About Colombo
Overview
For a long time, Colombo was just an uninteresting, unavoidable and sometimes dangerous, transit to the island’s more sought-after tourist destinations elsewhere. In recent years however, Colombo has refashioned itself as a popular tourist hotspot offering many cultural, historical and nightlife attractions.
Located on the west coast, Colombo is the most densely populated city on the island, home to some two million people. Historically, Colombo was a famous seaport. The city is built on a natural harbor, strategically located along the ancient East-West sea trade routes. Colombo’s history as an important port can be traced back some 2,000 years, known to Indian, Greek, Persian, Chinese and Roman traders. (Still the Colombo Harbor is one of the busiest ports in South Asia.) The Portuguese first landed in Colombo in 1505, and since then the city has been a center of East-West cultural influences. In 1815, the British colonial authorities made Colombo Sri Lanka’s capital. Since then, Sri Lanka’s administrative capital has moved to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, a nearby suburb, but Colombo remains the commercial and financial capital of the country.
Galle Face Green
Sri Lanka, being an island, is known for her amazing beaches and views of the sea. However, in Colombo, it isn’t always easy to find a place where you can enjoy the crashing of the waves and most of all, an undisturbed view of the sunset. Galle Face Green thus attracts a large number of people, especially during the evening, although it is rarely empty, even in the afternoon when there is very little shelter from the scorching sun.
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