Spices

In the 16th century Ceylon, as it was then known, was discovered by Portuguese who soon began trading in cinnamon and other spices. The Dutch and British followed bringing with them their own history and influences, forming a strong Western presence which created a history of food expressed with spices which can be tasted in the dishes today.

Is it any wonder that the Spices which are a vital part of Sri Lankan food are used by her people with such ease, creating food that is unique and interesting, adding subtle flavours and aromas.

It is an Ayurvedic belief that spices have healing properties that can enhance well being. The ordinary Singhalese curry contains up to thirteen herbs and spices:

Chillies, coriander, cumin, curry leaves, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, lime, onion, and rampe and turmeric.

Used in main meals to desserts and cakes, the islands food is expressed through vibrant colours and fragrant aromas of fresh spices.

Roasting of spices such as cumin seeds, coriander and fennel to bring out their flavour is a method used to make a black curry, and the smell of a good curry powder being roasted can excite the senses to great heights.

To food lovers, Sri Lankan food is an expression of a colourful history and delightful surprise, just like the island.

Here are some spicy details

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the dried bark of various laurel trees in the cinnamomun family. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed and dried. True Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. It has a strong, sweet and woody fragrance. Cinnamon is used in cakes, cookies, and desserts throughout the world. It is also used in savory chicken and lamb dishes from the Middle East. In American cooking, Cinnamon is often paired with apples and used in other fruit and cereal dishes. Stick Cinnamon is used in pickling and for flavouring hot beverages.

Cardamom

Cardamom is the seed of a tropical fruit in the ginger family known as Elettaria Cardamomum. The seeds are found in ovalshaped fruit pods that are between 1/4 and 1 inch long. It has an intense, pungent, sweet flavor. A small amount of Cardamom will add a tempting flavour to coffee cake, Danish pastry, specialty breads and apple pie. Try Cardamom the Arabic way and add a little to your ground coffee before brewing, then sweeten and top with cream.

Cloves

Cloves are the rich, brown, dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium Aromaticum, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. The name comes from the French "clou" meaning nail. They have a strong, pungent aroma and tastes rather sweet. Traditionally, cloves have been used in spice cookies and cakes.

Saffron

Saffron is the stigma of Crocus Sativus, a flowering plant in the crocus family. In its pure form, saffron is a mass of compressed, threadlike, dark orange strands. It has a spicy, pungent and bitter flavour with a sharp and penetrating odor. Saffron is traditionally used in French bouillabaisse, Spanish paella, Milanese risotto and many Middle Eastern dishes.

Mustard
Black mustard seed is very pungent and acrid. It is used whole, powdered or finely ground, in everything from pickles and chutneys to meat, fish and vegetable dishes.

Lemon Grass
A vital ingredient in Sri Lankan, Thai and Mexican cooking to flavour meat and fish.

Nutmeg
The fruits of the nutmeg tree have single-seed berries which produce two different spices, mace and nutmeg. They greatly improve the flavour of a curry dish.

Chillis
Ripe chillis may be cream, yellow, orange or even puple-black and are easy to dry in the sun or in a slow oven.

Botanical Gardens

Peradeniya Botanical Garden

The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya is the oldest with its origins going back to the 14th century. Only 7 km from Kandy and 110 km from Colombo, One of the best and most valuable collections of Plants and Trees in the world (more than 4000 species, indoor and outdoor). Giant trees of "Ficus" family, different Bamboo and Palm trees of the world, rare Ayurvedic plants, Orchid House, spice garden, timber trees such as ebony, teak, satinwood, mahogany, tamarind and jak etc. can be seen here. It’s the biggest botanical garden (60 ha) in Sri Lanka. The best know attraction of the garden is the orchid House, which houses more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids. A spice garden gives you a first hand introduction to the trees and plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Mahaweli river, Sri Lanka's longest river surrounding this garden gives an added beauty to this garden. It wont be wrong to say that this garden is one of it's best kind in the world and the best in Asia.Most of the honorable guests who visited Sri Lanka, for instance The Queen Elizebath, Marshal Tito, Chancellor Henry Kiesinger and Juri Gagarin, have planted memorable trees in this park.

