Geography
The Republic of Sri Lanka occupies the island of the same name in the Indian Ocean in the southwest of the Bay of Bengal. The island is separated from the southern tip of the Hindustan peninsula by the Gulf of Manar and the Strait of Polk. See Sri Lanka abbreviations.
There is a shoal in Polksky Bay called Adam’s Bridge. Once it completely connected the island with the mainland, but at the end of the 15th century, as a result of a strong earthquake, it partially went under water, leaving behind a chain of small islands and shallow water.
The area of Sri Lanka is 65.5 thousand square kilometers, the population is about 20.3 million people. From north to south, the island stretches for 4450 km, from west to east – for 225 km, being comparable in size to such islands as Tasmania and Ireland. The shores of the island are mostly low-lying, often there are cozy lagoons, bordered by coral reefs.
The relief of the island is predominantly flat-hilly, rising noticeably south of the center. The highest point of the island is Mount Pidurutalagala (Pidurutalagala), with a height of 2,524 m. Slightly lower than Adam’s Peak (2243 m). Among the plains, one can often find bizarrely shaped rocky outliers up to 700 meters high.
The island is quite densely covered with a network of rivers, the largest of which is the Mahaweli River. All rivers originate in the Central Highlands and spread in different directions: Kelani and Mahaya – to the west; Walave and Nilwala – to the south; Gal and Yang – to the east.
Three quarters of the island is covered with natural vegetation. In the south-west of the island, moist equatorial forests have been preserved, occupying 44% of the country’s area. Here you can find a huge variety of trees, some of which reach a height of 80 meters.
The plains in the north and east of the country are covered with deciduous forests, the plateaus are occupied by savannahs. Some areas of the coast boast mangrove forests and an abundance of coconut trees.
Climate
According to 800zipcodes, the climate on the island of Sri Lanka is subequatorial monsoon. The northeast monsoon lasts here in October-March, the southwest – in June-October.
In general, the climate on the island is quite warm, moderated by ocean winds.
In the central mountainous area, the average annual temperature is +16 ° C, in winter there are even occasional frosts.
In the plain areas, the average annual temperature ranges from +28 °C to +31 °C. The average water temperature throughout the year is +26 °C.
The warmest month is May, which precedes the summer monsoon season.
The summer rainy season accounts for almost 95% of the precipitation that falls on the island during the year. Heavy rain falls mainly at night. The rest of the time it’s pretty dry.
Humidity in general on the island is quite high and stays around 75%.
The most favorable for rest is the period from November to May.
Capital: Colombo
Largest cities: Moratuwa, Galle, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Kandy.
Main resorts: Bentota, Wadduwa, Marawila, Mount Lavinia, Negombo, Hikkaduwa.
Sri Lankan Cuisine
The cuisine of Sri Lanka is very similar to the cuisine of India, due to the proximity of these countries. When preparing dishes, similar products are used: herbs, spices, tropical fruits and fish.
In general, the cuisine of Sri Lanka is so diverse because it combines the traditions of many peoples who somehow influenced this state. In addition to Indian cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine includes Polynesian, Malay, Chinese, Dutch and English cuisines.
Most of the dishes are based on rice and curry.
Curry in Sri Lanka is not one dish, but a group of dishes. It is made from meat, fish and other seafood, vegetables, poultry, fruits and legumes. All of them are united by a special combination of spices, which are ground into powder. This powder is called curry. The mixture, which gives the dishes with it a burning and piquant taste, includes a huge amount of spices: garlic, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, mustard seeds, chili, black pepper, coriander, as well as the foliage of the evergreen curry bush. This is only the basis of the mixture, and there are as many variations of it as there are people preparing it. Unlike Indian curry, when preparing Sri Lankan curry, all the ingredients included in the mixture are fried in a pan. And curry in Sri Lanka is a little less spicy than in India.
In addition to curries, rice flour dishes are popular in Sri Lanka, such as hoppers – steamed vermicelli rolled into rolls. Appa is baked from the same flour, yeast and coconut milk in Sri Lanka – pancakes with a soft center and crispy edges. Sometimes an egg is added to the center, and then a fried pancake is obtained. These pancakes are usually eaten for breakfast.
You should also try kiribat – white rice cooked in coconut milk. Its mild taste allows you to eat the dish both separately and with various snacks and seasonings. Kata sambol is often added to such rice – a mixture of spices, lemon, onion and red pepper. And with the addition of palm honey and coke chips, the rice becomes sweet.
Another special dish of Sri Lanka is pita. It is a mixture of grated coconut with water and rice flour. All this is steamed and usually served with kata sambol or some kind of curry.
Roti is an unleavened flatbread that differs from Indian in its preparation. The Sri Lankans make it from grated coconut and rice flour, and serve it with bananas, spicy snacks and curry.
For dessert, they usually serve something like sweet donuts – kyavum, local halva – aluva, as well as cokis, which are spoked flour wheels fried in boiling oil, which are very similar to our “brushwood”. But the most delicious dessert with a particularly long taste is palm sugar in the form of crystals.
Of the soft drinks, coconut milk is very popular. It is better to drink only the juice of “royal” (orange) coconuts. Green coconut juice, especially with pieces of pulp, is very tasty, but not always healthy.
Of the alcoholic beverages, beer and vodka from coconut fruits – arak are quite popular.
