For a quarter century, Sri Lanka seems to have been plagued by misfortune, but now being standing unwavering, this teardrop-shaped in the Indian ocean rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.

The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there’s the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves flank all boundaries of this “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” while it is centered by hills that reach up to almost 2,000 meters above sea-level.  Sri Lanka contains a multitude of eco-systems in between.

Official name:	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Government type:	republic
Location:	Latitude 5° 55. to 9° 50. north, longitude 79° 42. to 81° 52., 650km north of the equator
Dimensions:	430km north to south, 225km east to west
Coastline:	1,340km
Area:	65,525km
Currency (code):	Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Independence:	4 February 1948
Administrative capital:	Sri Jayewardenepura
Commercial capital:	Colombo
Climate:	Typically tropical, with a northeast monsoon (December to March) bringing unsettled weather to the north and east, and a southwest monsoon (June to October) bringing bad weather to the south and west
Highest mountain:	Pidurutalagala, 2,524m
Highest waterfall:	Bambarakanda, 263m
National Flower	The Blue Water Lily (Nymphaea stellata).
Languages:	Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% Note: English (a link language commonly) is used in government and spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Religion:	Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census)
Time zone:	Sri Lanka Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT. (Allowance should be made for summer-time changes in Europe.)
International dialing:	+94
Electricity:	230 . 240 volts, 50 cycles AC. If you travel with a laptop computer bring a stabilizer