Sri Lanka is at the centre of the Indian Ocean,

on the east-west shipping lanes.

Sri Lanka is at the centre of The Indian Ocean, balanced on top of the major east-west shipping route from China and East Asia to West Asia. From the Straits of Malacca to the Red Sea and Europe (via The Suez Canal).

To the west of Sri Lanka is the Laccadive Sea. To the south is empty Ocean all the way to Antarctica.

This photograph was taken near Galle in the Southern Province, looking towards the south-west horizon in the direction of The Maldives, lying 1,000km away.

Click on any of the smaller photographs below, to enlarge the image and see the caption.

Sunlight-dappled sea

with fishing boats

In Sri Lanka the fishing boats come in all shapes and sizes, in all the colours of the rainbow and set sail day and night.

The intrepid fisherman travel to far distant horizons.

Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) are a threat to all boats and brave sailors. Mainly between April and December, yet storms can occur any time of the year.

An Alien Invasion arrives
as dusk closes in

Sri Lanka is a jewel of an island set at the centre of The Indian Ocean.

And she is desired by many Aliens.

Her beauty is enhanced by the unpredictable weather, changing by the season, the month, the day, the hour, the minute.

The heavens open

The skies of Sri Lanka are everchanging.

Rain falling across the sea

Together, the ocean and the mountains provide Sri Lanka with abundant rainwater.
It blows in across the sea, along the beaches, onto the coconut groves, into the forests, covering the paddy fields, up to the hills and on top of the mountains.

For 2,500 years and more, the native Sinhala have constructed dams for reservoirs and canals to catch every last drop and grow an abundance of tropical food to feed the people.

The gathering storm

The Indian Ocean around Sri Lanka is a living, breathing, tropical being. It can turn from sunshine and blue seas to a churning darkness complete with a burning red horizon and dramatic skies.

A green jewel set amidst the most beautiful seas

Sri Lanka is at the centre of a most beautiful ocean. The Indian Ocean.

The far horizon

It is strange to think some people still believe the world is flat, when you can see huge ocean going cargo ships sail clean over the horizon every day.

Where did the Sea come from

to make Our Blue Planet?

Martin Wickramasinghe is one of Sri Lanka’s greatest authors and, possibly, the Nation’s favourite.

He was born in an ancient fishing village in Koggala, South-western Sri Lanka, lying between a coral reef sea and a lagoon dotted with small islands.

The British Royal Air Force took over the village during the Second World War, and ejected all the people off their land at a moment’s notice. To build an airport. They demolished every building, except for one small and beautiful house that his parents owned. It was only saved simply because a British Nurse took a fancy to it and wanted to live there.

He and his wife are buried next to his childhood home and there is a lovely folk museum of local crafts and vehicles on the same site, in a setting of verdant tropical gardens.

In one of his books, Martin Wickramasinghe wondered, like his relatives – where did the Sea come from?

The modern explanation may not be romantic, but is as fascinating as the question.

All the water in the atmosphere was a gas until the Earth’s surface cooled below the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius). This probably happened around 4 billion years ago. Then the moisture in the air started turning into clouds and, for the first time, it began to rain. As the rain fell to ground, the water found its way to the bottom of the great, empty chasms that now lie below the Oceans.

For millions of years, the oceans slowly filled up. With most of the water rising from deep inside the Earth. Creating our blue and wondrous  planet.

Even now, there is far more water inside the Earth than on the surface.

 Light settling on Ocean

The seas surrounding Sri Lanka in the centre of The Indian Ocean are ever restless.

As are the skies. Where gaps in the clouds allow streams of sunlight to pass through.

The endless changes create a kaleidoscope of light and dark.

Pyramids above the Sea

The Ancient Egyptians saw the Sun God’s rays forming triangles in the sky. They copied their outline when building Pyramids up to the heavens for their everlasting Pharaohs.

These same rays can be seen off the coast of Sri Lanka, if the conditions are set just right in the late afternoon, and as the Sun God approaches eventide.