Colombo

Overview

• Colombo is the largest city, and economic capital of island Sri Lanka. The main air and sea port are located in Colombo handling a major part of the economy.

• It is a multi – ethnic and cultural city with Sinhalese, Muslims, and Tamil. In addition, smaller groups of people of Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, Malay, and Indian origin, as well as European immigrants, have settled in the cities.

• Colombo fort was known to the ancient foreign businessmen called Iban Bathutha in 14th century in the written history. It has been said he has named the city as “Colompu”. And later, the name “Colombo” has been named the days back to the 15th century when it was colonized by the Portuguese.

• This capital city has got significant tourist attractions for many reasons. The coastal area known as Galle Face is considered as the heart of Colombo. It is equipped with colonial luxurious hotels such as the Galle Face hotel, mount Lavenia hotel etc… It is famous among locals and tourists. Gangarama temple located in central Colombo is enriched with an architectural art collection of Sri Lankans, Indians, Thai and Chinese cultures.

• The historical Dutch hospital is gifted from the Dutch colonial period. Now it’s been converted into a modern shopping mall called Colombo city center. The lotus shaped tower built in the center of Colombo is called “lotus tower”. At the top of the tower has an observation deck, showing the Colombo city. The Colombo national museum is the largest and the main museum in Sri Lanka.