Some Facts about SriLanka

* Sirimavo Bandaranaike became Sri Lanka's and the world's first female Prime Minister in 1960.
* Sri Lanka has enjoyed the longest period of continuous multi party democracy with universal suffrage in a non western country (since 1931)
* Sri Lanka became the first country in South Asia to start radio broadcasting when Radio Ceylon was launched on December 16, 1925
* Sri Lanka is the world's leading exporter of tea, and Ceylon tea is considered of the finest quality in the world
* Sri Lanka is the world's leading exporter of cinnamon and it was exported to Egypt as early as 1400 BC
* Sri Lanka was the first country to establish a wildlife sanctuary[1]
* Sri Lanka was the winner of the 1996 Cricket World Cup
* The ancient Buddhist scriptures were first committed to writing in Aluvihare in Sri Lanka
* Sri Lanka, which existed as a united country as far back as the 4th century BC, is the oldest country within its present borders
* The chronology of early India depends upon that of the Mahawamsa, the historical chronicle of Sri Lanka
* The national flower of Sri Lanka is Nil Manel (Nympheae Stelleta), the national tree is Na (Mesua ferrea) and the national bird is the Junglefowl. Volleyball is the National Sport.
* The world's oldest documented tree and a first generation of the tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment - the Sri Maha Bodhi - still grows in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.


* Seven properties of Sri Lanka have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage, namely, the ancient city of Polonnaruwa (1982), the ancient city of Sigiriya (1982), the golden Temple of Dambulla (1991), the old town of Galle and its fortifications (1988), the sacred city of Anuradhapura (1982), the sacred city of Kandy (1988) and the Sinharaja forest reserve (1988)
* Adams Peak, a conical mountain found in Sri Lanka is said to have been the first place on earth where Adam the first Ancestor set foot as he was exiled from the Garden of Eden, where a large 'foot shaped' deformation can be found at the peak. As the sun rises the conical shadow of the mountain is cast perfectly on the western side of the mountain, in the local languages it is known as Svargarohanam, "The Climb to Heaven" and Sri Pada, "Sacred Foot."
* According to English historian James Emerson Tennent, Galle a southern city in Sri Lanka was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables.
* The English word "Serendipity", taken from the ancient Persian name for Sri Lanka, was coined by Horace Walpole to describe a faculty possessed by the heroes of a Persian fairy tale called "The Three Princes of Serendip".