Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse countries in South Asia. It’s a small island, about 6040 square kilometers/ 2,332 square miles, but there’s so much to do and explore, especially if you’re here on a 2-week trip. It’s known for its friendly people, amazing hospitality, an abundance of wildlife and excellent (but spicy!) food.
If you’re planning a trip to Sri Lanka, check out these facts about Sri Lanka to help prepare you.
At A Glance
- 23 Interesting Sri Lanka Facts You Might Not Have Heard Before
- 1. Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” and “the teardrop of India”
- 2. The standard greeting is “ayubowan” in Sinhalese
- 3. The “yes” and “no” head movements are different
- 4. Buddhism is the official religion, but there’s a lot more
- 5. Eat with your hands
- 6. It used to be neighbours of Antarctica
- 7. Batik is a traditional dyeing technique
- 8. Angampora is the traditional martial art
- 9. Colombo is home to South Asia’s tallest tower
- 10. There are 3 classical Sri Lankan dances
- 11. Sri Lanka is famous for its tea as an export
- 12. It’s the first country to have a female prime minister
- 13. It has the highest literacy rate in South Asia
- 14. It’s home to the world’s oldest human-planted tree
- 15. The colours on the Sri Lankan flag hold special meanings
- 16. The most sacred mountain has significance in several major religions
- 17. There are 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country
- 18. The word “serendipity” comes from Sri Lanka
- 19. The official sport of Sri Lanka is volleyball
- 20. It’s home to the biggest mammals
- 21. It’s the host of the world’s largest elephant gathering
- 22. It’s said Buddha’s tooth remains in Kandy
- 23. Hydropower is very important
23 Interesting Sri Lanka Facts You Might Not Have Heard Before
1. Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” and “the teardrop of India”
Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve visited in South Asia. It has stunning mountains, clean beaches, and amazing biodiversity. Shaped like a teardrop, it’s just 54.8 km southeast of India.
I found the surfing in Sri Lanka to be exceptional. Spots like Arugam Bay and Hikkaduwa offered waves perfect for all skill levels. The surf scene here is exciting. It adds to the country’s natural beauty. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned surfer, it’s for you.
Book a 4 day budget surf camp here.
2. The standard greeting is “ayubowan” in Sinhalese
Local Sri Lankans will greet you by holding their hands in a prayer position and saying “ayubowan,” which means “may you be blessed with a long life” in Sinhala, the official language. It can also be used to say goodbye.
3. The “yes” and “no” head movements are different
In most parts of the world, moving your head up and down means “yes” while side to side means “no.” However, in Sri Lanka, the opposite is true. Don’t let this confuse you if you travel there!
4. Buddhism is the official religion, but there’s a lot more
Buddhism is technically not a religion, but a philosophy. Over 70% of Sri Lankans consider themselves Buddhist, while 12% are Hindu, 9% are Muslim, 7% are Christian (mostly Catholic). Because Buddhism was declared the State religion, it was given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution. For example, the government is bound to protect Buddhist Dharma. The country does have freedom of religion.
5. Eat with your hands
If you want to eat like a local Sri Lankan, learn to eat with your hands (it’s harder than it sounds!). Many restaurants have sinks in the corner for guests to wash their hands before and after they eat for this reason. Take your right hand and gather rice and other food on your plate and mix it together. Then, pass it into your mouth. Traditionally, your left hand is used for holding the plate you’re eating from.
6. It used to be neighbours of Antarctica
Despite its tropical climate today, Sri Lanka actually used to be connected to Antarctica back when Pangea still existed.
7. Batik is a traditional dyeing technique
When shopping in markets, you’re bound to see beautiful fabrics dyed using Batik, a process using wax on fabric to avoid dyeing certain sections of fabric to create patterns. Wax is dropped in a pattern using a special tool called a canting. Then, the fabric is dipped in the coloured dye and soaked for 10 minutes. The wax is then melted off by dipping the fabric in boiling water. There are some shops that teach visitors the Batik technique if you want to create your own.
The art form dates back as early as the fourth century B.C. Batik is also used in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Nigeria.
