Month June - SRI LANKA

Poson Poya is second in importance to Vesak since it commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka in 247BC. The focus of this festival is the ancient capital of the country, Anuradhapura, and the mountainous Mihintale  Temple, reached by 1,840 steps, where King Devanampiyatissa was converted to Buddhism in the third century BC. During Poson, the mountain is illuminated and devotees climb the steps in their thousands to pay homage to the event.

The climate of Sri Lanka is tropical with two distinct seasons, a dry and a wet season. The country is influenced by two monsoons: the south-west monsoon blowing between May and August, is the most intense of the two and brings rain along the southern coast and western and central highlands, and the north-east monsoon blowing between October and January, bringing rain along the coasts of northern and eastern Sri Lanka. Areas north and east of the country are the most arid and receive between 600 mm and 1200 mm of rain a year.