Lonely Planet names Sri Lanka as the top destination to travel in 2013

World’s most renowned and largest travel guide book and digital media publisher –“The Lonely Planet” has named Sri Lanka as number one destination in the world to visit in year 2013.

The travel experts and the voters have predicted that Sri Lanka will be on the top of the hottest new holiday destinations for the travelers in year 2013. Under the title  ‘Serenity returns to Serendib “  the travel guide raves destination Sri Lanka describing the multi-faceted experiences the traveler can look for in this small Island , fused with novelty and indulgence :

“Dubbed Serendib -the origin of the word serendipity “ by seafaring Arab traders centuries ago, Sri Lanka has been anything but serene in recent decades. …South Asia's most compact country have remained off limits to even the most intrepid traveller. .…investment is again fuelling the tourist industry and visitor numbers are steadily increasing. Prices are affordable. Indeed, Sri Lanka is emerging as one of the planet's best-value destinations.

The travel guide book highlights the emerging new popular places to visit in Sri Lanka including the newly opened up East coast and less travelled paths in the western coast as well : “North of the capital Colombo, on Sri Lanka's west coast, Kalpitiya and the Puttalam lagoon are eco-tourism hotspots with bird watching and kayaking. Near Dondra Head, on the south coast, mighty blue whales are regular visitors from January to April while land-based wildlife thrills include the leopards and elephants of Yala National Park, and the more rugged and remote Wilpattu National Park, open once more after being closed for more than two decades “

Being famous for pristine sandy beaches from the begining, the Lonely Planet remarks that the total experience in Sri Lanka is truly a life changing experience for any traveler:

“The gloriously arcing beaches of the nation's east coast are now challenging traditional southern favourites. Arugam Bay's sandy crescent is one of Asia's best surf spots and further north, Uppuveli and Nilaveli near Trincomalee stretch for several pristine kilometers….Explore the glorious labyrinth of Galle's 17th-century Dutch fort. In past centuries, the Unesco-listed colonial town was a prosperous hub of global trade and now boutique hotels and an emerging arts scene instil a cosmopolitan allure. Further north, you can discover Sri Lanka's imposing ancient cities, emerging from a verdant landscape. All around the country, tuck into great-value local cuisine including grilled seafood, spicy kottu (roti chopped and mixed with vegetables) and multi-course mini banquets of different curries at family run guesthouses. Indian and Thai cooking may be world-renowned, but Sri Lanka's time in the global gourmet spotlight can't be far away.”

The country is becoming easier to reach due to cheap fares from regional hub Bangkok said Lonely Planet.

The annual Lonely Planet lists are compiled based on unbiased views of the staff, writers and travel community. Spokesman Adam Bennett said that the choices are not based on where travellers are already going but rather are "our pick of where we believe travellers really should consider visiting in 2013." He said that destinations make the list for a variety of reasons, including special events, recent developments or buzz, or that the destination is up-and-coming and worth visiting before the crowds get too big.

This achievement is certainly a boost for the Tourism industry of Sri Lanka which keeps on breaking its own records through out the past years and strategically targeting  2.5 million tourist arrivals by year 2016.

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Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa, Pasikuda

A Vacation to unwind and relax! Experience the art of leisure at Maalu Maalu Resort, which offers luxurious accommodation and warm hospitality; Sri Lankan style. Enjoy a carefree holiday whilst being served by the friendliest people in South Asia, who always greet you with a genuine smile.

Welcome to sunny skies, beaches of velvet sand, dazzling blue seas and tranquility.

Welcome to Maalu Maalu Sri Lanka, a resort the hidden in the haven where you kick off your shoes sit back and leave the weary world behind.

Built on the concept of a traditional Sri Lankan fishing village, or “Waadiya” as it is colloquially termed, the simple eco friendly architecture is inspired by the wooden Clad dwellings of a typical fisherman’s hut, a unique touch among all Pasikuda hotels. The 40 rooms and adjoining public areas are designed to seamlessly blend with the surrounding environment. Each chalet with its cadjan roof elegantly highlights the indigenous Sri Lankan culture; the modern amenities are subtlety introduced, tastefully combining the old with the new.

Passekudah bay, situated along the east coast of the island is easily one of the best beaches to be found in Sri Lanka, with warm and sunny weather all throughout the year. The sea is a delight in its self; calm, clear, and ideal for swimming, diving or snorkeling.

Here, amidst the splendor of nature and the opulence of modernity Maalu Maalu resort extends the warm welcome of traditional Sri Lankan hospitality.

