Official Language:
Sinhala
Secondary Language:
English, Tamil
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Currency:
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Population:
Approximately more than 2 million call Colombo home
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Weather:
Climate and current weather information for Colombo: Southwest Monsoon arrives in May bringing heavy rains to south and central areas. During this time, temperatures can soar in the coastal regions of the south. Northeast Monsoon arrives in October and lasts until January. The wet season turns the northern countryside lush green with tropical vegetation and the vibrant colours can make this a wonderful time to visit despite the rain.
Inter-Monsoon - heavy rain and thunderstorms are commonplace in south and central areas during September and November. Colombo rain is common year round. The best time to travel here is December through April.
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The balmy island Sri Lanka’s largest and most important city, It is believed that man had lived in Sri Lanka as early as a half a billion years ago. The history of the capital of Colombo began as Muslim traders settled along the bay. The Portuguese and Dutch settled here, followed by the British, who occupied the area during the 19th century, developing the local economy and expanding the city Colombo was the capital of the country until the seat of the parliament shifted to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. It has a special atmosphere and a delightful mixture of past and present. Its busy, man-made harbour from which tea, spices and rubber are exported, and fast paced commercial city center stand side by side with historical museums, churches and monuments, fine restaurants and excellent shopping. A combination of the old and new. See the Presidential residence and Old Parliament, the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara Buddhist Temple, visit the Dewiwala Zoo or take a trip to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage to see working elephants in their traditional role. In the town of Kandy you can explore the sacred Temple of the Tooth located in the hills and built to preserve the gold-casketed relic of Buddha's eye-tooth. Today, this city of one million plus population remains the political, commercial and cultural hub of Sri Lanka. A lively city. Lying on the shores of the Indian Ocean in west Sri Lanka is practically a long coastal strip extending 10 -12 km south from the central area. The central artery is Galle Road which runs all the way south along the coast to the town of the same name as the A2 Highway. For postal convenience the city is divided into zones numbered 1 to 15 which are not necessarily arranged in contiguous numerical order. The most important are Colombo 1 better known as Fort, which is the main commercial area, Colombo 11 or Pettah, the crowded bazaar area barely a five minute walk from Fort and Colombo 7, earlier known as Cinnamon Gardens and now the fashionable residential area of the city. Colombo is one of Asia’s most fascinating, blending as it does the past with the present. On one hand there is the legacy of the original trading settlers the Portuguese, Dutch and the British evident in the churches and monuments, names and religions, costumes and food and smatterings of their languages which have been absorbed by the Sri Lankans while on the other are the modern structures that house bustling commercial, banking and shopping areas and the galaxy of big five star hotels offering night clubs and entertainment. Whether it be cinema halls, theatres, art galleries, museums, health resorts, yacht and rowing clubs Colombo has something to cater to all tastes. More than anything else the friendly hospitality of its people makes a visit to this exotic and most interesting city a worthwhile experience.
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Attractions |
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The Fort:
Originally a fort during the Portuguese and Dutch periods but now simply the commercial center of the country and the site of most major offices, big hotels, some of the better shops, airline offices, banks, main post office, immigration office, travel agents and restaurants. Within Fort are several places of tourist interest which can be conveniently seen on foot. The colonial buildings include the Presidential Secretariat, previously the parliament house, the Grand Oriental Hotel, built in the mid 19th century as barracks for soldiers, the Lighthouse Clock Tower which along with being Fort’s prominent landmark also shows the time and the red and white Cargills and Millers departmental stores, with ancient brass signs and wooden display cabinets. There is also the General Post Office building, the Delft Gateway dating to the Dutch period, and the Fort Police Station which was once a Dutch Hospital. Other examples of pre independent Sri Lanka are the Chartered Bank Building, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the statue of Queen Victoria in Gordon Gardens. Amongst the modern structures are the Ceylinco Building, Sri Lanka’s only high rise of the 1960’s, the World Trade Center and the Hilton, Galadari and Intercontinental Hotels.
Pettah:
Adjacent to Fort and quite in contrast to it, Colombo’s leading bazaar district is probably its most fascinating area. Tram cars once ploughed the narrow cobbled streets lined with shops and street stalls that offer the most fantastic bargains and the most unimaginable range of goods varying from bright printed fabrics, suitings, undergarments, children wear, footwear and handbags to electrical goods, semi precious jewellery, watches, rare first edition books, cutlery and other household items. You name it and it is bound to be available in Pettah. Each criss-crossed lane of Pettah leads to the main street and each has developed its own specialized characteristic. For example,house hold goods are found on Keyzer Street. Prince Street is famous for glass, mirrors and electrical items. Malwatte Avenue sells English, Sinhala and Tamil music cassettes. At Gabo’s Lane Ayurvedic doctors buy their medicinal herbs and Sea Street is lined with goldsmiths’ shops. There is also the Pettah vegetable and fish market which has a unique character of its own.
