Galle Fort, in the Bay of Galle on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese,
then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards.
It is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 423 years maintains a polished appearance,
due to extensive reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.
The fort has a colourful history, and today has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population.
The Sri Lankan government and many Dutch people who still own some of the properties inside the fort are looking
at making this one of the modern wonders of the world.
The heritage value of the fort has been recognized
by the UNESCO and the site has been inscribed as a cultural heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria iv,
for its unique exposition of "an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks,
two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park and
Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country,
and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo.
Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938.
The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village,
13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world.
In 2011, there were 88 elephants, including 89 males and 51 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.
The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to many of the orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka.
It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was first established by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1975 for feeding and providing care
and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants that were found in the wild. The orphanage was first located at the Wilpattu National Park,
then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo. From the Zoo it was shifted to Pinnawala village on a 25-acre (10 ha)
coconut plantation adjacent to the Maha Oya River.
Central Highlands of Sri Lanka is a recognised world Heritage Site in Sri Lanka. On 31 July 2010,
the World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session in Brasília inscribed Central Highlands of Sri Lanka and Papahānaumokuākea of Hawaii as new World Heritage Sites.
The site comprises the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest.
These are rain forests, where the elevation reaches 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level.
The region harbors a variety of mammal species including the Bear Monkey Trachypithecus vetulus monticola
and the Horton Plains Slender Loris Loris tardigradus nycticeboides.
Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka.
It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha.
Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country.
Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple.
Bhikkhus of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple.
Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evenings.
On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya.
This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.
The temple sustained damage from bombings by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1998 but was fully restored each time.
