While Sri Lanka is a magnificent and highly recommended tourist destination, the secret of the nation’s hospitality begins with its people – spice addicted, cricket fanatics and mega tea drinkers – Sri Lankan’s are warm and welcoming with big hearts and wide smiles – ALWAYS!
The culture and society in Sri Lanka is infiltrated with 3000 years of knowledge, a collection of religious ethnicities and colonial traditions that are different, yet comparable in many ways. Very few countries in the world have rich cultural diversity, but the identity of a Sri Lankan is unique. Along with the customs and traditions that are passed on from generations, the nation’s religious blend plays an important role in creating this identity.

This fusion of ethnicities and religions reflects explicitly in Sri Lankan cuisine – which is a mix of remnants from the Portuguese, British and Dutch colonizers along with traditional sweetmeats that are everywhere during the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Given that Sri Lanka produces some of the world’s best tea and spices, locals prefer their tea light, and food spicy. The British introduced tea in Sri Lanka during the 19th century and today, Ceylon Tea, Dilmah, Mlesna and Lipton are some of the most popular brands.
There are quite a few spices gardens in Sri Lanka, often visited by locals and tourists. During the ancient historic times, when Sri Lanka was known as Taprobane, the high quality of spices was the reason why Arabs, Greeks and Romans maintained links with the island by means of the spice trade.

Here’s a list of spices that Sri Lanka is renowned for:

* Cinnamon
* Cardamom
* Pepper
* Cloves
* Coriander
* Turmeric
* Fenugreek