Cinnamon Gardens:
A century ago what is now Colombo’s equivalent to Sunset Boulevard was covered with cinnamon plantations. Today, on its elegant tree lined streets nestle palatial residences of Sri Lanka’s powerful elite. The Viharamahadevi Park, the city’s largest and oldest park in Colombo 7 is a riot of color with flowering trees from March to May. Called Victoria Park during British times it was renamed after one of Sri Lanka’s famous queens whose statue has been erected in its precincts.
Dehiwala Zoo:
11 km south of Fort the zoo has a wide collection of fauna from all over the world. The Mini Medura or aquarium displaying over 500 varieties of aquatic life is the only one of its kind in Asia. A reptile house has collection of cobras, tortoises and crocodiles. There is also a well-stocked Aviary, a Nocturnal House and a Butterfly Park. The highlight is the elephant show in the evening where the lumbering beasts perform a range of antics for spectators. Open from 8 AM to 6 PM.
Galle Face Green:
This promenade on the sea face stretching one and a half kilometers was laid out in 1859 by the British Governor Sir Henry Ward. Used for horse racing a hundred years ago it is now the largest open space in Colombo and a haunt for children, vendors, teenagers, lovers, merrymakers and all those who want to indulge in their favorite pastimes next to the sea under the open sky. It is at its busiest on Saturday and Sunday evenings when it is packed with food vendors doing brisk business with hordes of picnickers. At one end is the Ceylon Intercontinental and at the other the quaint Galle Face Hotel, a relic of old world charm with its fine old furniture, hand carved doors, balconies and high ceilings.
Temples, Churches and Mosques:
There are several Hindu temples which are called Kovils in Colombo. On Sea Street in Pettah are the Kathiseran Temples dedicated to the war god Skanda. Built of South Indian granite is the Sri Ponnambalam-Vaneswaram temple, in Koch-chikade, three km north of Fort. In Colombo 10 the Sri Bala Selva Vinayagar Moorthy temple is devoted to Shiva and Ganesh. Other important temples are the Shiva Subramania Swami temple on Slave Island and the Sri Muthumariamman temple in Colombo 13.The Gangarama Temple located beside a bo tree on the waters of Beira lake is a Buddhist temple containing many statues and antiques. It is accessible via a wooden platform. The most significant Buddhist temple is the Kelaniya Raja Mahavihara, 11 km from Colombo Fort. Dating back to over 2000 years the temple was constructed and destroyed a number of times since the time the Buddha is believed to have preached here. Images of the reclining and the preaching Buddha, frescoes depicting incidents from his life and a hollow paddy heap shaped dagaba are the main features of this temple. During the Duruthu Perahera festival in January, the temple becomes the focus of celebrations involving scores of elephants and dancers. Other important Buddhist centers in Colombo are the Vajiramaya temple at Bambalapitiya, the Raja Maha Viharaya at Bellanwila, the Gotami Viharaya at Borella with George Keyt’s murals, Colombo’s oldest Buddhist temple built in 1806, the Dipaduttaramaya, in olombo 13 and the Paramananda Purana Viharaya also in Colombo 13. The lssipatanaramaya at Thimbirigasyaya has some beautiful frescoes, the Buddhist Cultural Center at Dehiwala is famous for the rare collection of books on Buddhism and the Karagampitiya Temple also at Dehiwala has Buddha statues with sapphires for eyes.St. Peter’s Church near the Grand Oriental Hotel used to be the Dutch Governer’s banquet Hall until it was first used as a church in 1804. On Galle Road next to the Lanka Oberoi is the St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk, built in 1842.Wolvendaal Church on Wolfendahl Street is Colombo’s oldest Dutch church. Going back to the middle of the 18th century it sports a floor made of tomb- stones from another Dutch Church and still holds services in English and Tamil. The famous Church of St. Anthony is situated beside the sea where Sea Street and St. Anthony’s Mawatha meet.Two famous and starkly contrasting mosques in Colombo are the red and white candy striped Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque dating to 1909 and the gray and more traditional Memm Harnafi
Museums:
Housed in a grand colonial building the Colombo National Museum is Sri Lanka’s finest museum and the first public museum to be established in the country. Its exhibits comprise a comprehensive showpiece of the cultural heritage of the country. Some of the rare and valuable treasures include a vast collection of half a million books, more than 4000 archaic palm leaf manuscripts, rock sculptures from the ancient cities, bronze brassware and royal weapons of Sri Lankan kings, fascinating paintings of by gone eras and an excellent collection of antique demon masks. On the first floor is the Puppetry and Children’s Museum which has a good selection of puppets and puts up live shows every weekend. Add:- Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo 7. Open daily except Fridays from 9 AM to 5 PM.The Natural History Museum is on the same premises and accessible from Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7. Shown here is the natural heritage of Sri Lanka and it contains sections on applied botany, geology, fossils and the natural environment.
