Sri Lanka

                         Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean. It is called 'the Pearl of the Indian Ocean'. The area of the island is 65,525 square kilometers. The population is 19 millions. Its capital is Sri Jayawardenapura, Kotte. Colombo is the commercial city. The island is situated close to the Equator. It has a hot, wet climate.

                     Sri Lanka is very beautiful. There are many mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Pidurutalagala is the tallest mountain. The Mahaweli with a length of 329 1/2 kilometers is the longest river. Dunhinda, Bambarakande, Bopath Ella and Diyaluma are beautiful waterfalls. Sinharaja is the largest forest. Wilpattu and Yala are wild life sanctuaries. Kumana is a bird's sanctuary.     

               Sri Lanka has many races. They are the Sinhalese, Tamil, Malays, Muslims and Burghers. The majority race is the Sinhalese. Buddhism is the main religion. Some of the other religions are Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. 

                     Our chief exports are tea,  rubber, coconut and garments. Sri Lankan is world famous for rubies, blue sapphires and cat's eyes.

                     Sinhala and Tamil are the main languages used in schools and Government offices. But it is compulsory to teach English in schools. There are many universities and other institutions of higher education in our island.

                              

                                     

                    Sri Lanka is a democratic country. It has a parliamentary system of Government. An elected President is the Head of the country. 

                     The island has a variety of trees, fruit trees, flower plants and medicinal herbs. There are many kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, insects and fishes. The elephant, the largest living land animal is of great tourist attraction. Lakhs of tourists come annually to my little paradise to see the ancient Buddhist temples and dagabas, the ruined cities, the old Dutch Forts of Matara and Galle, the Sigiriya frescoes, coral reefs of Hikkkaduwa, the beautiful waterfalls, the Kandy perahera, Botanical gardens, the Dehiwala zoo and other places of attraction.