Hakgala Botanical Garden

Where plants and trees from around the world seen in one place, Hakgala Botanical Gardens, just 10km away from Nuwara Eliya City. Hakgala is one of the places one visits as an essential part of a pleasant journey in the famous hill resort of Nuwara Eliya. The present botanic gardens were founded in 1860 by the eminent British botanist Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites who was superintendent of the more famous gardens at Peradeniya, near KandyIt was the site initially for experiments with cinchona whose bark yielded quinine, esteemed as a tonic and febrifuge. Quinine at that time was widely used as a specific for malaria. This was perhaps the reason for the popularity of and tonic in these parts - quinine being the principle ingredient of tonic water. The cool, equable climate of the hakgala area, whose mean temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, encouraged the introduction of suitable temperate zone plants, both ornamental and useful. These included conifers and cedars from Australia, Bermuda and Japan, and cypresses from the Himalayas, china and as far a field as Persia, Mexico and California. New Caledonia gave Hakgala a special variety of pines and there are specimens of this genus from the canary Island as well.The Hakgala Botanical Gardens is one of the lovely contrasts of Sri Lanka, a home to plants and trees from around the world, making them seem to be part of the scenic beauty.

Henerathgoda Botanical Garden, Gampaha

Henaratgoda Gardens, in the low country, are 28 km from Colombo and within easy reach from Gampaha railway station. Spread across 14,16 hectares, these beautifully laid out gardens have a unique collection of exotic indigenous flora. The Garden was laid out in 1876 to introduce Para Rubber to Sri Lanka by the British rulers. In 1919 Rubber seedlings were imported from the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and the Project was handed over to Muhandiram A. de Soyza who was the first OIC of the Garden. The trees blossomed in 1880 and from the next year Rubber seeds were distributed throughout the country as well as some other British colonies. Remnants of these first Rubber trees are new protected as a national monument.
Later the garden was developed as a standard Botanical Garden by adding and developing new plants and sections. Many of these trees of the 19^th century are still available in the Garden. It now serves as a tropical low country Botanic Garden.

Wild Parks & Wild Life

The jungles of Sri Lanka abound in a variety of wildlife,which is surprising for an island of its size in the tropics.From ancient days the elephants and peacock from the Sri Lankan jungles were prize exports to the Kingdoms of East and West.But apart from these well known examples of the fauna, a visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still.There are four majour national parks.Sri Lanka has a rich and exotic variety of wildlife and a long tradition of conservation rooted in its 2,230 year old Buddhist civilisation. The following are the most important sanctuaries in terms of attractions, accessibility and availability of facilities. Animal Sanctuaries The animals to be seen in Sri Lanka's national parks.

A visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still. Approximately 14% of this small island is dedicated to sanctuaries and nature reserves.The animals to be seen in Sri Lanka's national parks include elephant, leopard, sloth bear, sandbur, deer and monkeys, wild buffalo, wild boar (pig), porcupine, ant-eater, civet cat, jackal, mongoose, Loris (unique to Sri Lanka) several varieties of lizards, squirrels, reptiles and amphibians. Each park however has its own specialties.

Yala National Park

Yala is the more popular and well-established wild life park in Sri Lanka. It is situated 309 km south of Colombo and approximately 129,700 hectares in extent. This Park consists of thorny scrub forest somewhat similar to the African bush, which provides visitors good visibility. The vegetation ranges from open parkland to dense jungle. Yala abounds with elephants besides the other varieties of animals such as sloth bears, leopards, buffaloes, wild boar, deer, samba and large crocodiles too, which are relatively common.