The Discovery Room has a mounted skeleton of an elephant and a scale model in relief showing the topography of a part of Sri Lanka. There is also a display on the Mahaweli hydro-power cum irrigation scheme. Open Daily from 9 AM to 5 PM.The Dutch Period Museum on Prince Street, Pettah was opened to the public in 1982. It is housed in an old Dutch House built in the after part of the 17th century as the residence of a Dutch Count and embodying the peculiar architectural features of Dutch colonial times. The street today buzzes with boutiques and stores of Muslim traders while inside are displayed artefacts like fumiture, ceramics, coins, arms etc. portraying vignattes of life in that period. Open daily except Fridays.The Bandaranaike Museum is dedicated to the late prime-minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike and the exhibits consist of photographs, objects and documents relating to his life and times. It also has recordings of some of his famous speeches. Open daily from 9 AM to 4 PM except Mondays and poya (full moon) days.The National Art Gallery features a permanent collection, chiefly of portraits and temporary collections of Sri Lankan Artists. Address: 106, Ananda Kuma- raswamy Mawatha. Open daily from 8 AM to 5 PM except on Poya days.The Sapumal Foundation is the gallery for viewing post 1920’s Sri Lankan art. Its exhibits include the Harry Peiris collection. Address: 2I4 Barnes Place. Open from Thurs to Sat. 10 AM to 1 PM. Entry free.The Lionel Wendt Center puts up exhibitions of contemporary Sri Lankan artists Address 18 Guildford Crescent.
Shopping:
As the commercial and cultural center of Sri Lanka Colombo finds adequate representations of traditional wares from all over the country as well as of items on a more contemporary shopping menu. Apart from shopping arcades in most hotels, there is a great variety of specialist shops in the city. Liberty Plaza and Majestic City are the two prime shopping malls, both with supermarkets (Keells and Cargills respectively) which stock large varieties of foreign goods. Pettah is the place if you're looking for bargains on anything and everything (see description in sights'). Though the regular shops in Pettah are closed on Sundays the Main Street substitutes as an open air bazaar. A similar bazaar flourishes on Olcott Street, near Fort railway station.
Since Sri Lanka is a major garment manufacturer and exporter well known international brand name clothes are available here at extremely reasonable prices. The most well known is Odel on 5 Alexandra Place, Lipton Circus, Colombo 7 where one can pick up T-shirts, cotton shirts, jumpers and padded jackets and also have a snack at the in house cafe. Cotton Collections at Ernest de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 7 is another similar shop, stocking clothing for men, women and children. Both have branches in Majestic City. At Kids, 169 kynsey Road, Colombo 8 shop for pre teenage clothes and at Toys For U at 385 RA De Mel Mawatha for toys. At Majestic City again is Leather Collection for bags and shoes. Though gem and jewellery shops are liberally distributed all over the city the greatest concentration is at the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Exchange, 310 Galle Road, Colombo 3 where the State Gem Corporation has a testing center. Tel: 576144-46
The best place for handicrafts is the state run emporium, Laksala at 60 York Street, Fort. Tel: 323513. Lanka Mahila Samiti Craft Center, 1st Floor Unity Plaza, Galle Road, Colombo 4 sells rural handicrafts at reasonable rates and Barefoot at 704 Galle Road, Colombo 3 has quality handicrafts albeit at higher prices. For antiques visit Paradise Road, which doubles as a restaurant and has more than one branch and for ceramics Lanka Ceramics Ltd. at Bambalapitiya Tel: 589349.
If you want a taste of arguably the best tea in the world, head for 574 Galle Road, Colombo 3 where the Sri Lanka Tea Board has sales counters.
Good bookshops are the Serendib Gallery for rare books on Sri Lanka and on antiques, and for contemporary books Vijitha Yapa 202-5 Galle Road, Unity Plaza, Colombo 4 (another branch on the same side of the road), Lake House Bookshop, 100 Chitt ampalam Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 3 and, Bookland, 20 St. Michaels Road, Union Assurance Center, Colombo 3.
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More Information |
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Useful Links About Colombo:
Colombo Travel Information
www.colombopage.com
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