprobane by the Greeks, Serendib by the Arabs and Ceylon by the Europeans, it's a land of stunning natural beauty whose fabled riches and strategic maritime locale have combined for a captivating history. Over the centuries, the parade of boldface names that has visited its shores includes Ptolemy, Polo, medieval Chinese admiral Zheng He, also because the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires. Literary luminaries include Paul Bowles and Arthur C. Clarke (both made Ceylon their adopted home) and native Ondaatje. But Sri Lanka offers travelers far more than its past. Today, after a period of internal conflict, a replacement era of peace and stability reigns and Sri Lanka once more beckons visitors with fantastic beaches, ancient World Heritage ruins, superb highlands trekking, national parks filled with elephants, birds and other wildlife, and first-rate hotels. From the cultural heartland of Dambulla (home to Sigiriya, the huge 5th-century “Lion’s Rock” fortress) to the luxurious tea fields of Nuwara Eliya; from Kandy, the last redoubt of Sinhalese kings, to colonial ramparts of Galle, “Travel with RV” invites you to get Sri Lanka with us.