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Dambulla Cave Temples - Great Attractions (Sri Lanka)

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Temple of the Tooth or Sri Dalada Maligawa

Tourist attractions in the East

Trincomalee district

The Nilaveli beach, the Pigeon Island and Somawathi National Parks, Hot Wells in Kanniya, Thiriyai Velgam Vihara, Thirukoneswaram, Fort Fredrick and Ales Gardens

Batticaloa district

Kallady beach, Pasikuda and Kalkuda, the Batticaloa lagoon, the Dutch Fort area and Lady Manning Drive

Ampara district

Arugambay beach, the Pottuvil lagoon, Panama dunes, crocodile point, Sastravela lagoon, the Lahugala and Kumana National parks, Bovattegala and Kudimbigala and Magulmahavihara.

East ready for tourist influx

by Lalin Fernandopulle

Thirukoneswaram Kovil

The foundation has been laid for tourism development in the East which is now gearing for the influx of tourists to the region, said Project Director, North East Coastal Community Development Project (NECCDEP), S. M. Croos.

He said extensive road development carried out in the East would be an impetus to the growth of tourism in the East coast which has some of the most attractive beaches, sand dunes, lagoons and nature reserves in the world.

“While many of the bridges in the East have been reconstructed work on a few are nearing completion.

The three decade war destroyed many of the bridges and brought road transportation to a complete halt”, Croos said.

Strategic plan

The Strategic Tourism Development Plan for the Eastern province is a project of the NECCDEP funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Sathurukondan Wetlands

The objective of the plan is to promote responsible tourism while improving the livelihood and recreational opportunities for the people in the East.

“Hotels that could accommodate a large number of visitors should to be built to cater to the influx of tourists to the East.

The guesthouses and ‘home stays’ should be converted in to large resorts and boutique hotels”, Croos said.

“People in the East are relieved and live a happy life. Lifting of travel restrictions have made transportation easy and normal activities to resume”, he said.

Immediate Past President, Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, Srilal Miththapala said the East coast has immense potential for tourism in Sri Lanka but there has to be more hotels and resorts to cater to the influx of visitors.

The development of the Kanniya hot wells, beautification of Batticaloa and the Kallady beach, improving beach access roads and handicraft training for women in Arugambay, a visitor centre in Pottuvil and hotel staff training are some of the proposals of the NECCDEP tourism development plan for the East.

Beautification

The Kallady beach beautification program includes parking space, development of access roads, a children’s park, cabanas, seating arrangements and tree planting.

Kanniya Hot Wells

Pottuvil Lagoon

The Batticaloa beautification program includes developing roads, bridges and protecting nature reserves.

Batticaloa is the second largest city in the Eastern province with a population of around 90,000 people.

The district is made up of Tamils 91.8 percent, Muslims 5.15 percent, Burghers 2.8 percent Sinhalese 0.25 percent.The sandy beaches of Pasikuda and Arugambay popular for wind surfing, whale watching and scuba diving, the Kumana and Lahugala national parks and the cultural and religious sites make the East a unique destination for tourists who love to revel in eco-tourism.

Tourism has been recognised as a major contributor to the economy and it is expected to be the number one foreign exchange earner to the country.

Tourist arrivals recorded a 48 percent growth during the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2009.

A campaign has been launched to lure visitors from non traditional markets.

Hotels are being refurbished and more rooms are being built to meet the 2.5 million tourist arrival target by 2016.

Kumbuk River among world's top 20 unusual hotels

Sri Lanka's Kumbuk River lines up alongside Dubai's landmark Burj al Arab and the Galactic, the first-ever hotel in space, in a list of the world's top 20 most unusual hotels, announced by an international portal dedicated to the unusual and the audacious.

Nestled on the banks of a lively river on the edge of Yala, Kumbuk River, a 16-acre eco-resort in Buttala, is Sri Lanka's highest-awarded tourism brand and continues to be in the eyes of the world media. Made famous by a 40 foot-tall, two-storey eco-villa in the shape of an elephant, Kumbuk River has won a Travel Oscar as the world's leading eco-lodge at the coveted World Travel Awards.

Kumbuk River Eco Extraordinare

It has also been picked by Times-Online as one of the world's best green places and been included by Rough Guides in a special book titled "Clean Breaks: 500 new ways to see the world." This spectacular and exclusive up-market eco-lodge also includes two other chalets in its sprawling location.

In its latest exploit on the world stage, Kumbuk River (www.kumbukriver.com) joins 19 other amazing hotels ranging from the world's most costliest and dazzling to the most audacious small wonders. The majority in the hot list is from Europe and USA while only Sri Lanka and Japan figure from the Asian continent with Japan's famous high-tech 'Capsule' hotel taking the honours for Asia along with Kumbuk River.

For many people a hotel is only a place for having a sleep.

These are the top 20 most unusual hotels in the world that will give you a most entertaining destination for your next great vacation, say the website's authors in presenting their choice of the world's craziest and the most unusual hotels.

The most breathtaking among the pick may be The Galactic scheduled to open in 2012. The well-heeled guests arriving at the space hotel will be charged $4.4 million for a three-night stay at the first hotel in space - eight-week training course on a tropical island included.

Also in the list is Mardan Palace Hotel in Turkey. What makes it 'crazy'? Its sheer cost: it is billed as Europe's most expensive hotel.

It cost roughly $1.4 billion to build, and Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone, Richard Gere and Paris Hilton all attended its opening, according to Luxury Travel Advisor.

A stay at this hotel on the Turkish Riviera could run you up to $18,000 per night.

At the Mardan Palace Hotel, "it takes half an hour to cross the pool (by gondola, naturally), the spa has a room full of real snow, and the bathrooms have gold-plated mirrors on the floor".

Kumbuk River first opened as a US$500-per-night exclusive eco-hideout but offers special packages to locals starting at Rs. 3,500.

This extraordinary eco-resort put Sri Lanka on the global map of tourism even before the war ended, making the government to hail it as a true Sri Lankan wonder.

Kumbuk River is a CSR initiative by The 7th Frontier , an integrated communications solutions provider and brand strategy specialist, headed by young visionary Dinesh Watawana, a former international correspondent and a military analyst.