Negombo, a coastal city in Sri Lanka, offers a vibrant blend of cultural heritage and seaside charm. Known for pristine beaches, the Dutch Canal, and bustling fish markets, it beckons with exciting excursions and serene temples. Experience the allure of Negombo's rich tapestry in every visit.
Setting: Negombo, a quaint old fishing town by the sea, also known as 'little Rome' is home to a predominately Catholic community. From Portuguese and Dutch ramparts, forts, churches and wayside shrines to interesting canals and creeks, Negombo still maintains some of its old world charm and remnants of a colorful bygone era of the Dutch and Portuguese settlers.
Folklore at Negombo: The name Negombo used by the Portuguese is a derivation of the Sinhala name Meegamuva, the village of honey. Folklore states that it originated from the story of a swarm of bees settling in a boat, which had been hauled ashore there. Although Negombo never had a booming honey trade it was once a spice town, especially cinnamon.
Negombo Fishing Port: Negombo has become one of the islands biggest fishing ports, where over 500 edible species of fish inhabit the sea and the inland lagoon. The Catamarans (large boats with sails) lined up at the beach are hauled out to sea early morning and the fresh catch brought in by mid-day.
Negombo Beach: Negombo also has a colorful array of coral reefs and a 50 year old shipwreck that serves as an artificial reef for many varieties of fish. Catamaran ride can be arranged at most hotels in Negombo.Negombo, a tourism hot spot is ideal for a variety of water sports such as diving and wind surfing. Facilities and water sport equipment are available at most of the hotels at Negombo.
Accomodation at Negombo: The Negombo sea stretch has an impressive tourist infrastructure of hotels, guest houses, restaurants and cafe's along the beach, where one can indulge in the highest standards of local service and accommodation.
Excursions from Negombo: A casual stroll down the street would cover some of the sites in and around Negombo such as its Portuguese and Dutch style churches, canals and ramparts.
Gampaha is an urban city in Sri Lanka and is the capital of the Gampaha District in Western Province, north of Colombo. Gampaha District is separated from Colombo mainly by the Kelani River. Gampaha town is about 4km from Miriswatta on Colombo-Kandy road. Gampaha is surrounded by Yakkala, Miriswatta, Weliweriya Udugampola and Ja-Ela towns.
The name "Gampaha" in Sinhala literally means Five Villages. The five villages are known to be Ihalagama, Pahalagama, Medagama, Pattiyagama and Aluthgama.
About Western Province
The Western Province is the most densely populated province of Sri Lanka. It is home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenapura as well to Colombo, the nation's administrative and business center. Western Province is divided into 3 main districts called Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1,386.6 km²) and Kalutara (1,606 km²) districts. As Sri Lanka's economic hub, all the major local and international corporations have their presence in the city and so do all the major designer and high street retailers, so be ready to indulge in some retail therapy in western province.
Having the highest population in the all the provinces, the almost all the premier educational institutions in the island are located in western province. Universities in the province include the University of Colombo, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University, Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and University of Moratuwa .Western province has the largest amount of schools in the country, which includes National, Provincial, Private and International schools.
