Colombo

The Commercial Capital of Sri Lanka wakes early with the first light of sun rays. City has become the breadwinner for most Sri Lankans. Thereby one could say that the touristic Colombo fades with the hustle and bustle of the everyday man. It is a different paradise for an explorer, for an inquisitive traveller who finds joy in attention to detail. There is segregation and organisation to this city of its own.

Colombo lost much of its greenery and came to be a city of importance during the short reign of the Portuguese when they made trading ties with the Sri Lankan Monarchy. It is they who first started the use of the name Colombo, to the city which was known back then as “Kolon-Thota”. Colombo then became a safe haven for the invaders followed - Dutch and English.

Foremost recognition to the city of Colombo was done by the English that colonised Sri Lanka after the Dutch and branded the country as Ceylon. Colombo was identified as the capital of the new brand of the Indian Ocean - Ceylon, by the English in 1815. It remained capital when Sri Lanka gained Independence in 1948 and kept as the capital till 1978 when the government of Sri Lanka decided to move the administrative functions to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. Since,... Colombo became the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.

Test

Colombo is the largest town of western province of Sri Lanka and it is located at 6°56’04’N 79°50’34’E. From the old days Colombo was also renowned as one of the many sea ports of the country. The city consists of a fusion of water and land and is equipped with many canals, most of which were used for transportation purposes and also as a defending mechanism when battling against the natives. One of the prominent tourist destinations of the city and the country “Seema Malakaya” that is built by the legendary architect Geoffry Bawa of the renowned “Gangaramaya” Temple seats at one of these prominent canals that spreads to sixty five hectares, Beira Lake.