Panadura Trip Overview
(SKU: LK60340200)The Colombo City Tour takes you on a journey into the heart of the capital city of Sri Lanka, to show you its most spectacular sights. View elegant colonial buildings rising in tandem with shiny new business constructions in the sprawling metropolis. Visit the ancient temples that create havens in the midst of all the bustle and hustle. Get to know Colombo’s history and legends through some of its most interesting landmarks. Embark in an adventure that shows you the wonderful secrets of Colombo.
Additional Info
Duration: 7 hours
Starts: Panadura, Sri Lanka
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Panadura Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Panadura, Western Province, Sri Lanka
(SKU: LK60340200)The Colombo City Tour takes you on a journey into the heart of the capital city of Sri Lanka, to show you its most spectacular sights. View elegant colonial buildings rising in tandem with shiny new business constructions in the sprawling metropolis. Visit the ancient temples that create havens in the midst of all the bustle and hustle. Get to know Colombo’s history and legends through some of its most interesting landmarks. Embark in an adventure that shows you the wonderful secrets of Colombo.
Stop At: Colombo National Museum, Albert Crescent, Colombo Sri Lanka
At Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha (also known as Albert Crescent), next to the Viharamahadevi Park, the National Museum was Sri Lanka’s first and was founded in 1877. Its collection spans several centuries and a range of cultures, from the Sinhala kingdoms through to the British era. Highlights include the royal trappings of the last Kings of Kandy. There are also some superb stone sculptures, as well as Hindu bronzes and wooden carvings, Sri Lankan and European furniture and ceramics, and (to Western eyes) a fine array of grotesque masks representing Buddhist demons and deities. The museum’s huge library of more than 500,000 books is primarily of interest to scholars, but its collection of 4000 palm leaf manuscripts – created by etching the lettering into the fibrous surface of the leaf – are on display for everyone to admire. A small Gallery of mid 19th century paintings and etchings shows Sri Lanka through the eyes of British artists.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Gangaramaya (Vihara) Buddhist Temple, 61 Sri Jinaratana Road, Colombo Sri Lanka
Located amidst the calm waters of the Beira Lake, the Gangaramaya Temple complex is a vibrant venue located in the heart of the Business District. The complex consists of the Main Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple, the “Seema Malaka” which is an assembly hall for monks and also a vocational training institute. The temple is over 120 years old while now it has been converted to an institution of International significance. The temple and its surroundings are adorned with colourful lights during various ceremonial months while the annual Nawam Perahera conducted by the Gangaramaya is one of the most vibrant and colourful processions in the island.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Pettah Floating Market, Bastian Mawatha, Colombo Sri Lanka
The largest and most famous market in Colombo and Sri Lanka is Pettah Market. Not only a fresh produce market, but Pettah Market is also a collection of street blocks with maddening traffic, noise, and haggling. Not surprising for a street market right? The biggest tip for when visiting Pettah Market is to take a tuk-tuk or taxi to the edge of the market and then walk in to discover all the little shops and goodies. It’s best to go to Pettah in a group and preferably not as a lone woman – Sri Lankan’s love to stare and most of the Pettah workers are men. Better go with a planned tour such as Mark Forbes’ Colombo Walking Tours.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, Colombo Sri Lanka
he Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara or Kelaniya Temple is a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is located 11 km (6.8 mi) north-east of Colombo. The current chief incumbent (chief priest) is Venerable Professor Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thera.
The temple has often been associated with the rise and fall of Ceylon / Sri Lanka, with the popular saying that as the Kelaniya temple rose, Sri Lanka rose and as it fell, the country and its administration fell. It has thus had a deep association with the political powers of the country.
It is also infamous for Mapitigama Buddharakkitha, the chief conspirator of the 1959 assassination of Ceylon’s fourth Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. Buddharakkitha was the chief incumbent (chief priest) of the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara from 1947 to 1959.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Galle Face Green, Galle Road, Colombo Sri Lanka
The Galle Face Green, which is immediately south of Fort, is a long, thin park facing the Indian Ocean which fills up with food stalls and locals on weekday and weekend evenings as it is a popular meeting place to relax. A narrow arm of Beira Lake separates this district from Slave Island, a peninsula where the Dutch imprisoned slaves from their Asian colonies. Galle Road, Colombo’s long seafront boulevard runs south from Galle Face Green, eventually becoming the main coastal road to Galle and the Deep South. It’s always crowded with traffic and short on charm, but as the city’s main thoroughfare it also has some of the best shopping malls and a number of important buildings, including the official residence of Sri Lanka’s premier, the US Embassy, the British High Commission and some of the city’s top five star hotels.
Duration: 30 minutes