8. Angampora is the traditional martial art
Angampora is the Sinhalese martial art that consists of fighting techniques, self-defence, and meditation using hand-to-hand combat and indigenous weapons, knives and swords. The martial art is about 3,000 years old, and almost got wiped out during British colonization.
In the 1800s, the British prohibited it and burned down the angan madus (huts where the martial art was practiced). The punishment for practicing angampora was a gunshot to the knee to prevent people from ever practicing it again. However, it survived with the help of a few families who practised it in secret and it became popular in Sri Lanka again post-independence.
9. Colombo is home to South Asia’s tallest tower
The Lotus Tower in Colombo is considered a symbolic landmark and at 1,150 feet, it is the tallest tower in South Asia, the 11th tallest tower in Asia and the 19th tallest tower in the world.
The design of the tower is inspired by the lotus flower, which symbolizes purity in Sri Lankan culture and stands for the country’s development.
The tower was completed in 2019 and recently reopened after the pandemic in September 2022. Tickets for entry to the observation tower are $20 USD. There’s also a rotating restaurant at the top of the tower for a 360-degree view of Colombo.
10. There are 3 classical Sri Lankan dances
Kandyan, Pahatha Rata Natum and Sabaragamuwa are the three main types of Sri Lankan traditional dances. There are several subtypes underneath each type too.
The classical dances each have unique costumes, moves, masks and drums that play during the dancing.
Most of the dances are associated with different events and meanings dating back centuries. They originate with agricultural civilizations in the 3rd century BC that practiced a pre-Buddhistic folk religion. This religion believed in various deities and demons and in order to receive blessings and ward off bad spirits and illnesses, they had to perform these dances in ceremonies.
11. Sri Lanka is famous for its tea as an export
Damro tea plantation
There are many things Sri Lanka is famous for, and tea is one of them.
Tea is Sri Lanka’s largest export, and it’s the fourth largest exporter of tea in the world, making up 19%. Ceylon tea is famous for being the cleanest tea in the world. There are a ton of tea plantations you can visit in Sri Lanka, where you can get a tour to learn how tea leaves are picked and then processed, and even get some samples.
Tea is grown at different altitudes and the flavours can be affected by the amount of sunlight, temperature, altitude and type of soil.
In 1890, Sir Thomas Lipton bought a plantation in Ceylon. That first bag of tea sold from there grew into the huge Lipton Tea company known around the world today. Many of today’s Lipton teas still originate from Sri Lanka, but also India, Kenya and China.
12. It’s the first country to have a female prime minister
Sri Lanka made history in 1960 when it elected Sirimavo Bandaranaike as the world’s first female Prime Minister. She was from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and served three terms.
During her leadership, she wanted to reform the country after British rule in the banking, education, media and trade sectors. However, the country also faced many problems during her term, such as high inflation and unemployment. She survived a coup d’etat in 1962.
She oversaw the creation of a new constitution and the formation of the Sri Lankan republic in the 1970s and created the Sri Lankan Ministry of Women and Child Affairs.
13. It has the highest literacy rate in South Asia
Sri Lanka has the highest literacy rate in the region, at 92%. They define literacy rate as the population over 15 years old who can read and write a short statement and/or make simple mathematical calculations.
This history of being highly literate dates back centuries. By the fifth century, Sinhala and Tamil writers were recording religious stories and history.
14. It’s home to the world’s oldest human-planted tree
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi is a sacred bo tree in Anuradhapura that was planted in 288 BC. It’s the oldest living human-planted tree in the world. Buddhists often visit the tree to pay homage to it and caretakers give the tree daily offerings.
They believe that these offerings will bring people good luck, and health for mothers and their babies while in labour, prevent illness and give farmers a good harvest.
The tree originated from Bodhgaya, India. About 2,600 years ago, at the moment that Lord Gautama Buddha sat against a tree, he achieved enlightenment. That tree in India became sacred and it was known as the Bodhi tree.
In 236 BC, the Buddhist nun Sanghamitta Maha Theri travelled to Sri Lanka with a branch from the Bodhi tree and presented it to one of the earliest kings in Sri Lanka. He planted the branch in his royal park in Anuradhapura, where it still lives today.