Location

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Situated in the beautiful coastal village of Passekudah (Batticaloa District) in the East Coast of Sri Lanka

Location	Distances	Drive time
From Colombo Air Port	300 Kms	6 hrs
From Kandy	210 Kms	4hrs
From Dambulla	138 Kms	2 ½ hrs
From Polonnaruwa	72 Kms	01 hr
From Batticaloa	40 Kms	45 mins

Travel Option 1 :
Direct to Passekudah from the Airport or from Colombo. Distance 300 KM. Travel time 6 hrs


Travel Option 2 :
Day 1 - Airport /Dambulla. Distance 184 KM. Travel Time 3 hrs. Overnight Stay
Day 2 - Dambulla to Passekudah. Distance 138 KM. Travel Time 2 ½ hrs

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Uga Bay Five-star hotel opens in Sri Lanka's Pasikuda beach

Uga Escapes, a Finco Group company has opened a beachfront luxury boutique resort, Uga Bay Hotel in Pasikuda Saturday19th October 2012.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open the new 46-room hotel .
The Uga Bay Hotel built at a cost of 850 million rupees includes a bay suite and a beach chalet on a nine-acre block of land in the Eastern coast which is famous for its white sandy beaches, whale watching and for surfing.
The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Authority has set up a tourism development zone in Pasikuda which is popular for its clean beaches and 14 hotels are to be built in the 150-acre tourist resort.
The government has instructed to carry out the constructions preserving the natural beauty of the Pasikuda coastal belt.

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Minneriya National Park

Minneriya National Park is situated in the north-central plains of Sri Lanka, 20 kilometers from Polonnaruwa. Even though it is one of the smallest national parks in the country, covering just 8,889 hectares, it’s a paradise with many natural wonders. The park encompasses the beautiful Minneriya tank, built by King Mahasena (in 3rd century AD). This tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants that come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds (cormorants, painted storks, open-bills, Pelicans and many other species of waders) that come to fish in the shallow waters.

Getting There

Main entrance of Minneriya National park is located facing Habarana – Polonnaruwa road (A11). From Colombo reach Habarana junction via Kurunegala, Dambulla (A1, A6), and take the right turn from Habarana towards Polonnaruwa. Drive 10 km towards Polonnaruwa to reach Minneriya National Park. Distance from Colombo is around 182km and total driving time will be around 4-5 hours.

Weather and Season

Best months to visit Minneriya are the dry months from June to September. Hundreds of elephants from the surrounding area are attracted to the drying Minneriya lake bed, which turns in to a lush green grass land, for food and water. Generally you can observe around five to ten herds of elephants, each with anything from twenty to fifty individuals of all age groups.

 

 

 
History and the Description of the Minnariya National Park:

A flapping sea of black invades the emerald Minneriya Tank, as a flock of two thousand cormorants nosedive for fish. The elephants too, trudge by drinking from the same reservoir.

Not close to being the largest tank in Sri Lanka , Minneriya Tank - with the woods that surround it forming the Minneriya-Giritale National Park - is nevertheless home to an extraordinary diversity of wildlife. If numbers interest you, there are nine species of amphibians, 24 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles, 26 species of fish (three of which are endangered), 75 species of butterflies and 160 species of birds.

Making your way through the park, you will see elephants, Spotted Deer and also the Sambar, which is a deer with no spots and an apt scientific name, carves unicolor . If you're lucky, a leopard looking for food might cross your path.

Less menacing but equally intriguing are the frogs and lizards with their tongues ready. Among the reptiles, the Red-lipped Lizard and Skink are both endemic to Sri Lanka as well as endangered. The frogs, on the other hand, are more abundantly present and have a tendency to jump over your feet or across your eyes between leaves. A notable example with a formidable but misleading title is the Sri Lanka Greater Hourglass Tree Frog.

It all sounds like there's such a lot to see at the park. But overhead is where the action really is. Sri Lanka , home to over 400 species of birds, has long been a birdwatcher's paradise. In Minneriya National Park alone, 160 species crowd the trees or strut the banks.

You can afford to miss the Painted Storks, Great White Pelican, Gray Herons, and even the Ruddy Turnstones (whatever those are). But do try to spot the Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Sri Lanka Brown-capped Babbler and Sri Lanka Gray Hornbill, because, as you can guess from their names, nowhere else are you going to find them but here, in Sri Lanka.

Even if you're not a bird enthusiast, at least you can boast about your trip later by throwing around some exotic bird-names.

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Tea Factory Hotel - Nuwara Eliya

The Tea Factory Hotel in Kandapola, in the highlands of Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka, is one of the most memorable hotel experience I have ever enjoyed. The Tea Factory Hotel was originally the Hethersett tea factory. This is where some of the finest tea in Ceylon was produced. The building was constructed by the British in 1935 at an altitude of 6,800 feet in the town of Kandapola. It functioned as a factory until 1973, when it was abandoned as a result of the nationalization of tea plantations.

