Sri Lanka is a beautiful country where you will find many beaches, greenery, and many elephants. Today we are going to tell you some Interesting and fun facts about Sri Lanka and general information related to this country and its history.
Sri Lanka country, till 1962 its name was Ceylon, which was changed to Lanka in 1962 and Sri Lanka in 1962 by adding the honorable word “Sri”. This country is multi-ethnic and multi-religious.
The history of Sri Lanka is 3000 years old, as well as some evidence of human settlement in the prehistoric times of 1,25,000 years ago. Sri Lanka was known as the beginning of British colonial as Ceylon until 1972. Sri Lanka’s fresh history includes a 13-year civil war, which ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.
It is a country with diversity and multi-cultures, as well as Sri Lanka, is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage. Colombo, the largest city in Lanka, is an important port for maritime transport. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country where you will find many beaches, greenery, and many elephants.
Table of Contents
1. Sri Lanka’s first capital was Anuradhapura, which remained the capital of this country for about 1400 years. That period was known as Anuradhapura Empire.
2. This period was over when the kings of South India attacked this kingdom and take over it. Then the capital of Sri Lanka was changed to Polanaruva.
3. The distance from India to Sri Lanka is just 31 kilometers.
4. By the year 1972, Sri Lanka’s name was Ceylon, which was changed to ‘Lanka’ and in the year 1978, it was renamed ‘Sri Lanka’.
5. The size of Sri Lanka is like a drop of pearls or tears. This is why Sri Lanka is called the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
7. Sri Lanka is an island that is surrounded by the Indian Ocean in the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east. The region of Sri Lanka is 65,610 sq km.
8. The tallest point in Sri Lanka is Mount Pedro. Climbing on this mountain is not allowed because it is a part of the army. The island’s coastline is 13,640 km.
9. Sri Lanka’s official capital is not Colombo ,it is Sri Jayewardenepura quota.
10. According to the 2019 census, Sri Lanka’s population is approximately 21,008,582 and is 57th in the world in terms of population.
11. 70% of Sri Lankans are believed to be Buddhists while 13% are Hindus, 10% are Muslims, and 7% are Christians.
12. GDP of Sri Lanka is 143 billion, which is the second largest wealthy nation in South Asia in terms of gross domestic product per person.
13. Ceylon Tea is the most exported product in Sri Lanka.
14. Ramayana is the first book in which Sri Lanka has been described in detail. Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic written by Maharishi Valmiki. It is one of the two great epics of Indian literature, the second being the epic Mahabharata. Ramayana has an important place in Hinduism. This epic depicts the Ram avatar of Lord Vishnu. The Ramayana epic has 24000 verses and 500 cantos divided into 7 parts.
15. 2300 years ago, the entire population of Sri Lanka believed in Hinduism. In the 3rd century BC, Emperor Asoka sent his son Mahendra to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and the king of Sri Lanka declared Buddhism as a religion.
16. On 23 July 1983, the planetary war began between Sri Lankan Tamils and minority Tamils in Sri Lanka, which ended in 2009. According to official figures, about 80 thousand people were killed in this planetary war.
17. There are 9 states and a total of 25 districts in Sri Lanka.
18. The people of Sri Lanka are most educated in South Asia. The literacy rate here is 92%.
19. After World War II, on 4 February 1948 Sri Lanka got independence from the British.
20. Sri Lanka was the first country whose first Prime Minister was a woman.
21. Water fountains are very much found in Sri Lanka, and a significant part of the country’s electricity is produced from these waterfalls.
22. The main food of the people of Sri Lanka is rice, which they eat all three times with curry.
23. At the end of the year 2004, Because of the tsunami, about 200000 thousand people were killed, out of which 40 thousand were in Sri Lanka alone.
24. Sri Lanka’s only international airport is in the city of Colombo.
25. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 15,000 elephants in Sri Lanka, but now their number has decreased to 6000.
26. The golden lion in Sri Lankan flag has a sword in his hand above red, it represents the people of Sinhala castes.
Four leaves and golden borders represent Buddhism. Two other green and saffron straps represent the Muslim and Tamil people in the flag. The Tamil people are Hindu, hence the saffron color is depicted for them.
27. There is a Buddhist temple in Kandy city of Sri Lanka, where the relic of one of the teeth of Lord Buddha is still kept safe. Candy was the last capital of the Kings of Sri Lanka and due to this temple, it has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Bombings carried out by Liberation Tigers caused much damage to this temple in 1998. But it was repaired and given its original form.
