Colombo City Walk with a Local (Private 3-Hour Tour)

• Tour the crowded market streets of Pettah with its many colorful street sellers.

• Stop by the Red Mosque, one of the oldest within the country.

• Walk through the bustling streets of Colombo’s central business district.

• Visit the old Colombo Fort Clock Tower.

• Pass by the colonial era Fort Railway Station that remain the Railway hub of Sri Lanka.

What You Can Expect

You will be starting your tour at 9:00 am from the Old Colombo Dutch Hospital. This refined shopping mall itself has a history to tell, as the complex was once used as a Hospital by the Dutch invaders during the late 17th century. As your guide who will meet you there will tell you, this now renovated building is supposed to be the oldest within Colombo.

Your first stop on your walk will be at Galle Face. This wide green space adjoining the beach lies close to several landmarks, including the Old Parliament and Galle Face Hotel. It’s used as as an open air venue for several major events. Continuing on your walk, you will pass into Colombo’s core business district. A place where millions and billions of Sri Lankan Rupees exchange hands. The buildings here mostly hail from the colonial era, a place of 'old money’. The Fort Clock Tower stands at a crossroad and tells the time to busy passers by. During the time it was built in the 1800s the tower not only served as a clock tower.

After weaving your way through busy office workers and sea farers in the business district, you will be walking through Pettah. Grime from centuries of trade coats the ground and walls of old dilapidated warehouses dating back to the colonial era. But then you come to the market zone, and your environment bursts into bright color, noise and smells. Hawkers shouting, people chattering in droves, colorful wares stacked in small boxy stalls, larger shops, and even on the ground, little carts selling fragrant street food, etc. It is said that every product that comes to Sri Lanka from abroad, passes through Pettah.

After the interesting sights of the Pettah Market, you will be visiting the century old Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque on Second Cross Street, also known as the Red Mosque. The area is once again filled with olden day buildings. The Mosque gains its name from the Red and White striped paintwork of the Mosque. You will receive a brief tour here. Next you will visit the main rail hub of Colombo, the Colombo Fort Railway Station.

The final stop on your tour will be the famous Gangaramaya Temple, which was built during the 19th century. This fully fledged hermitage is famous for its smoothly blending of modern design with classic Sri Lankan architectural style. Today the Temple serves multiple roles as a place of prayer, an institution of learning, an orphanage and more.. After touring the Temple, you will return to your starting Point.

Additional Note

• Comfortable Walking Shoes Recommended for this tour.

What's Included

• English-speaking guide

• Snacks and refreshments

• All taxes and service charges

What's Excluded

• Food and drinks

• Gratuities