Spend a morning in any Sri Lankan town and you will hear it: the bell of a Buddhist temple, the drums of a Hindu kovil, the call to prayer from a mosque and, on Sundays, hymns from a church. Centuries of trade across the Indian Ocean have made Sri Lanka a meeting place of peoples and faiths, and that diversity is one of the most rewarding parts of any visit.
The peoples of Sri Lanka
The Sinhalese form the majority and are mostly Buddhist. Tamils, most of whom are Hindu, live throughout the island and especially in the north and east, while the Tamil communities of the hill country have worked the tea estates for generations. Sri Lankan Moors and Malays form the Muslim community, with roots in centuries of Arab and South-East Asian trade. Burghers descend from Portuguese and Dutch settlers, and the Vedda people are recognised as descendants of the island's earliest inhabitants. Christianity is practised across communities, and many towns have a temple, kovil, mosque and church within a short walk of each other.
A calendar full of festivals
Sri Lanka has one of the longest lists of public holidays in the world, and many of them are worth planning a trip around:
- Thai Pongal (January): the Tamil harvest festival, giving thanks to the sun.
- Sinhala and Tamil New Year (April): families gather for traditional sweets, games and auspicious rituals.
- Vesak (May): the Buddhist festival of light, when streets glow with lanterns and dansal stalls offer free food and drink to all.
- Kandy Esala Perahera (July or August): one of Asia's great processions, with dancers, drummers and richly decorated elephants.
- Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated with equal warmth.
Every full-moon day, called Poya, is also a public holiday. Many shops close and alcohol is not sold, a good day to visit a temple and see local life.
A table everyone shares
Sri Lankan food tells the same story. Rice and curry, the national meal, may come with a dozen small dishes of vegetables, lentils, fish or meat, coconut sambol and crisp papadum. Try hoppers, bowl-shaped pancakes with a soft centre and often an egg; kottu, chopped roti stir-fried with a rhythmic clatter on street-side griddles; the lamprais of the Burgher kitchen; the biryani of Muslim restaurants; and the fiery crab curries of Jaffna.
Experience it yourself
Ask your host about local festivals during your stay, join a cooking class, or simply accept an invitation to share a meal. In Sri Lanka, culture is not a show staged for visitors: it is everyday life, and you are welcome to be part of it.