The structure is common in the hill country of Sri Lanka. It consists of four upper lofts with pine floor boards supported by Jarrah wood joists. After it ceased being a tea factory, it was used as a storehouse for fertilizers and lime.

In 1992, the director of the Aitken Spence Hotel Management company chanced upon this abandoned building, and immediately recognised its heritage value as well as potential for development. He directed his company to purchase the building and began a restoration process to turn it into a themed boutique hotel that will accentuate its historical significance.

Transforming a lowly factory building into a luxurious hotel poses unique challences. It was decided that the exterior would be restored to its original 1930's state. After much consideration, the management also decided to keep most of the tea-making machinery as in integral part of the interior deco. As you explore the hotel, you will come across these machinery which are set to "work" at specific times of the day!

Conservation work on the building delighted in highlighting the industrial character of the building in the design of the hotel's public spaces. However, private spaces such as the bedrooms were designed to be comfortable retreats for the guests. The intention is to integrate the tea-maching equipment into the deco in a way that will delight the guests.

Specific sections of the building was converted for appropriate uses. The original boiler, for example, became a new, modern kitchen. The 70 feet tall masonry chimney that once emitted smoke from the boiler room now expels cooking fumes. In a similar fashion, the sprinkler tank is converted into the tank for the sprinkler system.

The Tea Factory Hotel has fifty-seven rooms complete with en-suites. A newly designed lateral bracing supports the additional load required to putting up the rooms in the lofts. To differentiate between the original and new material, the old steel was painted green and the new in red. And I must say, the resulting combination can only be described as charming!

The continuous vertical open space which once allowed the flow of hot air for the tea drying process is left as it is. this space extends all the way from the four upper lofts down to the basement. In keeping with the industrial theme of the hotel, the ground floor was cement-rendered and laid with jarrah planks which were screwed into the floor with oversized brass screws, creating a delightfully industrial ambiance.

The industrial theme continues into other sections of the hotel. The restaurant has a buffet table constructed from recycled tea chests with a canopy of hand-beaten copper sheets fixed with copper studs to two giant steel wheels from the engine room. The lobby glass panels are etched by sand blasting while the lighting consists of industrial glass lamp shades.

 

Phone     : +94 052 2229600
Fax        : +94 052 2229606
Email     : fom.teafactory@aitkenspence.lk
Website  : www.heritancehotels.com/teafactory

Location:
The Heritance Tea Factory hotel is located in the hill capital of Sri Lanka in Nuwara Eliya which is 163 km's from the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport.

Hotel Overview:

• Total: 57 luxurious colonial style rooms with plush wall-to-wall carpeting
• 24 hour room service
• In room dining service
• Laundry service
• Doctor on call
• Driver's quarters
• Concierge services and porter service  
• Tour desk helps to organise local tours
• Library
• Children’s play area, children’s menus and high chairs for children
• Handicap guests facilities (wheel chair)
• The six senses spa
• 3 restaurants and a bar
• Evening entertainment programmes include live bands, piano music, oriental bands, magic shows and cultural shows.
• Indoor games include carom, chess, checkers, monopoly, darts bingo and billiards/snooker.
• Sports and leisure activities include gym, mini putting green area to play mini golf, Hethersett jungle trekking, bird watching, Eco walk, tea plucking, horse riding and golf at the nearby golf course.

Room amenities:

• Heating
• TV with satellite and local channels
• Radio
• Telephone with IDD facility
• Wi-Fi access
• Tea/coffee making facility
• Fully supplied mini bar
• Safety deposit box
• Hair dryer  
• Bathroom with rain shower cubical, bath tub, hot and cold water

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Sri Lanka Design Festival - 2012

Sri Lanka Design Festival has become the island’s biggest and most successful annual celebration of uniquely Sri Lankan design and creativity. It brings together a range of exciting events that showcase Sri Lanka’s creative industries. SLDF will return for its fourth edition in November 2012.

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Immigration and Emigration facilities to be set up at Mattala int'l airport

The government is making arrangements to set up immigration and emigration facilities at the second international airport at Mattala in Hambantota.
The Cabinet has granted approval to purchase the necessary equipment at a cost of 62 million and make other arrangements to provide an effective and efficient service in accordance with international standards to passengers passing through Mattala Airport once it is commissioned.
The proposal has been presented by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence and Urban Development.
The new airport will have 20 counters ten each for departure and arrival and 50 authorized officers will be working in day and night services on shift basis at the airport.

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