Sri Lanka in Style offers tailor made travel solutions for film and art lovers to be a part of the International Galle Film and Art Trail Festival. The World Heritage City of Galle will be hosting its first International Film Festival and premier Galle Art Trail from October 24th 2008 to November 2nd 2008. Aimed at raising awareness of the increasing depth and diversity of Sri Lankan cinema, the spotlight will be firmly on the historic town of Galle.

The fortified town of Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a place where history and legends seep into your bones and an evocatively ideal setting to stage such a Film and Art Trail Festival. Miguel Cunat, the CEO of Sri Lanka in Style is excited by the forthcoming event, "Events such as this compliment Sri Lanka's rich cultural heritage and diversity.

Being so closely associated with the event, Sri Lanka In Style is on-hand to create an inspiring Sri Lanka travel for all attendees." Miguel Cunat adds, "Sri Lanka in Style can customize your holidays around the festival theme, highlighting the island's unique features such as the beaches, the historic Colonial Heritage, the Tea Country and the wide variety of activities available on the island, to mention a few."

by: Christine Hettiarachchi

(Colombo, Lankapuvath) – Sri Lanka Tourism has appointed the destination representation/public relations companies in key markets including UK, Middle East, Germany, France and India as part of its efforts to boost the image of Sri Lanka and generate more tourists to the country.

In the backdrop of negative publicity in international publications, giving Sri Lanka positive publicity is of paramount importance, especially when there are many positive stories.

International filmmakers choose Srilanka’s virgin locales for films When Middle East television’s most loved couple Mohannad and Noor recently indulged in a romantic holiday in Sri Lanka, little did they realise that they would fall in love with the country and be bewitched by its enigmatic charm.  So would you, when you visit this country, delicately suspended like a tear drop at the southernmost tip of India and poetically called the “Garden of Eden” since time immemorial. Television viewers who caught the “Sri Lanka” episodes (Nos 130 to 132) of Noor and Mohannad, would certainly have caught the scenes where the couple visit a clothes boutique – Noor dressing up and looking exquisitely oriental in a traditional sari (six yards of fabric draped around the body with pleats in front and ending in a fall over the shoulder) and Mohannad looking absolutely smashing in his kurtha (tunic collared shirt) and sarong.

by: Mel Gunasekera  

MINNERIYA, Sri Lanka (AFP) - Asian elephants are renowned as highly social animals and the reservoir meetings demonstrate their complex group dynamics in action.  As evening falls, a female elephant and her pink-skinned baby emerge from the jungle for a leafy snack around an ancient artificial lake in Sri Lanka.They are just two of hundreds of wild elephants that gather each evening along the banks of the Minneriya reservoir for food, water, shelter -- and match-making.From July to October, "The Gathering" -- as it is known -- gives humans the chance to observe the elephants feasting and frolicking on the water's edge.

Colombo: The Government of India has commended Sri Lankan Airlines for its handling of Indian VVIP flights during the recent South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Colombo. The gathering of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the SAARC nations involved hundreds of senior government officials from India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, amidst tight security.

Beach bum? Culture vulture? Intrepid adventurer? On Sri Lanka’s south coast, you  can be all three.

by :Jeremy Lazell  

Mike Watson travels to Sri Lanka to see tea plantations and learn more about the island's history 

Next time you pour yourself a cup of tea, drink a toast to Devastating Emily. That was the lurid nickname of a leaf virus that wiped out the coffee crop in Ceylon in the 1870s.

But a group of mainly Scottish pioneers weren't to be beaten. They were already growing tea – green gold. The plantations they established and the bankrupt coffee estates they bought are still producing some of the best of the world's crop.

Four thousand feet up in the centre of the country, now Sri Lanka, life has hardly changed since those days. The British connection is still strong and many plantations have British names – Blair Atholl, Brookfield, Kew and Kirkoswald. On the winding railway (designed by Brits) up to the best plantations there's even a station called Great Western.

Adventure tourism a growing global phenomenon Lazy summer days at the beach getting a tan are pass as Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board (SLTPB) is marketing the country as an adventure destination with adventure seekers being identified as a potential growth market. "Adventurous holidays are a rapidly growing trend in global tourism and an increasing number of travellers are seeking out new adventures like Sri Lanka having done the usual African Safaris," said SLTPB Managing Director, Dileep Mudadeniya. "The adventure tag fits in very well to Sri Lanka given the number of fantastic adventure and wildlife activities we have on offer," he said.

Natasha Fernandopulle explores the sport of the fearless on Lankan shores, Pix by M. A. Pushpa KumaraThe feeling of flying over water where the only form of propulsion you have is the wind and where the only person in control is you is a sensation that most adventure lovers would love to feel. I bet you may wonder what this is all about. In fact, when I first went across to Buba in Mount Lavinia, I really didn't know what to expect. Kitesurfing; as in surfing with the help of a kite? This is what I thought and this is exactly what it was all about.

Kandy (Sri Lanka), Aug 17 (IANS): Nearly 100 caparisoned elephants, dancers and torchbearers walked down the streets of this central city decorated with colourful lights and flags as the annual Buddhist festival of Kandy Perahera (pageant) was celebrated with great enthusiasm.

The colourful parade began Saturday night from the sacred Buddhist shrine of Dalada Maligawa, showcasing the temple custodians known as Nilames, who were dressed up like ancient kings. The festivities also included traditional Kandyan dancers, fire-juggling acrobats, palanquins, musicians and torchbearers, who followed the elephants through the streets.