The story of ancient Lanka has its beginnings in the culture of stone, the stone Age. An ageless, timeless period, the Stone Age In Sri Lanka stretched from 125,000 BC to 1000 BC. Encompassing tens of thousands of years, the scales are so vast that we still cannot measure it properly. It is like peering through a telescope, looking at a world so far away that is visible only in fractions, a fleeting glimpse here and there. This era is called prehistory.’ The time before the dawn of history.

It is during the period that we find traces of early man. He appears to have lived almost everywhere ; along the coast, on the plains and amongst the rolling grasslands of the hill country. The richest evidence however survives in caves. It is only then that the stone Age begins to take shape in our minds. At caverns like Fa Hsien – lena, near Buthsinhala ( c. 35,000 – 3400 BC ) Batadomba – lena in Kuruwita ( C 29,000 – 9500 BC ) and Beli lena in Kitugala ( C 28,000 – 1500 BC ).

The Balangoda Man is a popular parlance, derived from his being responsible for the Mesolithic ’Balangoda Culture’ first defined in sites near Balangoda. The bones are robust, with thick skull-bones, prominent brow-ridges, depressed wide noses, heavy jaws and short necks. The teeth are conspicuously large. These traits have survived in varying degrees among the Veddas and certain Sinhalese groups, thus pointing to Balangoda Man as a common ancestor.

Sri Lanka has an enthralling recorded history of civilisation. Its unique and proud historical record of a great civilization spans over 25 chronicled centuries, and is documented primarily in three books; the Mahavamsa (Great Genealogy or Dynasty), Dipavamsa and Culavamsa. Sri Lankan history is distinctive as it has a historical record, which is ancient, continuous and trustworthy, and begins with the occupation of the island by civilised men in 5th century, BC. The story continues under each successive king for over 20 centuries. The Mahavamsa is primarily a dynamic and religious historical record. In addition to this record, there are over 2500 inscriptions in Sri Lanka. The earliest inscriptions are contemporary with the introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC. More than 1000 epigraphs, mostly inscribed on caves, belong to the third, second and first centuries BC, exist in the dry zone as well as in the old caves temples in Colombo, Kegalla, and Kandy.

Well – known traveller Marco Polo described Sri Lanka as the “The finest island of its size in the world". Wonderful pristine beaches, lush-green hills, majestic waterfalls, corals, wildlife, heritage sites, pilgrimage sites, exotic cuisine-Sri Lanka has everything that a tourist can imagine. It has something to offer to everyone.

The southern half of Sri Lanka is dominated by beautiful and rugged hill country. The entire northern half comprises a large plain extending from the edge of the hill country to the Jaffna peninsula. The best beaches are on the south-western, southern and south-eastern coasts.

Temperatures in the low-lying coastal regions are high year round but they rapidly fall with altitude and in the hill country, where it feels like perpetual spring. Rainfall is heaviest in the south, south west and central highlands; the northern and north-central regions are very dry. The best time to visit the west, south coast and hill country is between December and March. May to September is best on the east coast.

Animal life is profuse and includes the ubiquitous elephant, as well as leopards, deer, monkeys, sloth bears, wild boar, cobras, crocodiles, dugong and turtles. The island is an important seasonal home to migrating birds, including flamingos, which flock to the lagoons, wetlands and bird sanctuaries for respite from the northern winter. The best time to see birds is between January and April.

Visitors who enjoy some mystery and wonderment will marvel at the ancient sites of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Dambulla and Panduwasnuwara, where the remains of a great civilization are to be seen. The cities of Colombo and Kandy show the influence of the foreign colonial powers that fought for control over the strategic, lush island in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Dutch-inspired buildings stand cheek to jowl with Victorian British mansions and Portuguese fortifications.