Gap Year Destinations

Where to go

Sri Lanka

Prawn curries, poets and the Buddha’s tooth – Sri Lanka is a country with a fascinating heritage emerging from decades of political strife...

Environment

Sri Lanka is a tear drop shaped island located to the south of the Indian subcontinent, in the Indian Ocean. It is a partly forested island, with flat, rolling coastal plains, and mountains rising in the south-central area. Its ecological diversity is such that it was the first country in the world to establish a wildlife sanctuary. The capital is Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, locally known as Kotte.

Climate

The Sri Lankan climate is tropical, although temperatures depend on elevation – the mountainous south being cooler (and sometimes even experiencing frosts) than the lower altitude north. The average temperature of the whole island is 28-30°C. Rains fall twice a year, in summer and winter. Sri Lanka is also on the path of tropical cyclones.

Demographics and Language

The Sri Lankan population can be divided up in various ethnic groups, due in part to its colonisation by the Dutch and British. The most populous group is the Sinhalese, who speak Sinhala and constitute 80% of Sri Lankans. The next largest group are the Tamils, who speak Tamil and account for roughly 10% of the population. These must be further subdivided into Indian Tamils, brought as labourers from India by the British, and Sri Lankan Tamils, who have lived in Sri Lanka since ancient times. The remaining population is made up of Moors, Malays and Burghers, who are mixed race, with European as well as Sri Lankan heritage.

Cuisine

Rice is the staple food of Sri Lankans, who eat it often, and make it into a huge variety of dishes. Pittu, for example, is roasted rice meal with fresh grated coconut, which is then steamed in a bamboo mould. Kiribath is rice cooked in thick coconut cream dressed in Lunumiris – hot chilli relish. Seafood is commonly eaten, and Jaggery is often used to flavour puddings.

Religion

Roughly 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhists, a religion which has existed on the island since 2 BCE. In fact, a sapling, taken from the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha was enlightened is said to have been taken to Sri Lanka and grown with the establishment of monasteries. Hinduism is the next most popular religion, at 15%, with Christians and Muslims making up 8% and 7% of the population respectively.

Economy and money

Sri Lanka’s colonial past imposed a plantation economy on the island, which famously grew cinnamon, rubber and Ceylon tea. However, this system engendered huge wealth disparity, and after independence the government favoured a socialist approach, creating a welfare state and nationalising industry. This improved the standards of living and literacy hugely, however fiscal growth was still slow. More recently, civil war, corruption and the Asian Tsunami have combined to increase inflation and damage the growth of previous years, although since the beginning of the 21st century this is starting to change as industry moves away from cash crops and towards garment making. The currency is the Sri Lankan rupee.

Culture and politics

Sri Lanka’s constitution enshrines a socialist democratic republic, where a mixture of the Presidential and Parliamentary systems are used to govern, with the President as head of state and the Prime Minister his or her deputy. Within Sri Lanka, however, there is still much political instability with various opposition parties working against the government, including the Tamil Tiger separatists who campaign for an autonomous Tamil state.

Culturally, Sri Lanka is best known for its authors, including poet Jean Arasanayagam and novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient. Both have written extensively about their family and childhood in Sri Lanka, and the political troubles that have plagued the country.

Sri Lankan festivals include Esala Perahera, which has become symbolic of the country to many Buddhist Sri Lankans. Dancers accompanied by decorated elephants walk the streets of Kandy, parading what is said to be the tooth of the Buddha. Sri Lankans have also greatly influenced the Indian music scene, with performers such as Sunil Shantha finding huge fame in India.