Blessed with a multitude of nicknames, Sri Lanka or perhaps most fittingly 'Pearl of the Orient' has been luring travellers to its exotic shores for many years.

Low costs, friendly people, world class beaches, sizzling cuisine and an island interior bristling with wildlife have all combined to make Sri Lanka a must-see destination.

The island was of course heavily affected by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, with much of the east coast destroyed. This fact should not deter travellers from visiting as the recovery has been impressive and the resolve of Sri Lanka's inhabitants has seen many of the country's holiday resorts already rebuilt.

Sri Lanka is primarily a Buddhist country with around 69 per cent of the population following this religion. The country has had a mixed history and from 1815 to 1948 was part of the British Empire and more commonly referred to as Ceylon.

The island formally became named Sri Lanka in 1972 but conflict between the government and Tamil political and military groups has been problematic in more recent times.

With a population just shy of 20 million, Sri Lanka covers an area of 66,000 square kilometres and the official languages are Sinhala and Tamil.

The real capital is Sri Jayewardenepura or Kotte but your first port of call on arrival in Sri Lanka is more likely to be the larger city of Colombo, which holds over two million people in total.

Colombo is a great base from which to start your Sri Lankan adventure. Noisy, crowded, polluted and frenetic, travellers may only want to visit briefly but enjoying a Ceylon curry at any number of great restaurants is an essential. The business centre is known as the Fort district and is well worth a look to view some impressive infrastructure while the port is the biggest in South Asia.

A trip to Uda Walawe National Park is also highly recommended as the pick of Sri Lanka's wildlife attractions. Situated 21km north of Embilipitiya, it is said to best represent the African savanna with a variety of elephants, buffalo and leopards. Visitors can hire a four-wheel drive and a tracker from outside of the park's gates.

Many travellers to Sri Lanka will come to enjoy some of the fantastic beaches that the island offers. A good place to start is Hikkaduwa on the east coast which was one of the first areas to be developed for tourism. It is well known for its coral and sub tropical fish and the reef that runs parallel to the shore offers a great chance to scuba or snorkel.

Although heavily affected by the tsunami, Arugam Bay located on the southern end of the east coast offers something different for peace-loving travellers. It has already begun the long process of rebuilding and the beaches there are fantastic offering some of the island's best surf.

Foodies should head to Negombo, a small fishing town located only six kilomteres north of Colombo. A plethora of resataurants serve fresh and varied seafood including skipjack, herring, amber jack and lobster - all caught that day by Negombo's many resident fishermen.

For a a small island, Sri Lanka will be sure to send any traveller away with a large assortment of vivid memeories from there time there.