Colombo City

Colombo City

World Trade Center building (WTC)

Colombo is the commercial and business center of Sri Lanka located on west cost. The city blends together with old colonial type building, high-rise commercial buildings and hotels. It is filled with shopping malls, airline offices bazaars and interesting tourist attractions. Some of the finest structures built during the colonial times still preserved in one part of the City. Colombo is home to majority of Sri Lankan corporate and Government offices. Hotels of Colombo city is located centrally which will make the visitors more convenient. Visitors have the choice of number of star class hotels with spectacular scenic view of the ocean among them “Galle face Hotel” and “Taj Samudra” which opens up to gall face green and to the ocean.

Colombo city is full of popular tourist attractions such as National Museum,Galle Face Green, Beira Lake , Cargills & Millers building

Climate Only major change in the weather of Colombo is during the inter monsoon season which is from May to August and October to January. During this time heavy rain fall can be expected.

Transportation City public transportation consists of mainly from buses and trains. But if you want to get around quickly try auto rickshaws ( “three wheelers”) and private cabs.

The National Museum of Colombo The National Museum of Colombo was established in 1877 by the British Governor Sir William Gregory which is the largest Museum in Sri Lanka. It has a good collection of historical work. This is an ideal place to understand the island’s richest past. The Museum is open from 09 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Galle Face Green South of Colombo along with the lined palm trees of Galle road is the Gall face Green. Along with the a greenish seafront you can enjoy the evening breeze and view the sun set. It’s a crowded place on Fridays and Saturday evenings. Adjacent to the Galle face green is the popular colonial styled Galle Face hotel. Cannons which were used during wartime is still lies along the cost line of the Galle Face Green.

Kelaniya Temple of Sri Lanka Kelaniya is a famous Buddhist temple located about 8 km away from Colombo which is sited on the Kelani River. It is believe that the Buddha visited Kelaniya in order to quell a quarrel between two Nāga leaders.. The temple has become famous because of the beautiful paintings and sculpture.

Dehiwala Zoo Dehiwala zoological garden is located in a beautiful landscape covering an area of 11 acres. This was first started by a German business family during the year of 1926. In the year of 1930 this was acquired by the Sri Lankan government and further improved. Dehiwala Zoo is home for many different animals such as many mammal species, birds, reptiles and fish species. Many endangered species can be seen here as well. The most attractive event of this place is the evening elephant show, starting at about 5.15 pm.

Bere Lake Bere Lake is located in the middle of Colombo. The island in the middle of the lake and the surrounding tree line make it a beautiful place. This lake was built by Portuguese and the lake was connected with many water was. Portuguese used theses water ways as their transportation needs.The water level of the lake is 1 meter high from the ocean. There are many wetland birds can be seen in this lake.

Bellanwila Athidiya Wet Land Closer to the Bellanwila temple (Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya)this wet land covers an area of 372 hectares. This place is ideal for watching birds especially migrant birds during the months of September and April. Flock of birds from countries like Siberia, India and Europe can be seen in this place. Not only migrant birds you can enjoy watching many species of local birds as well. There are about 52 species of butterflies out of the 242 species found in Sri Lanka can be seen in this wet land. How to reach: You can reach this place by turning from Ratmalana along the Galle road. About 2 km towards to Athidiya.

Shopping in Colombo There are wide varieties of shopping complexes within the Colombo city all of them are with all the facilities. Most of the shopping malls are fully wi-fi enabled. If you are looking goods for less prices Pettah bazaar is  the ideal location. You can buy almost anything you want but this is always busy and crowded. If you move along the Gall road you can find shopping malls like Majestic City, Liberty Plaza and Crescat which are very popular among locals as well. You can buy garments, handicrafts, books, leather goods and many more. Prices are very competitive. ODEL and Arina are another shopping malls which are very popular among tourists. The shops in Main Street of Pettah mostly sell readymade garments.