Tourist Potential in Sri Lanka is complimented by the Newsweek Magazine.

http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16785&Itemid=44

Tourist Potential in Sri Lanka is complimented by the Newsweek Magazine.


Monday, 06 December 2010
A recent article in the prestigious Newsweek Magazine has spoken very-high of tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. The writer Ginnane Brownell of the United States, who spent a few days in Sri Lanka in the upcountry tea lands and the sandy beaches in the Southern coast, is full of praise about the scenic beauty and other tourist attraction places in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Brownell, who stayed at Mackwood’s Labukelle Tea Estaste says he was stunned by the terraced hills, the waterfalls and by the strong rich fragrance of tea coming from the thousands of surrounding bushes. He says what struck him most vividly—aside from the high quality of the roads rebuilt since the conflict ended—was how varied a Sri Lankan holiday can be. He says, “after we left the cool hills of the central highlands (which this summer became the country’s seventh UNESCO World Heritage site), we traveled to sticky Sigiriya, an ancient rock fortress renowned for its fifth-century frescoes. The town’s proximity to the ancient capitals of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura—home to several of the world’s largest stupas (mound like structures that house Buddhist relics) and a sacred bodhi tree grown from a sapling of the tree under which Buddha was said to have found enlightenment—makes it a favorite spot for tourist accommodations.”Describing his adventures in Sri Lanka, Mr. Brownell further says that “one of the most stunning properties is Vil Uyana, built on a man-made private nature reserve. Each of the villas extends into the marsh and features plush open-plan bedrooms with a huge shower (we had a resident frog in ours) and tubs that resemble plunge pools. In the evenings we sipped cocktails in the “library,” a porch built onto the marsh, and in the mornings, a crocodile lurked just above the water looking for breakfast.”Commenting on his visit to the Minneriya National Park, he says it is a place where tourists can take open-jeep safaris to see more than two dozen species of reptiles, 160 species of birds, and 24 species of mammals including leopards—Sri Lanka is home to the world’s highest concentration of the cats—and Asian elephants. Our tracker put our chances of seeing an elephant at “100 percent,” but I was a bit skeptical. I needn’t have doubted him; every July through October, as the water supply starts to dry up, several herds of elephants—there are an estimated 800 in the park—gather near the man-made reservoir built during King Mahasen’s reign in the third century to drink and graze on the grasses. At one of the more waterlogged areas we saw about 60 elephants of all ages and sizes gathered together.He says that he ended his holiday at the beach and there are several plush new boutique hotels and villas along Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast. (niz).