Colombo City a day Tour

Colombo City a day Tour

Overview
Colombo is the trade capital of Sri Lanka and is a city that has undergone rapid changes. While most old buildings have been replaced by new apartments and office buildings, some parts of the city yet retains its old charm. it is the financial centre of the island and a popular tourist destinations, located on the west coast of the island. Colombo was known to ancient traders (as Indians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Arabs and Chinese) 2000 years ago because of the natural harbour. Today, Colombo modernized with shopping malls, stylish complex, cinema, restaurants, cafes, residential apartment and many more things.
Tour Highlights

Visit Gangaramaya Temple
Old Parliament in Colombo
Old Clock Tower in Colombo
National Museum
Zoological Garden
Shopping in Colombo
Independence Square
Red Mosque
Galle Face Green (Beach side)

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Gangaramaya (Vihara) Buddhist Temple, 61 Sri Jinaratana Road, Colombo Sri Lanka

Don Bastian (de Silva Jayasuriya Goonewardane, Mudaliyar), a famous 19th century shipping merchant who was looking for a suitable land to build a temple for the Matara Sri Dharmarama thero, bought a beautiful piece of land belonging to three Moors, and filled and prepared the land at great expense. The land bordered on two sides by the Moragoda Ela and the Pettigala Ela was used to build the temple, which was subsequently named the Padawthota Gangaramaya Viharaya. The Mudaliyar, with the assistance of the people built a great 'Chaitya' (Dagaba) of 30 Riyans, and built a great decorative arch (thorana) and a 'Sandakada pahana' modeled on the ones found at Anuradhapura, at the entrance to the temple. A 'Bo' sapling brought from the great Sri Maha Bhodiya in Anuradhapura, was also planted by his own hands and brought up. He also built a three-storied preaching hall and the walls, railings and the moat round the temple.
oday Gangaramaya serves not only as a place of Buddhist worship; it is also a centre of learning. The temple is involved in Buddhist welfare work including old peoples' homes, a vocational school and an orphanage. The temple is uniquely attractive and tolerant to congregation members of many different religions. It has also been instrumental in establishing the Buddhist temple on Staten Island (US) the Buddhist Center in New York and the Buddhist Center in Tanzania, thereby helping to propagate the Dhamma in other countries.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Old Parliament Building, Fort, Colombo Sri Lanka

The Old Parliament Building, is the building that houses the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. Situated in the Colombo fort area facing the sea, it is in close proximity to the President's House, Colombo and adjacent to the General Treasury Building. The building housed the island's legislature for 53 years until the new parliamentary complex was opened at Sri Jayawardenepura in 1983.


Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Khan Clock Tower, Colombo Fort, Colombo Sri Lanka

The Khan Clock Tower was built in Colombo, Sri Lanka by the Khan Family of Bombay. The Clock Tower is a popular landmark and marks the entrance to Pettah Market. The Clock Tower was built in the early 20th century by the family of Framjee Bhikhajee Khan. This Parsi family hailed from Bombay, India and also owned the famous Colombo Oil Mills as well as other business interests in Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then called.

The clock tower also provided a working water fountain, but this no longer functions. The plate on the clock tower carries the inscription: "This clock tower and fountain was erected to the memory of Framjee Bhikhajee Khan by his sons Bhikhajee and Munchershaw Framjee Khan as a token of affectionate gratitude and dedicated through the Municipal Council to the citizens of Colombo on the fourth day of January 1923, the 45th anniversary of his death."

The Tower is roughly four storeys high and is situated on a landscaped roundabout that marks the entrance to the famous market.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Colombo National Museum, Albert Crescent, Colombo Sri Lanka

National Museum of Colombo, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum is one of two museums in Colombo. It is the largest museum in Sri Lanka. It is maintained by the Department of National Museum of the central government. The museum holds contains a collections of much importance to Sri Lanka such as the regalia of the country, including the throne and crown of the Kandyan monarchs as well as many other exhibits telling the story of ancient Sri Lanka.

Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Arcade Independence Square, 7 Colombo, Colombo 00700 Sri Lanka

The Arcade Independence Square is a shopping complex in the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka, housed in a group of renovated buildings including the former Jawatta Lunatic Asylum (later known as the Auditor General's building) and the former Western Provincial Council Building. It was built as a part of the Independence Square Redevelopment programme initiated by the Sri Lankan Government.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, Second Cross Street, Colombo 01100 Sri Lanka

Construction of the Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque commenced in 1908 and the building was completed in 1909. The mosque was commissioned by the local Indian Muslim community, based in Pettah, to fulfill their required five-times-daily prayer and Jummah on Fridays. The mosque's designer and builder was Habibu Labbe Saibu Labbe (an unqualified architect), and was based on details/images of Indo-Saracenic structures provided by South Indian traders, who commissioned him. It is a hybrid style of architecture, that draws elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combines it with the Gothic revival and Neo-classical styles. Originally it had the capacity for 1,500 worshippers although at the time only around 500 were attending prayers.

It is a distinctive red and white candy-striped two-storey building, with a clock tower, and is reminiscent of the Jamek Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (constructed in 1910). Before other landmarks were built, some claim that the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque was recognised as the landmark of Colombo by sailors approaching the port.

In 1975 the mosque, with the assistance of the Haji Omar Trust, purchased a number of the adjoining properties and commenced building an expansion to the mosque to increase its capacity to 10,000

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Galle Face Green, Galle Road, Colombo Sri Lanka

Galle Face is a 5 ha (12 acres) ocean-side urban park, which stretches for 500 m (1,600 ft) along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although the original Galle Face Green extended over a much larger area than is seen today. The Galle Face Green was initially used for horse racing and as a golf course, but was also used for cricket, polo, football, tennis and rugby.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo Sri Lanka

Viharamahadevi Park (formerly Victoria Park) is a public park located in Colombo, next to the National Museum in Sri Lanka. It is the oldest and largest park of the Port of Colombo. Situated in front of the colonial-era Town Hall building, the park is named after Queen Viharamahadevi, the mother of King Dutugamunu. The park was built on land donated to the Colombo city by Charles Henry de Soysa during the British rule of Sri Lanka, and used to be named "Victoria Park" after Queen Victoria. During World War II it was occupied by the British Army with Australian 17th Brigade based at Victoria Park. After the war the park was restored and open to the public in 1951.

There used to be a cricket ground in the park, which was used for first-class cricket between 1927 and 1995. Ceylon played against a touring English team there in 1927 and against an Australian team in 1935.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Colombo Fort, Galle Buck, Colombo Sri Lanka

Known as Kolonthota, the area became notable as the site of the first landings of the Portuguese in the early 16th century and became one of their trading posts in the island. The Portuguese developed their trading post into a fortified base and harbour to extend their control of the interior of the island. The fort was besieged several times during the Sinhalese–Portuguese War, most notably in 1587, but was held. It was conquered by the Dutch East India Company in 1656 after they intervened in the war. With Colombo gaining prominence as the center for Dutch administration in the island, it was expanded to protect against both the sea and the interior of the island. The Dutch demolished the Portuguese-built fortification and reconstructed it to take advantage of the natural strength of the location between a lake and the sea. The present layout of Fort and the Pettah was the result of the Dutch remodeling of Colombo. The Pettah was known in Dutch times as the 'Oude Stade' and consisted of the residential area of Colombo. The Fort was where they built their fortifications, it was known as 'the Casteel' in Dutch.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct, Hospital Street Galle Fort, Colombo 00001 Sri Lanka

The Old Colombo Dutch Hospital (known as The Dutch Hospital) is considered to be the oldest building in the Colombo Fort area dating back to the Dutch colonial era in Sri Lanka. It is now a heritage building and a shopping and dining precinct.

Duration: 30 minutes