So, you want to go to Sri Lanka.

Where the heck is Sri Lanka anyway? Who lives there? Do they have high mountains, snow, winter sports, desert, rain forest, lions (I did notice one on the flag!)…

Sri Lanka, a land that has it all… almost

We have been up and down Sri Lanka. And I’m not just referring to us climbing Sri Lanka’s most famous Adam’s Peak with its amazing sun rise and perfect triangular shadow or our tour to World’s End, an amazing nature reserve on a 2000 meter high plateau covered by wild grasslands, patches of thick forest, mysterious lakes and magnificent waterfalls.

And trust me I can go on for a while making your mouth water whilst telling you about the beautiful tea plantations, the age old temples, ruins of a palace on a 200 meter high rock with a scary stairway leading to the top and beautiful wall paintings, dark and spooky cave temples, wild life reserves with, not lions, but leopards, elephants, jackals, buffaloes, crocodiles, eagles (150 bird species!) and much more.

Ok, better not tell you about those truly amazing beaches in the south and east of the country with their white sand and palm trees with coral reefs and whales not far from the coast. No, I better stop now and leave the wonderful Sri Lanka for you to discover when you get here. You will love the people, the food and everything else!

Some very brief history

The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka, just south of India, late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Over the centuries they build a great civilization with some incredible technological feats like dams with a pressure chamber.

In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. Then the Portuguese came to the coastal areas in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch in the 17th century.

The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972.

In 1983 the war with the LTTE erupted. In 2007 the government regained control of the Eastern Province. By late January 2009, the LTTE remains in control of only a small and shrinking area of Mullaitivu district in the North.

In the spring of 2009 the long standing war between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE ended with the defeat of the latter. In all the years that we have had volunteers coming to Sri Lanka we have not seen a single incident that involved our volunteers. (see the CIA fact files for the full story. Note that the CIA site is hard to reach at times).

What is next

Having told you that this country really is amazing you might just want to read more about volunteering here in general. Perhaps you rather first read about us. Click here to learn more about volunteering in general and here for more about us.