Destinations

Perched with symmetry of grace, Galle claims to be the capital city of the Southern region of Sri Lanka. With nudges from the Portuguese during the 16th century, Galle is still known to be the incomparable benchmark of a fortified city built by Europeans in South and South-East Asia. Many remnants of the Portuguese era pimpled in every nook and corner have now become a tourist flock after the scars remain.

Galle has long been a stopover for foreign travellers; Sindbad the sailor, the Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho, Marco Polo, the Portuguese Admiral Lorenzo de Almeida, the Dutch VOC company and even the first package tours in 1842 with the arrival of the first P&O passenger ship.

All have echoed Marco Polo’s sentiment that "it is the finest island of its size in all the world" and to which Mark Twain added; “my goodness! It is most sumptuously tropical!”. Although Galle may have had its heyday as a trading port, the city and its coastal environs have become the new riviera of choice, whilst still managing to maintain that time warp for the inquisitive traveler.

The Galle attractions detail architectural reserved buildings that connect between the Europeans and South Asians. As you enter this wondrous city, Galle Dutch Fort is amongst the popularized sights in Galle. It is known for being the oldest fort in Asia also declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Touched by coatings of ginger, Maritime Museum steeps to exhibit voluminous displays on colonial native crafts, weaponry, folk arts and variety of swords. Rummassala Mountain is home to legends of the Hanuman, Ramayana and Queen Sita as well. Church Street also provides the Galle Cultural Museum, a colonial building that reflects art and history of Southern regions through show casing of the artefacts. Unruffled Koggala Lake, Pedler’s Inn Café, Jungle Beach, St. Mary’s Cathedral, house of the writer Martin Wickremasinghe, and Hiyare reservoir are some of the many things to see and do in Galle that lures every tourist with its own unique features.