Ramsetu, which is known internationally as ‘Adam’s Bridge‘According to the Hindu religious texts Ramayana, is a bridge, which was built by Lord Vishnu’s Avatar Shriram in the southern part of India, on Rameswaram, Whose other edge connects to Mannar in Sri Lanka. It is believed that the stone which was used to make this bridge is not immersed in the ocean after throwing into the water. What was the reason that this stone did not get drowned in the water? Hindu People regard it as a supernatural occurrence of God while giving religious significance to it, Science believes that the stones used to make the Ram Sethu Bridge are some special types of stones that are called ‘Pumice Stone’. These stones arise from volcanic lava.
According to Hindu mythological history, Lord Shiva established Sri Lanka. According to Shiva’s order, Vishwakarma built a palace of gold for Parvati(wife of Lord Shiva) Ji. Sage Vishva took advantage of Shiva’s innocence and demanded Lankapur’s donation from them. Then Parvati cursed that the incarnation of Mahadev will burn that castle one day and with it, the destruction of your tribe will begin.
Sigiriya has located 90 km from Kandy, which is a huge fortress of rocks. Around 2,243 meters high ‘Adamas‘ Peak has ‘Sri Pada‘. There are 1.8 meters long-wide footprints of Mahatma Buddha. To get to the rock of Sigiriya you have to climb about 1250 stairs.
Sri Lanka’s national sport is volleyball, although the most popular sport is cricket. Sri Lanka also won the Cricket
World Cup in 1996.
The 1996 World Cup was held for the second time in the Indian subcontinent, which was jointly organized by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. 12 countries participated in this World Cup. The United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, and Kenya participated in the World Cup for the first time. Sri Lanka won at the Lahore ground and won the World Cup title for the first time. Sri Lanka became the third Asian country to win the title after
India and Pakistan.
Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He retired from Test cricket in 2010 with his 800th and final wicket on the final ball of his last Test match on 22 July 2010. Muttiah Muralitharan played 133 Test matches and took a record 800 wickets. Shane Warne is behind him, who has 708 wickets in his name. In ODIs also, Muralitharan took a record 534 wickets. Wasim Akram is second with 502 wickets.
34. Sri Lanka’s radio station is one of the oldest radio stations in the world, which started in 1923, just three years after the introduction of radio in Europe.
35. As of 2010, Sri Lanka has 51 newspapers (30 in the Sinhala language, 10 in the Tamil language, and 11 in English), 34 TV stations, and 52 radio stations.
36. You would be surprised to know that Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 92.5 percent, which is among the most educated countries in developing countries. The main reason for this is that education is free from the primary to the tertiary stage.
37. The famous Sri Lankan liquor is called Arrack, which is made of flow, coconut, rice, and sugarcane. Arak is a distilled alcoholic beverage commonly produced in the Middle East, made from fermented coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grains or fruits depending on the country of origin. It is also sometimes called arak.
38.Former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi was also killed by LTTE’s people for taking decisions against LTTE.
Sri Lanka is the founder of the world’s number one tea. Sri Lanka’s World Famous Tea is ‘Dilmah’. You can also take this tea with you as a gift. A special kind of beer is made in Sri Lanka, which is called Lion Beer. Treat travel incomplete without visiting the ‘Lakshashala‘ gift shop in Colombo. You can enjoy shopping in Sri Lanka’s first department store ‘Odel’ in Colombo. A car is the best option for traveling in Sri Lanka. Here you will easily find rented cars. You can drive the car yourself.
Located about 65 km south of Colombo, Bentota is known for its water sports. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy shopping from shops floating on the ocean, then for that you will have to go to Pettah Floating Market.
A series of bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on the occasion of Easter Sunday 2019. The blast took place here on Sunday at 8.45 am in Sri Lanka. Three churches and three five-star hotels were bombed in the morning. After this, there are two more bomb blasts in the afternoon. An explosion occurred at St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade in the capital Colombo. The second blast took place at KatuwapitiyaChurch in Katana.
