SRI-LANKA ISLAND TRADITIONS

Sri Lanka abounds with holidays, of which there are at least 166 a year. Most of them throw back to the past. The most respected of them is removal of the Sacred Tooth Relic from the temple of Dalada Maligava in Kandy, during the festival of Esala Perahera, accompanied by a multi-day parade,

involving hundreds of temple elephants, the national dancers, torchbearers, the standard-bearers. Great show can be seen also during the holiday of Navam Perahera which takes place on the shore of the beautiful Lake Beira. Festive processions in Kataragama dedicated to God Skanda younger son of God Shiva, gathers annually thousands of those who wish to take part in traditional ceremonies. Sri Lanka is also famous for its handicrafts: wood and ivory carving, making masks, batik, basketry. In the mountains of Nuwara Elia the best tea in the world is grown, and precious stones are extracted from the mines in Ratnapura. In the central part of the island, in the "Cultural Triangle" there are historical monuments protected by UNESCO: ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, with the grand Buddhist temple complex, the lion's Sigiriya Rock and the Golden Cave Temple in Dambulla. Many historical monuments are more than 20 centuries old. Sri Lanka has always been regarded as the cradle of Buddhism, many Buddhist relics are kept in this island.