Sri Lankan cooking has evolved mainly around rice. The national staple meal is referred to as “rice and curry”: a mountainous plate of rice generally accompanied by assorted meat and/or vegetable curries, various pickles, sambols, and a handful of tiny pappadums.
More than 15 varieties of rice are grown on the island, from tiny white translucent varieties to long-grained basmati and the nutty red brown rice. Locals will take balls of cooked rice and rub the highly spiced accompaniments into them, massaging the mixture gently between the fingers to blend the flavors.

Sri Lanka’s ancient medicines are more popular than ever, whether in treating disease or maintaining health and fitness.
According to the legends Ayurveda, the science of life (Ayur = knowledge, science; Veda = life, longevity), was a gift of the Hindu God Brahma to humankind as a token of his compassion.
This Holistic approach to health has for millennia used Sri Lanka’s prolific herb and plant life to cure and revitalize. Its origins can be traced back more than 5,000 years to the Vedas of India – and it has had a profound influence on Chinese and Tibetan medicine, and even Western surgery.

Sri Lanka’s festival calendar holds a rich diversity that reflects the socio-cultural and religious diversity of the country. And you will notice that Sri Lanka has more festivals than any other country, and though it’s difficult to prove the veracity of this claim, there’s no mistaking the number and importance of the religious celebrations and other festivals which regularly bring life on the island to a standstill. The famous national festivals including various religious festivals celebrated by the island’s Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims, the Sinhala Tamil New Year etc.