The third blast took place in Batticaloa Church. Apart from this, there are also bomb blasts in the capital Colombo’s five-star Hotel Shangri-La Hotel, Cinnamon Grand, and Kingsbury. Many people have died in these blasts, including foreign tourists. More than 250 people were killed and more than 500 people were injured in the serial blasts in three Sri Lankan churches and three luxurious hotels.Sri Lanka fun facts
The children of Denmark’s billionaire businessman Anders Holch Powlsson were among those killed in the 8 bomb blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter 2019. Three of their four children died in the blast. All three went to Sri Lanka to celebrate the Easter holidays. Powelson is the owner of the international clothing chain bestseller. He is also a shareholder in another clothing company, Asos. Powlson had three daughters and a son, and all four arrived in
Sri Lanka for the Easter holiday. While walking here, Anders’ daughter Elma shared a photo on Instagram with brothers Astrid, Agnes, and Alfred sitting in the swimming pool.
Muslim women will no longer wear masks in public places in Sri Lanka as the new rules announced by President Maithripala Sirisena became effective on 29 April 2019 because of the Easter day bombings in the country. The new rule was announced by the President on 28 April 2019, prohibiting the wearing
of any kind of dress covering the face. It specifically mentions, ‘Any kind of cloth that is put on the face which is a hindrance to identity.’
44. Muslims around the world fast and pray during the month of Ramadan, but a small group of Muslims in Sri Lanka broke a mosque to differentiate themselves from violent groups.
Information about Sri Lanka, including many unique facts. Here are a few examples:
Here are some lesser-known facts about Sri Lanka:
Here are some fun and random facts about Sri Lanka that kids might find interesting:
Here are some random and weird facts about Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka has been ruled by the royal Sinhala dynasty since ancient times. From time to time it has also been attacked by the South Indian dynasties. Buddhism arrived in the third century BCE when Ashoka’s son Mahendra came here.
European powers established their trade in Sri Lanka in the sixteenth century. The country became an exporter of tea, rubber, sugar, coffee, cinnamon, and other spices. First Portugal made its fortress near Colombo. Gradually, the Portuguese made their dominion in the surrounding areas.
The residents of Sri Lanka appealed to the Dutch people for help. In 1630, the Dutch attacked the Portuguese and killed them, but this also affected the Sri Lankans and the Dutch imposed more taxes on them.
By 1660, the attention of the British also went to this. After the French took possession of the Netherlands, the British feared that the Dutch territories of Sri Lanka would become French. Thereafter, they began to take control of the Dutch territories.
By 1800 AD, the British had control over coastal areas. By 1818, the last kingdom of Kandy was also surrendered and thus the whole of Sri Lanka became British. The country gained complete independence from the United Kingdom on 4 February 1948 after World War II.
There is a civil war in Sri Lanka between the majority Sinhala and the minority Tamils beginning on 23 July 1983. This is primarily a war between the Sri Lankan government and the separatist faction LTTE. The LTTE was defeated by the Sri Lankan government in May 2009 after 30 months of military operations.
This civil war, which lasted for nearly 25 years, killed a large number of people from both sides and this war proved fatal to the economy and environment of the island nation.
Due to the war policies adopted by the LTTE, 32 countries have placed it in the category of terrorist groups, which includes India, Australia, Canada, many member states of the European Union, and many other countries. According to government statistics, about 80,000 people have died in this ethnic conflict lasting a quarter-century.
Sri Lanka has a rich and complex history that spans over 3,000 years. Here are some historical facts about Sri Lanka:
Here are some important days in the history of Sri Lanka:
There are many important dates in Sri Lanka’s history, but here are a few significant ones:
Here are some important historical events related to Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka is known for its natural beauty and there is a crowd of tourists. There are many famous places to visit, but you will be happy to see the beauty of some special places present here.
You will find the fun of seeing the train passing through the mountains and the forest and the beautiful view outside.
The Kelani River originating from the Nuwara Eliya Mountains is considered the lifeline of Colombo. Nuwara Eliya is a mountain town located at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. The place was named Nuwara Eliya after the nelu flower which blooms once in fourteen years.
You will not want to come back from this place of Sri Lanka soon because enjoying the feat of elephants and their children will give you a different experience.
The fun of seeing old-timey things is different and here you will get a chance to interact with many such things.
In this temple of Sri Lanka, you will see amazing views of craftsmanship. There are 150 idols of Lord Buddha.
If you know any new things about Sri Lanka, then definitely tell through the comments so that other people can read, thanks.
Here are some key points about tourism in Sri Lanka:
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