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Sri Lanka has 838 miles of coastline, most of it excellent for surfing, fishing and snorkeling. You can rent masks and snorkels in o I 40 -\ � OFFICIAL NAME: THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA CAPITAL CITY: COLOMBO AREA: 25,332 SQUARE MILES (SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN WEST VIRGINIA) TERRAIN: MOSTLY LOW, FLAT TO ROLLING PLAIN; MOUNTAINS IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL INTERIOR POPULATION: 19,144,875 GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT PER CAPITA: $740 POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LINE: 35.3 PERCENT CURRENCY: RUPEE. ONE RUPEE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO 100 CENTS. (US$1 = 71 .47 SRI LANKA RUPEES) LANGUAGES SPOKEN: SINHALA, TAMIL AND ENGLISH LITERACY: 90.2 PERCENT ETHNIC GROUPS: SINHALESE (THERAVADA BUDDHIST): 74 PERCENT TAMIL (HINDU): 18 PERCENT MOOR (MUSLIM): 7 PERCENT BURGHER (CHRISTIAN), MALAY AND VEDDA: 1 PERCENT WEATHER: 77 TO 82 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT FLIGHT TIMES TO COLOMBO: LONDON: 14 HOURS, HONG KONG: 5 HOURS Moratuwa Kalpitiy� Gull of Mannar \[ \ Ml Lavin ia:,A ·Kol Negombo� DehMaJa- COlOM80 4. \ f \ te . . Ramapurn Ga,lle J ""-"麠 HambanlOIa .Anuradh.p� � Puttalam Matale.", ,Kandy Boy of Blmgal Trlncomalee '- gokm 80 ml Colombo and other small coastal villages on the island. The east coast is strewn with shipwrecks that make for excit ing SCUBA diving, but bring your own equipment. Diving equipment in Sri Lanka is kn0wn to be sketchy. Whenever you're in the water, watch out for the strong currents, under tows and rip tides on west-coast shores that could wash you to country is a \. BattlcaJoa safari-lover's paradise. In the national parks, leopards, sloth bears and a subspecies of ele phant particular to Sri Lanka can all be seen by those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. East Sri Lanka is hill country. The island is the largest exporter of black tea in the world, accounting for nearly one quarter of the total world tea exports. Ceylon tea is one of the finest in the world.