7 Natural wonders in Sri Lanka - Beautiful, must see places for tourists in SriLanka

Sri lanka is a small Island situated in the Indian ocean and often called as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean because of it's amazing natural beauty. Sri Lanka vacations is full of adventure because of its bio diversity and holidays Sri Lanka is a life long experience.

Although now it is called Sri Lanka in various times in the past Sri Lanka was named in various names. About 2500 years ago it was called "Thambapanni" and around 15th century it was called "Serandib" by the Arabs. It became "Ceylon" around the 18th century when the English were ruling Sri Lanka. Ceylon tea is a world renowned brand of high quality tea produced by Sri Lanka.

This hub tries to list the 7 most beautiful and interesting places in Sri Lanka. Listing just 7 of so many beautiful and interesting places is not an easy task. Here is my list of 7 wonders of Sri Lanka.

1.Sigiriya

There was an attempt to name Sigiriya as one of the wonders of the ancient world. In fact there was a campaing to name Sigiriya as the 8^th wonder of the ancient world. It really deserves a place of the list of ancient wonders and has named as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Sigiriya is regarded as one of the best planned cities of ancient times which includes the Citadal, the water technology with , symmetrical and asymmetrical gardens and the frescoes. More information about Sigiriya can be found here.

A well explained documentary about Sigiriya either in English or Sinhala can be purchased from ThambapanniHeritage in the form of a DVD.

This is an irrigation and engineering miracle of ancient times. A man made cannel created to supply water to the lakes of Polonnaruwa which is situated in North of Sri lanka The cannel is 54 miles long. The engineers even today wonder how the ancient irrigation engineers managed the slope of 6cm per 1 mile that is maintained through out this cannel.

The parakrama Samudraya is the largest man made lake in Sri Lanka. It really stands upto its name Samudra which in Sinhala means sea. The tank was built in Polonnaruwa era by the Great king Parakramabahu. This is the life blood of the people of Polonnaruwa for their agricultural and other water needs. It has nearly 5,600 acers of waters which helps cultivating 18,200 of paddy lands. The bunt of the tank is 8.5 miles long and it is said that to complete the tank one thousand men work for 12 years.

This is arguably the best natural harbour of the world. It is ranked as the world’s 5^th largest natural harbor and during the second world war the harbor was the base for the Allied powers in the East Asia.

Hortan Planes is one of the world's best natural reserves. It is unique because of its landscape. It is very rich in biodiversity and most of the species found here are endemic. Hortan Planes is the starting point and the main water resource for 3 main rivers in Sri Lanka named Mahaweli, Kaleni and Walawe.

The Hortan Planes is world famous for its Bakers Falls, Chimmini Pool and the world's End. World's end is a sheer drop 3700 ft which gives a fabulous view of the surrounding. To read more about Hortan planes go here and here and here.

Ruwanveliseya was built in the Anuradhapura era by the Great King Dutugamunu and is considered as an architectural marvel and a sacred place for the Buddhist all around the world.

The Stupa is one of the world's tallest monuments with a height of 300 ft and a circumference of 950 ft.

Sri Dalada Maligawa is the most sacred place for the Buddhist around the world as the sacred tooth relic is situated here. Sri Dalada maligawa is the palace of the last King of ancient Sri Lanka. Kandy and Sri Dalada Maligawa are major tourist actractions in Sri lanka. The world famous Kandy Asela Perahera is conducted by sri Dalada Maligawa annually. For more information about Dalada Maligawa go here and to know more about Kandy Asela Perahera go here

Some other hubs written by me

• Elephant Paper - Paper made of elephant dung
• Negambo Beach - Golden Sandy beach of Negambo, Sri Lanka
• A luxury hotel near the 8th wonder of the world - Elephant Corridor
• Flash drive data recovery techniques