Explore Colombo
History & information
Colombo has been a settlement of Muslim seafarers, who established a small trading post in the 8th century. “Kolamba” however remained rather unimportant until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. In 1517 they started to build a fort, from where they launched their conquest of the island. From 1656 the Dutch ousted the Portugese and expanded the fortifications ; new suburbs and an extensive canal system were built. Finally in 1796 , Colombo fell to the British and in 1815 Colombo was declared the capital of Ceylon. Sri Lanka re-gained independence in 1948.
The modern city of today, with a population of around 3 million, has grown into a bustling metropolis , expanding for over 40km from north to south along the western coast of Sri Lanka. The fascinating contrast between its fading colonial charm and its modern face with soaring apartment towers and new hotels being built one after the other, is waiting to be discovered by the interested traveler. The city’s population is a mix of cultures, with Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities and well as a considerable number of expats adding to the predominant Singhalese majority.
Start your city tour in the oldest part, the Fort , from the Dutch hospital shopping complex, which is the oldest remaining building, dating from 1684. Turn into York Street and view the lighthouse clock-tower in Chatham Street, Victorian buildings, the GHO, Grand Oriental Hotel and the Gordon Gardens, General Post office and the president’s house, which is however still cordoned off. From here it’s only a few minutes on foot or by Tuk-Tuk taxi to the Pettah, a tumultuous bazaar district, displaying the city’s vibrant commercial life. Narrow streets are lined with countless shops, stuffed with every imaginable type of merchandise. The most striking building , the red & white Jami-ul-Alfar Mosque from 1909, the Dutch period Museum, the Wolvendaal Church, built by the Dutch in 1749 and the various Hindu Kovils are well worth a visit!
The Galle Face Green is the city’s seafront esplanade running between the Galle Face Hotel in the south and the neoclassical Secretariat in the north. The Green attracts huge crowds of locals, especially after dusk and during week-ends, a place to meet friends, fly kites, play a game of cricket and grab a drink & bite from one of the many food-carts along the oceanfront.
The so-called Slave Island was once completely surrounded by the Beira Lake and stocked with crocodiles to prevent the slaves from escaping in the night. Today the lake area has been renovated and cleaned and you could take a boat ride here. The unusual Seema Malaka temple is built on a wooden platform on top of the water and belongs to the well-know Gangaramaya Buddhist temple complex just across the main road. Visit the temple’s resident elephant, feasting on some palm leaves just next to the entrance.
The elegant white colonial National Museum of 1877 gives an overview of the history of the island from prehistoric times and contains the regalia of the last king of Kandy and various other treasures. On the opposite side of the Vihara Maha Devi park, the city’s green lung, you find Town Hall, which has just been beautifully renovated, a copy of the Capitol building in Washing
Shopping
Colombo offers a wide variety of shops, outlets and new department stores with a wide selection of souvenir and gift items, local handicraft, shoes, clothes, books, sports gear and much more.
Wining & Dining
The town also offers numerous restaurants and eating places for every taste and palate: from Indian to Chinese, Japanese to German, Italian to Thai and of course, delicious Sri Lankan rice & curry!
What to do /see in & around Colombo:
- Explore Pettah and visit the Dutch period Museum, Wolvendaal church
- Visit the Buddhist temples , Hindu Kovils and churches
- Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, 10km north-east, Colombo’s most important Buddhist shrine
- Climb the Sambodhi Chaitiya Stupa for a beautiful view of the harbor
- Have tea or a drink at the Grand Oriental Hotel’s harbor room
- Painting exhibition and art fair on Green Path, along the Vihara Maha Devi Park on weekends
- Sunday Jazz at “Barefoot” shop gardens, in Bambalapitiya
- Lionel Wendt theatre & art centre
- Geoffrey Bawa’s house, 33rd Lane, Kollupitiya, former residence of Sri Lanka’s most famous architect
- Sundowner at Galle Face Hotel, the oldest colonial hotel in Asia, established in 1864
- Seafood dinner at the Beach Wadiya Restaurant in Wellawatta
- Play golf at the Royal Colombo Golf Club
- Dehiwala Zoo, 10km south of the Fort, open daily, home to a wide range of Asian, African And South American wildlife, with the infamous elephant dance performance every afternoon.
- Suburb of Mount Lavinia, 11 km south and the Mount Lavinia Hotel, a colonial landmark and former residence of the British Governor Sir Thomas Maitland, dating back to 1806.
