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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island off the southern tip of India with beaches, tea hills and old cities. Colombo is the biggest city, but the official capital is right next to it. Rice and curry is pretty much the national meal.

Capital
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Main languages
Sinhala, Tamil, English

Tap a festival on the map, or scroll down for the list.

Festivals in Sri Lanka

  1. DiwaliNovember · The festival of lights, five days long
  2. PongalJanuary · A Tamil harvest festival where the pot boils over
  3. Aluth AvuruduApril · Sri Lanka's new year, timed down to the minute
  4. VesakMay · The Buddha's birthday, lit up with lanterns

Things you might not know

  • In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the world's first woman prime minister.
  • Sri Lankan tea is still sold as Ceylon tea, from the island's old name.
  • Sigiriya is a palace built on top of a giant rock in the 400s.