15. The colours on the Sri Lankan flag hold special meanings
The Sri Lankan flag is yellow, green, orange and red, and depicts a lion holding a sword and four leaves.
The lion represents the Sinhalese people and the strength of the nation.
The sword represents the nation’s sovereignty.
The four bo leaves symbolize Buddhism and how important it is for the country. The Buddhist virtues they stand for are kindness, happiness and equanimity.
The colour orange represents Sri Lankan Tamils, green signifies Sri Lankan Moors, red signifies the Sinhalese people and yellow represents other ethnic groups present in the country.
16. The most sacred mountain has significance in several major religions
Adam’s Peak is 243 metres/ 797 feet tall and is seen as a sacred place by several religions. The mountain has a unique dip at the top, known as Sri Pada or “sacred footprint.”
The Buddhists believe these are the footprints of Buddha as he was going to paradise, Muslims believe they’re Adam’s footprint as he was banished from the Garden of Eden, Hindus believe they’re Shiva’s footprint, and Christians believe it was St. Thomas’.
You can hike up to the top, stopping at several small temples and rest points with snacks and tea along the way.
17. There are 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country
Sigiriya Rock
There are several beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka. They are:
The Sacred City of Kandy
The Ancient City of Sigiriya
The Sacred City of Anuradhapura
The Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications
The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka
18. The word “serendipity” comes from Sri Lanka
Persian and Arab traders used to call Sri Lanka “Serendip,” which is where the English word “serendipity” originates. It was invented by English writer Horace Walpole in 1754 after reading the Persian fairy tale “The Three Princes of Serendip.” The story follows princes who were always making surprising discoveries.
19. The official sport of Sri Lanka is volleyball
Sri Lanka introduced volleyball to the country in 1916 and it became extremely popular. In 1951, they established an official Volleyball Federation and it was declared the national game of Sri Lanka in 1991. However, cricket and soccer tend to be more popular nowadays.
20. It’s home to the biggest mammals
The world’s largest marine mammal, the blue whale, and the world’s largest land mammal, the elephant, both call Sri Lanka home. There are over 3,000 wild elephants and over 200 elephants in captivity.
21. It’s the host of the world’s largest elephant gathering
Elephants in Sri Lanka
Speaking of elephants, every year in Minneriya National Park the largest gathering of elephants happens during the dry season. They travel to the reservoir for water and on a given day, there could be up to 300 or so elephants there.
22. It’s said Buddha’s tooth remains in Kandy
Kandy, a city in central Sri Lanka, is home to one of the most sacred Buddhist temples called the Temple of the Tooth, appropriately. Buddha’s tooth was brought there from India in the 4th century.
Every summer, there’s a festival called Esala Perahera, or “festival of the tooth” in Kandy to honour it and celebrate Sri Lankan culture and history.
During this festival, there’s a huge parade that includes 5,000 dancers, drummers, fire jugglers and others, all wearing traditional costumes. It also features over 100 elephants. The festival begins with the cutting of a tree, whose branches are then planted near the shrines of four gods. This symbolically asks the gods for blessings.
The festival lasts for several nights, which people line the streets for dancing, drumming, visit shrines and eat delicious food.
During the final night, an elephant carries a gold casket with a replica of the tooth while dancers and drummers surround it.
To finish the festival, a water-cutting ceremony is performed where four priests representing the four temples walk into the Mahaweli River and “cut” a circle in the water with a sword. Then, they fill pitchers with water from the circle and they’re kept until next year’s festival when the pitchers will be filled again.
23. Hydropower is very important
Because Sri Lanka is home to so many waterfalls and dams, they became a key source of power in the country. Hydropower provided almost all the electric power in Sri Lanka up until the early 1990s. In 2017, hydropower accounted for about 20% of the island’s electricity, and 50% total came from renewable resources.
There are 15 large hydroelectric power stations in the country and Victoria Dam is the largest hydroelectric power station.
Are you planning a visit to Sri Lanka soon? Let us know in the comments if these facts helped prepare you for your trip to visit this beautiful country. And check out our post on day trips outside of Colombo for more suggestions on what to do.
