Colombo

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka, an enchanting island lying off India's southern tip. These city folks go about their daily business with a cheerfulness born of optimism in this chaotic, noisy, and traffic-congested metropolis.

Population:

752,993 (2011)

Currency:

Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR), 1 Rupee = 100 cents

Emergency Numbers:

Ambulance and Fire: 110
National Help Desk: 118
Police: 119

Opening Hours:

Shops are generally open 10h - 20h daily, several open on Sundays. Restaurants and bars in larger hotels stay open all day until midnight.

Newspapers:

Colombo Gazette
News First
The Island
Daily News
Daily Mirror
Daily FT (Financial Times)

The City

Colombo sits on the west coast of Sri Lanka and has developed from an old seafaring port into a huge urban sprawl bristling with an Asian atmosphere. Around the historic centre of Fort are colonial facades of banks, buildings and tumbledown shops and streets teeming with people, trishaws, bicycles, buses--and the occasional cow! Towering above Fort to the east are gleaming skyscrapers reflecting modern Colombo, but wherever you go in the city, you stumble across history, culture, and friendly folk.

Do & See

It would be difficult not to immerse yourself in the serenity of Buddhism, which is practiced by the majority of Sri Lankans. Yet, Colombo is home to all religions as evidenced by temples, mosques, and churches sprouting amidst a jumble of Dutch and British-built buildings, a legacy of its colonial past.

Dining

One of the joys when travelling to Sri Lanka is trying the country's delicious, spice-rich food. Thanks to its location in the Indian Ocean, its close proximity to India, and past immigrants and colonisers, Sri Lanka now offers a mouth-watering blend of Dutch, Portuguese, English, Malay, Arab, and Indian flavours. A truly melting-pot of dishes such as Lamprais (a Dutch Burgher-influenced dish), chicken curry, Dhal curry and Hoppers (Sri Lankan pancakes), to name a few.

Cafes

Step away from the hustle and bustle of Colombo and take a break at one of the many coffee shops around the city. Do try the local coffee, but keep in mind that no trip to Sri Lanka is complete without a cup of the country's main export, the Ceylon tea.