Wilpattu National Park

Situated 176 km. north of Colombo, Wilpattu is approximately 1,908 sq.km. in extent. It has a dense jungle cover which makes it a more exciting park where animals have to be tracked. There are numerous delightful little lakes - known as villus - and the leopard and sloth bear are the specialty rather than elephants

Wasgamuwa National Park

Situated approximately 200 km. away from Colombo.The Wasgamuwa National Park lies within the Polonnaruwa and Matale Districts and have the Mahaweli river and Amban river as its eastern and western boundaries.Tropical intermediate dry mixed evergreen forest predominates its environment, which is 37,000 hectares in extent. This Tropical intermediate dry mixed evergreen forest predominates its environment with many varieties of animals like wild elephant, deer, sloth bear, monkey, wild boar and crocodile.

Uda Walawe National Park

Uda Walawe National Park is situated 170 Km South East of Colombo.This National Park is approximately 30,821 hectares in extent. This Park comprises grasslands and thorn scrubs and many valuable species of trees are found within it. Elephants and Deer species such as spotted Deer, Sambhur, Barking deer and Langur, Wild Boar, Water Buffalo, Jackal are some of the prominent wild animals found in this Park. This park is home for nearly 400 wild elephants.

Horton Plains National Park

Situated approximately 200 km. away from Colombo.The only National Park situated in the Hill Country and falls within the Nuwara Eliya district . Panoramic scenic beauty of the Hill Country could be witnessed within the Park. The famous `Worlds End' is a major attraction within the Park. Endemic slender loris and endemic purple monkey are among the important animal species, sambhur, a member of the cat family , some endemic fauna also found within this Park.In addition there are lot of Sri Lankan Stags there and they are more friendly than other places. In horton plains there is an amazing place, the "World's End".

Bundala National Park

Bundala National Park is 260 km. away from Colombo and 6300 hectares in extent. All species of water birds resident in the country and the migrant birds inhabit this Park. This has five large brackish water lagoons, which make this place to be a home for the migratory birds that flock to these wetlands during the winter months.

Lahugala National Park

About 16km (10 miles) west of Pottuvil, Lahugala was designated as a national park mainly to provide a protected corridor for elephant groups moving between the larger reserves of Ruhuna (Yala), to the south, and Gal Oya, to the north. In the dry season this small park is reputed to have more elephants than any other part of the country, attracted by the grazing around the reservoirs within the park

Gal Oya National Park

Situated approximately 314km. away from Colombo.Situated at Inginiyagala, the Gal Oya National Park is most renowned for its elephant population.

Minneriya National Park

Minneriya National Park approximately 8900 hectares in extent is in the Central North region of the country. This is one of the newest parks in Sri Lanka with a resident wild elephant population of nearly 200. Forest with high canopy provides an ideal habitat conditions for purple-faced leaf monkey and toque monkey. Minneriya is also a paradise for samba and spotted deer. The surrounding wetlands is inhabited by a large number of aquatic bird species and it is not too rare a scene to view 2000 little cormorants diving into the waters of the Minneriya reservoir.

The Maduru Oya National Park

The Maduru Oya National Park is located in the Dry Zone and is 300 k.m. away from Colombo and 58,849 hectares in extent. A wide variety of wildlife including some endemic birds species and reptiles are found here. Maduru Oya is rich in ancient ruins found in different places and its southern parts provide veddhas, indigenous people their living environment. Endemic purple monkey is among the important animal species that can be seen in addition to Sambhur, a member of the cat family etc. There is some endemic avifauna also found within this Park

Kumana National Park

Located in the southeast corner of Sri Lanka, the 18,149 hectare Kumana National Park (a.k.a. 'Yala East') is a well-known bird sanctuary where a multitude of birds breed and roost. One of the most significant features of the park is the 'Kumana Villu' - a 200 hectare natural swamp lake, fed by the 'Kumbukkan Oya' through a half mile long narrow channel. It is at this mangrove swamp that many water birds nest in May and June. Regular sightings include pelicans, painted storks, spoonbills, white ibis, herons, egrets and little cormorants. The very rare black-necked stork has also been spotted at the swamp.