Sun, 01 August 2010  05:59:25
Ramayana Trail 1 Comment(s)
17 Dec, 2007 19:15:52
By Gayan Ratnayake
Sri Lanka tourism to lure Indians on a legendary trail
Dec 17, 2007(LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to attract more Indian tourists next year on the trail of a legendary tale where an Indian prince was said to have come to the island to rescue his kidnapped wife, officials said.
Sri Lanka's Tourism Promotion Bureau says Sri Lanka has 34 sites related to the ancient epic of 'Ramayana'.

"In India sometimes elections are won on the Ramayana platform and it is a huge thing," Renton De Alwis chairman of tourism promotion bureau told reporters.

"We will be getting the Indian government to assist us in developing some of these products [sites]."

According to legend, Prince Rama's wife Seetha, was captured by King Rawana of Sri Lanka who had flying machines known as a Dandu-Monera or a 'large peacock'.

S. Kalaiselvan, SLTB's director general says places of interest include Wariyapola in the Matale district. Wa-riya-pola literally means air-craft-port and could be the world's oldest airport.

Seetha Eliya, Ramboda and Ussangoda have also been identified with the Ramayana legend, Alwis says.

Rama with the help of Hanuman, a giant monkey, is said to have bridged a string of islands stretched across the narrow sea straits between India and Sri Lanka to rescue the kidnapped Seetha.

The bureau also plans to invite Indian religious gurus to hold their meditation gatherings or 'Asram' in Sri Lanka.

Upto November this year Sri Lanka has received 94,391 tourists from India, down from 119,755 last year.

The board is stepping up its promotions for 2008 as tourist arrivals in November increased 20 percent to 45,102 after months of decline with the help of British cricket fans or the 'balmy army'.

The country's leisure industry was hit after violence intensified and generating markets in the West tightened travel advisories.

Sri Lanka had received 432,000 visitors up to November, 16.8 percent lower than 2006 and SLTB hopes December arrivals will swell the total to at least 470,000.

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READER COMMENT(S)
1. Mel Dias Dec 29
I wonder if the Sri Lanka Tourist Board knows the legend of Rumaswela (Ramaswela).The translation into English will be "Rama's Field.The story goes that when Lakshman or Rama was wounded the field surgeons asked for certain medicinal plants from the Himalayas.

Hanuman went in quest of these to India but when he reached the Himalayas he had forgotten what they were.So, he brought a whole heap of land with all the plant from there and deposited in Rumaswela which is just beyond the Galle harbour on the rear side of Bona Vista!