Sri Lanka is a small island that has everything a traveler looking to experience a different culture could want; from beautiful beaches; ancient temples; tropical forests; mountains; and lots of animals in their natural habitat such as wild elephants, leopards, dolphins, whales and sea turtles. The island is totally surrounded by beaches. The Sri Lankan culture is of course influenced by its immediate northern neighbor, India. And also by a colonial history that included the Portuguese, Dutch and English (it was a British colony until 1948). It has eight UNESCO recognized World Heritage sites. Not bad for such a relatively small island!