This beautiful tear-drop shaped island is situated just south of the Indian sub-continent. With a varied topography and served by both the North-east and the South-west monsoons it is a land of surprise and mystery. The mountainous centre of the island is cool, wet and misty; the south-west is hot and humid with remnants of an unique jungle whilst the south-east and the north of the island is hot and dry.
Sri Lanka is a bio-diversity hotspot which (typically of large islands) holds a considerable range of unique plants and animals including many endemic bird species. However Sri Lanka differs dramatically from most other islands in that it also holds substantial populations of large mammals including Asian Elephants. Indeed Sri Lanka is the best place in Asia to view wild elephants and is certainly the best place to stand a chance of sighting Asian Leopards.

Beautiful and varied scenery, amazing wildlife, very hospitable people and a land steeped in history containing many impressive temples and archaeological monuments makes Sri Lanka a must-visit venue. This gallery and its subgalleries document our experiences of Sri Lanka whilst on a 16 day family holiday in late July/August 2009. During this time we stayed in basic lodgings at Sinharaja rain forest, spent 4 nights at a very comfortable hotel near Yala National Park, spent 4 days in the hill country staying in Nuwara Eliya and at Hunas Falls before finally spending 3 days in a lakeside lodge in the "cultural triangle" near Sigiriya.
Throughout our holiday we had an air-conditioned mini-bus with driver as well as the company of a naturalist/guide -Mr C. Wickramasekara (Wicky). Wicky proved to be an extremely personable and knowledgeable guide with considerable fieldcraft skills as well as an excellent knowledge of the cultural/historic sites -his involvement in our holiday changed it from a good holiday into a truly superb one. Our itinerary, our vehicle, our accommodation and Wicky's services were all organised through Jetwing Eco who proved to be simply superb. Jetwing Eco can put together any customised package you wish -tailoring it to your specific interests and needs. Jetwing Eco can be contacted through their website: http://www.jetwingeco.com

A COMPLETE TOUR REPORT OF THIS TRIP CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=149276