A tear-drop falling from the southern tip of peninsular India, suspended on the blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was known over the centuries, as 'The Pearl of the East’, 'Swarndvip’ (Golden Isle) and 'Serendib’ - the root of the word 'serendipity’ – the faculty of making happy discoveries by accident – names which, though rather grandiose, are not too far from the truth.

Sri Lanka has always epitomised the exotic – a place where the earth opens up to yield precious bounty of 'pigeon blood' rubies and bright green emeralds, of yellow and blue sapphires as big as rocks and sloping tiers of rubber, tea, coffee and spice plantations on hillsides. Although tiny, Sri Lanka is one of the world’s major tourist destinations, with enough spice gardens, temples, elephants and tea plantations to hold its own against the rest of the Far East.