• Pettah - Pettah is a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka, situated to the east of the city center, Fort. It is renowned for the Pettah Market, a collection of open-air bazaars and markets. As one of Sri Lanka’s busiest commercial hubs, it hosts numerous wholesale and retail shops, buildings, commercial institutions, and other organizations.

The main market area is designed like a massive crossword puzzle, allowing visitors to explore from dawn until dusk, yet still not cover every part of it.

The name Pettah is derived from the Tamil word “Pettai,” an Anglo-Indian term used to describe a suburb outside a fort. Today, the Sinhala phrase “pita-kotuwa” (outside the fort) aptly describes the same location.

• Galle Face Green - Galle Face Green has always held a special place in the lives of Colombo residents, although it was the British who are credited with establishing it as a social gathering spot, as it remains today.

During colonial times, the British embraced Galle Face Green as a leisure area, especially in the evenings when elite ladies were known to stroll along its length. Activities such as cricket, football, polo, and the famous horse races also took place here. Horse racing gained popularity in the 1840s, and the Ceylon Turf Club was established here sometime between then and 1860, although official records were not kept until 1866. The formal structure of the seaside walk was constructed during Governor Ward’s tenure in 1859.

• Ceylon Tea Gate - Visitors can taste and purchase pure Ceylon factory-fresh tea from the factory outlet.

• Temple of Sri Kailawasanathan Swami Devasthanam Kovil - Built in the late 1700s, the Kovils at Captain’s Garden, Maradana, are believed to be the oldest in Colombo. The area was once an island surrounded by the waters of Beira Lake. Devotees traveled by boat to reach the temples for worship and to make vows. During the Dutch period, Captain’s Garden was known as ‘Cilamagoda’ and was a hub of economic activity, with warehouses for cinnamon, pepper, coconut, oil, and coir located nearby.

• Old Town Hall - Alongside the Town Hall Building, the Edinburgh Hall was constructed and opened simultaneously. The Edinburgh Market was designed as an extension of the main building, featuring the same architectural elements with its open plan and identical cast iron details. This hall was used for stage plays and dramas.

After a long period of disuse, the building was renovated in 1980 by then-President Ranasinhe Premadasa, and in 1984, the adjoining building was converted into a museum of the town hall. The renovated Edinburgh Hall is now a marketplace rented out to street vendors by the Municipal Council.

• Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque - Nestled within the bustling Pettah Market on the narrow 2nd Cross Street is a vibrant mosque commonly referred to as Rathu Paliya in Sinhalese or Red Mosque (or Red Masjid) in English, and Samman Kottu Palli (“Mosque for Muslims of Indian origin”). The mosque was constructed in 1909 by the Pettah Muslim community to meet the religious needs of Muslims.

The designer and builder was H L Saibo Lebbe, and the two-story mosque, featuring a clock tower, was started in 1908 and completed the following year. Lebbe was influenced by the Indo-Saracenic architectural style, which was developed by British architects in late 19th-century India. This hybrid style combines elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favored in Victorian Britain (as seen in the Houses of Parliament).

• Kayman’s Gate Bell Tower - Known as “Kaiman Dorakada” in Sinhalese, Kayman’s Gate was an entrance to the former Colombo Fort, located at the base of Wolvendaal Hill in the Pettah district of Colombo, Sri Lanka. A historic free-standing bell tower still stands at the site, now at the intersection of Main and 4th Cross Streets.

The second Colombo Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1554 as a fortification of their trading post in Colombo and was captured by the Dutch in 1656. Under the Portuguese, the fort’s main entrance at the eastern rampart was Poorta Reinha (“Queen’s Gate”), a large tunnel guarded by a drawbridge and moat. “Kayman’s Gate” is derived from the Dutch word Kaaiman, meaning crocodile.

• Colombo Fort - The business district of Colombo, featuring government buildings, banks, and other commercial enterprises, five-star hotels, and department stores, is still referred to as ‘Fort’ because that is what it once was. The Fort of Colombo, like those in Jaffna and Galle, was essentially a fortified town, demolished around 1870 for urban development, soon followed by most of the buildings within it. Today, nothing remains but its shape in aerial photographs, the regular grid pattern of the streets, some parts of the walls, the hospital, the solitary Delft Gate now a hidden passageway among modern high-rises, barely recognizable parts of the Governor’s House, and some odds and ends, like a small, unattractive warehouse in the harbor. Today, historical remains are more appreciated as monuments to history and sites of tourist interest, so most of the remaining buildings have recently been renovated.

• Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka - Wolvendaal Church (Wolvendaalse Kerk) is located in Pettah, a neighborhood of Colombo. It is one of the most significant Dutch Colonial-era buildings in Sri Lanka and is one of the oldest Protestant churches still in use in the country.

In 1736, the Governor of Ceylon, Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, sought approval from the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) to demolish the existing church (Kasteel Kerk) within the Colombo Fort and construct a new one on the same site. However, the VOC refused this request, and it wasn’t until the arrival of Governor Julius Valentyn Stein van Gollenesse in 1743 that the impasse was resolved. He decided that the new church would be built in the area beyond the city walls, which at the time was swamp and marshland. Europeans mistook the packs of roaming jackals for wolves, and the area became known as Wolvendaal (Wolf’s Dale or Wolf’s Valley).

• Gangarama Temple - The stunning Gangarama Temple is renowned for its impressive buildings, complete with a chetiya, bo tree, image house, Simamalaka, relic chamber containing the relics of the Buddha and Arahat Seevali, museum, library, pirivena, and residential, education, and alms halls. It is adorned with stone carvings, brass work, and various forms of Buddhist art. It features rows of Buddha statues in the meditating pose, alongside miniature stupas arranged like a staircase.

Upon entering the temple, visitors will see a large mural on the wall depicting the ‘Atalo Dahama’ (the eight vicissitudes of life) – gain and loss, good repute and ill repute, praise and censure, and pain and pleasure – conveying the message that one should not be disturbed by these.

• Independence Square - Although many of the leaders who fought for independence may no longer be with us, and the remnants of colonial times are rapidly diminishing, there are only a few tangible elements left to remind us of that monumental struggle, the sacrifice of many, and the ultimate triumph. The Independence Monument at Colombo 7 is today the best symbol of that moment in time when the course of Sri Lankan history was altered. Although it is only once a year that the responsible authorities remember to mow the lawns, prune the bushes, and clean the columns of this historic edifice, it remains the most recognizable monument related to our independence.

• Private transportation
• Bottled water
• Lunch
• Surcharges on fuel
• Parking fees

We offer several city tours of Colombo daily. Traveling via a tuk tuk & Car by experienced and expert tour guides/drivers gives you the opportunity to sit back, soak in the culture of this exciting bustling city. Our company offers some of the cheapest rates! We want our customers to get the best experience for a reasonable cost. Book today and make beautiful memories you will never forget.

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