Geography

An island of approx. 65,610 sq.km Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean off the southern tip, of the coast of India. It lies between 5o 55’ and 9o 55’ north of the equator and between the eastern longitudes 79o 42’ and 81o 52’.

Climate

Warm and fine year round. Average temperatures around 27 Celsius in Colombo going down as the land rises to the hill country to as low as 10 Celsius. The island has two wet seasons between May and July in the south-west and December/January in the north-east. Climatically Sri Lanka has no off-season. Bright sunny warm days are the rule and are common even during the wet season. Seat temperatures as a rule remain around 27 Celsius.

Population in Sri Lanka

Nearly 20.48 million, 74.5% Sinhalese, 11.9% Sri Lankan Tamils, 4.6% Indian Tamils, 8.3% Moors, 0.3% Malays, 0.2% Burghers and 0.2% others. Literacy rate average 90.01% one of the highest in Asia .

Religions

Predominantly Buddhism but also Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Languages

Communication is rarely a problem because English is understood in all parts of the country. Place name and signboards are in the national language and often in English. Official languages – Sinhala, Tamil and English.

Time

Sri Lanka standard time is 5 ½ hours ahead of Greenwich (GMT).

Best time to visit Sri Lanka

Best time to travel to Sri Lanka between the main rainy seasons. The period from November to April is the driest season on the south west coast and up in the hills. Here, some of the best beaches and many other places of tourist interest are located. Therefore, period between November and April is the best time to visit this region and this period is also considered as tourist season in Sri Lanka. May to September is the best time to visit east coast, as it is dry during this period. Hence, Sri Lanka is round-the-year destination-there is always a good time to visit at least some part of the country.