A SPLENDID PLACE

Although we’ve been told how travellers flock to Sri Lanka’s palm-fringed southern coast in search of surfing, whale-watching and snorkelling, we come to realise that seeing the beaches, wildlife-rich national parks and temples is only part of the appeal. It’s the warm welcome that visitors receive that has really put Sri Lanka on the wishlists of worldly travellers.

This 65,610-square-kilometre island is the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, with a population of 21 million, including Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays and the indigenous Vedda people. Since the end of the civil war in 2009, this ‘Splendid Island’ (as its name may be translated in Sanskrit) has only grown in popularity, offering a tantalising blend of adventure,