Rich in history and vibrant with modern life and colonial buildings Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka is a large crowd puller with its exotic and unique tourist attractions. Tourism is definitely a thriving industry with so many places for the tourists to visit and so many things for them to do. The city is the commercial hub of Sri Lanka and showcases its ancient history through colonial buildings, historical sites, ruins of ancient temples and palaces. However it is not behind in embracing modernity, and its technological, cultural and economic advancements are there for the tourist to see.
Situated in the east-west coast of Sri Lanka, this city has been occupied and ruled by many colonial masters like the Portuguese, the Dutch and finally the British who made it what it is today. This ancient city is fast emerging as a cosmopolitan city and it offers a wide variety of attraction for the tourists ranging from ancient temples to modern shopping malls and entertainment plazas, from marvellous colonial architectural wonders to historical museums etc. The Colombo National museum is the largest repository of antiques, ancient manuscripts and furniture’s, the ancient fort, the leading bazaar district of Colombo- the Pettah, Galle face Green, the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara which houses a collection ancient Buddhist scriptures and paintings, the Gangayamaya temple, the Dehiwala zoo which has a collection of animals, reptiles and fishes from all over the world, the slave island, the Mount Lavinia beach and several other ancient Hindu temples. The lake is one of the most distinctive landmarks of Colombo and a popular tourist attraction. It hosts many regattas and theoretical events. Thus Colombo tours are loaded with varieties which will spoil you with choices.
Colombo offers a wide range of activities for the tourist. You can either go and visit those historical monuments, play golf or other sports, meditate, swim, go for canoeing or kayaking, watch movies, or party in the casinos, bars and pubs, eat in some of the most popular restaurants, go shopping for antiques, clothes, souvenirs, arts and crafts etc. In between so many activities you are bound to find your duration of stay too less and would definitely want to come back here. That’s the charm of tourism in Colombo. You will not be satisfied with just one visit.
Colombo is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural city, mainly inhabited by Sinhalese, Malay and Tamils. We also find Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Indians and few other Europeans residing here. The climate is not extreme so it can be ideally visited all the year round, however it would be good to avoid the rainy season from May – August and October to January, as the city experiences heavy rainfall during these months. The only way to enter Sri Lanka is through air. Colombo has an international airport where there are direct flights from Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. From India we can get flights from Chennai, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai to Colombo.