Colombo: An honest review of the things to see and do in Colombo

Colombo is a city where there’s so much and yet so little to do… So to help you navigate through what you should do while you’re in Colombo, I’ve compiled a list of popular tourist attractions and reviewed them with my honest opinion.

Dutch Museum

This somewhat lesser known attraction in the heart of Pettah is what used to be a large two storied house built in the 17th century by Thomas Van Rhee, The Dutch Governor of Sri Lanka from 1692- 1697. It is now a museum that holds over 3000 artifacts from when the country was under the Dutch rule. After you get over the fact that such a large building exists on a crowded street in Pettah squashed between the tiny shops, you start to appreciate the beauty of its architecture and the artifacts that are held within. What impressed me the most was the old well that’s in the corner of the courtyard!

The trade route - right at the entrance

Colombo National Museum

The architecture of the building is pretty impressive and there’s a cool skeleton of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling, but other than that, it’s not very exciting. Not really worth a visit in my opinion… maybe just a drive by.

Zoo

The National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka, also known as the Dehiwala Zoo is not really worth a visit or even a drive by!

Old Parliament Building, Town Hall Building, Cargills Department Store, Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque

All of these are interesting buildings to drive by!

The Cargills Building

The Town Hall Building

The Old Parliament Building

Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque

Gangaramaya Temple, Seema Malaka Temple and the Beira lake

These three are all very close to each other and are great places for photography. The two temples are very touristy though. So if what you’re looking for is to experience what a real Buddhist temple is like, look for a local area temple. My neighborhood temple, Balapokuna is lovely and peaceful in the evenings. I’d recommend going on a paddle-swan-boat on the Beira Lake to anyone though. It is a lot of fun!

Buddha Statues inside the Gangaramaya Temple

The Seema Malaka Temple

The Beira Lake

Viharamahadevi Park

This large Park opposite the Town Hall Building and next to the Museum is a scenic place to take a casual stroll or even for a work out in the evenings.

One side of Viharamahadevi Park

Galle Face Green, Galle Buck Lighthouse and Sambodhi Chaithya

This is a must-do in my opinion, not during the day though because of the heat. The best time to go is in the early evening to watch the sunset and then stick around for all kinds of street food. Be warned though, it’s not for the ‘weak-tummied’. Weekends and public holidays are better because there’s a crowd of people flying kites and playing games on the green.

Galle Face Green

Towards the North of Galle Face Green, close to the Kingsbury Hotel is the Galle Buck Lighthouse. It’s a quiet spot to watch the sunset from.

The Galle Buck Lighthouse

Wander a little further down the road and you’ll see the Sambodhi Chaithya which is a temple built above the road on two arches. Climb 11 levels and 300 steps and you come to the entrance of the charming temple and get a great view of Colombo city.

The Sambodhi Chaithya

St. lucia’s cathedral

One of the most beautiful cathedrals in Sri Lanka, St. Lucia’s is definitely worth 

a visit.

Wolvendaal church

A masterpiece of Dutch architecture, Wolvendaal Church should be added to your list of places to visit in Colombo. With its thick walls and high arched ceiling, this building from 1757 was built to last and is full of history.

The organ inside Wolvendall Church

Independence square

This too would have fallen into the ‘drive by’ category a few years back. However now, the grounds around Independence Square have been developed into a park where many healthy people exercise in the evenings. There’s a museum under the building that’s worth checking out as well.

Sri Kailawasanthan Swami Devasthanam Kovil

This Hindu Kovil is an ideal place to soak in some culture and marvel at the sculptures as well as the rituals.

Wandering around Polonnaruwa - Part 1

My excitement before going on a trip has now become something of a ritual. As usual, I didn’t sleep the night before because I was so eager to get started on my journey. I remember lying in bed at 2 AM thinking ‘go to sleep… you need to be up at 5 AM’, but I couldn’t find a way to get some shut eye till much later.

Polonnaruwa was our destination this time because I hadn’t been to see the ancient city in years. I had passed through several times but hadn’t stopped to visit the ruins and soak in the rich history. We stayed at Galkadawala, a three storied nature friendly cottage close to Habarana which was bordering a quiet lake.

Galkadawala

Our day around the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Polonnaruwa, started with a visit to the Archaeological Museum which was where everyone has to get their entrance tickets to the historical sites in the city. I was slightly unimpressed by the museum but it was a good start to the day because it had scale models of what the temples and palaces would have looked like in their prime which gave me a better visualisation of how it all looked when I visited the sites.

The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa from Anuradhapura by King Vijayabahu I, the son of King Moggallana [remember him from my blog on the Sigiriya Rock Fortress?] after he defeated invaders from South India called the Chola’s. Although it was King Vijayabahu I that established the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, it is King Parakramabahu the great who is better known. It was during his reign that the capital flourished. He expanded the city and constructed many irrigation systems and monuments. There is an impressive eleven-foot stone statue of King Parakramabahu close to the new town so we visited that first. Pothgul Viharaya, the oldest library complex in Sri Lanka is located near the statue. It is a circular building and has small stupas in each of its four corners. There are also ruins of housing in which bikkus [Buddhist monks] would have resided. It was a promising start to the day that lay ahead!

 

The stone carved statue of King Parakramabahu

 

Me at the Pothgul Viharaya

Ruins of Bikku Housing

We then visited the Audience Hall and the Royal Palace. The Royal Citadel built by King Parakramabahu used to have seven stories and walls more than three metres thick. Although the remnants of the palace still stand tall, it’s not easy to imagine the seven floors that once stood when you look at the ruins as they are today. But visiting the museum at the start of the tour helped me to see how magnificent it would have looked back then and standing there, I could almost picture the activity that went on in and around those walls.

 

The Audience Hall

The stone pillars of the Audience Hall

The delicate carvings on the stone pillars

The front view of King Parakramabahu's Royal Palace

The back view of the Royal Citadel

 

We next visited the Siva Temple and Thuparamaya. The Siva temple, with its hindu style of construction was a contrast to the other stupas and monastery ruins that surrounded it. Thuparamaya, which was built during the reign of King Vijayabahu I, is a brick built gedige or vaulted shrine that is very well preserved. It is one of the few ruins in the country that has its roof still intact. 

The Siva Temple

The Hindu style of construction

 

Thuparamaya

Walking around in the April heat was starting to drain our energy even though it was only half a day that had gone by. We decided to take a break from the ruins and indulge in some lunch. We got rice and curry lunches packed in banana leaves and found a scenic spot on the edge of the Parakrama Samudra. The Parakrama Samudra [sea of Parakrama] was King Parakramabahu’s greatest construction. One of the largest manmade lakes in the world, spreading over an area of 5940 acres, the sea of Parakrama is one of the city’s most remarkable features. After a short dip in the lake, we ate our tasty Sri Lankan lunch complete with fried weva-maalu [lake fish]. The rest of our day was filled with more heritage and culture and will be revealed to you on my next post! Till then; live, love, dream and travel!