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Gems and Jewellery

From time immemorial Sri Lanka has had a sparkling reputation for highly treasured gems. Sri Lanka’s mineral rich soils have been yielding a seemingly never ending supply of high quality precious and semi precious gem stones such as Sapphires, Star Sapphire, Rubies, Star Rubies, Alexandrites, Cat’s eyes, Garnets, Zircons, Tourmalines and Spinels. The gem industry in Sri Lanka is of great antiquity. The Mahavansa, the great historical chronicle of Ceylon whose authority is undoubted, refers, to the singular reputation of this Island for it’s wealth in gems. It is an accepted fact that Sri Lanka is one of the largest sources of some of the finest gemstones in the world.

Batiks

Another souvenir of southern Sri Lanka is a batik garment or wall-hanging. The art of batik-making was imported from Indonesia by the Dutch in the 16th century. Since then, the craft has developed a distinctive Sri Lankan flavour, a charming character of its own. Batik is made using pure, natural fibres such as cotton, linen or silk. The fabric is waxed and dyed to create intricate patterns or scenes, some from the Jataka - a volume of folklore concerning the previous lives of the Buddha. A dazzling 20m-long batik is used to decorate the elephant carrying the casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic during the annual Kandy Esala Perahara.

Handicraft

Woodwork takes pride of place with many intricately carved figurines, plaques and trays; while brass, silver and mixed metal is used to make beautiful mirrors, picture frames, letter openers and serviette rings. There.s also leather-work like wallets, purses and belts, and reed-work like mats, food baskets,and shopping bags that are enchanting in their simplicity. In addition, check out the elegant wall-hangings that are made in Dumbara near Kandy.
Many of the malls in Colombo stock a variety of souvenirs for visitors, mugs and other topical knickknacks and Crescat has a stall for carvings and garments and the like.
Two great places for finding souvenirs to take home are Paradise Road and Barefoot, both of which specialise in original designs in home ware (including wall hangings), ornaments, handicrafts and accessories.

Tea

When you travel from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya and elsewhere in the hill country you will encounter the region where Sri Lanka's famous teas are grown. A visit to a tea estate is a great way to not only learn the art of plucking tea - "two leaves and a bud" - and the method by which the raw green leaves are turned into the product with which consumers are familiar, but also to purchase some of the finest, freshest teas in the world.

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Adventure

White Water Rafting

There is no better or more exhilarating way to discover Sri Lanka's spectacular scenery than white-water rafting down a majestic river. For instance, join the boulder-strewn and picturesque Kelani Ganga (river) above Kitulgala and navigate name-chilling rapids such as Killer Falls and Head Chopper.

The higher-grade rapids of the Sitawaka Ganga and the icy depths of the elevated Kotmale Ganga between Hatton and Nuwara Eliya provide experienced rafters with more of a challenge, while both black-water rafting . carried out in the night three days prior to or after a full moon (poya) day . and white-water kayaking, lend an even more thrilling angle to the sport!

Diving & Snorkelling

A wide coral reef largely surrounds Sri Lanka.s coastline making it ideal for diving. An underwater journey into the aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean rewards you with glimpses of a totally different world, full of astounding colour and life. Home to a magical variety of tropical fish and coral reefs, the calm ocean waters also lay claim to some historic wrecks that offer unusual exploration opportunities. The more laid-back activity of snorkelling is a popular past-time in many southern coastal areas while Pigeon Island in Nilaveli on the east coast offers some of the best.

Rock Climbing & Caving

Some of the island.s caves date back 500 million years, so this activity provides a trip into the past! Try the Beli Lena Caves that are five kilometres up a mountain road just outside Kitulgala, between the 38 and 39km posts. It is here that a head and many bones were found of Balangoda Man, including a child dating back over 30,000 years.

Rock-climbing is a relatively new activity in Sri Lanka. The rugged terrain of the Knuckles Mountain Range offers some advantageous locations for this sport, and scaling the rock-face of Bambarakanda waterfall, Sri Lanka's highest, is exhilarating. Sri Lanka has many caves, which has given rise to the activity of caving.

Meditation

Meditation involves the self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind. Most meditative techniques emerged from Eastern religious practices, particularly Sri Lanka, India, China, and Japan.

Aimed at cleansing the mind of impurities such as hatred, ill will, indolence, worries and cultivating qualities such as concentration, will power, energy, self confidence, mental happiness, contentment and peace of mind, meditation centres could help a person achieve the required happiness and achieve mental peace.

If you are intent on buying Ceylon Tea it is important to understand the perfection needed in its processing, the specific manner in which it is graded and assessed. The best way to achieve this is through a visit to a tea plantation, specifically a tea factory, which can easily be arranged.

There are several ways in which to purchase Sri Lanka’s most celebrated gift to the world, Ceylon Tea. If your tour of the island takes in a tea plantation, then there is no better place to buy than at source. The packaging and labelling may be minimal, but the fresh taste is guaranteed to be phenomenal. However, it is also possible to buy unblended estate teas in Colombo. And you can always buy tea at the airport just before your departure.
One of the main visual impressions of Sri Lanka’s hill country taken home by travellers is the sight of Tamil women plucking tea clad in brightly clad saris. It is said that only small and agile feminine hands, and the patience of the female temperament, can achieve high yield plucking. However, this is incidental, for the sociological and economic reasons behind the tradition of women pluckers are more significant.
The fact remains that plucking tea requires specific skills, in particular dexterity. The women move between the tea plants, which are spaced roughly one metre apart and regularly pruned to a height of one and a half metres, to aid plucking. With amazing swiftness and precision they gather with both hands only the youngest and topmost leaves by snapping the stem with a sharp movement of the index and middle fingers.