Colombo Walking Tour with Ajeet De Soyza

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The Last King of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasingha was captured on the 18th February 1815 in Madamahanuwara and was transferred to Colombo without entering Kandy. On the 6th of March 1815 the King and his escort entered the Colombo Fort where they were received by Colonel Kerr, the commandant of the garrison. Here King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha remained for nearly a year till the 24th of January 1816 when he and his family were deported to Vellore, India aboard the HMS Cornwallis.

   10 min

2. 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 It is believed to have existed since 1681 when the Dutch established the Colombo hospital to look after the health of the officers and other staff serving under the Dutch East India Company. The hospital's proximity to the harbour allowed it to serve Dutch seafarers

   10 min

3. You will be taken through the heart of the central business district which is full of colonial architecture. The clock tower in fort is a unique strucuture in the city on many aspects

   5 min

4. The construction of the building commenced in 1911, with the laying of its foundation stone and at the time of its opening it was the tallest building in Colombo. Designed in a Greco-Roman architectural style, with a colonnade of Corinthian columns at the building's entrance. It has a circular glass dome with a tapering central atrium that lets light into the circular inner halls throughout all seven floors and features the tallest chandelier in Asia.

   10 min

5. The old Cargills & Millers Buildings in Colombo are considered to be the oldest department stores in Sri Lanka. A Dutch building was originally on the land where the present Cargills & Millars buildings are located and it had been occupied by Sir Frederick North (1766-1827), the first British Governor of Ceylon from 1798 to 1805. In 1844, a British businessman William Miller started his company at this premises by replacing the old Dutch building and in 1896, it was acquired by David Sime Cargill, a Scottish businessman who headed the popular Cargills & Company

   5 min

6. The Grand Oriental Hotel was officially opened on 5 November 1875, had 154 luxury and semi-luxury rooms, and was the first of the modern type of imposing hotels erected in the East. The original building on the site was a simple, single-storey structure with an open verandah to the street inhabited by a Dutch Governor. In 1837 it was converted into barracks for the British Army. The task of converting the building into a hotel was undertaken by the then Governor Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, engaging the architect of the Public Works Department, James George Smither, who was also responsible for the National Museum of Colombo, Colombo General Hospital and the old Colombo Town Hall. The estimated cost to build the hotel was 2,007 pounds but it is noteworthy that the hotel was constructed within one year under the estimated 1,868 pounds.

   15 min

7. Popularly known as the Red Mosque, the place of workship is a unique materpiece

   5 min

8. A family-run business for over 90 years, TITUS STORES was founded in 1924, and initially began as TITUS LAMP STORES, selling petrol lamps called TITUS Lamps. With the advent of electricity in Sri Lanka, the business shifted to homeware, gifts, and HORECA (Hotel Restaurant Catering) items and changed its name to TITUS STORES

   Passes by

9. Amongst the little known historic monuments of Colombo, is large gothic church-like mansion in the old business quarter of Pettah. People, both locals and tourists, pass it by with little thought to what it contains – a veritable treasure trove of artifacts. It vanishes among the landscape surrounded by equally dated buildings, colorful modern shops and other interesting pieces of architecture. The fact that it’s in one of the busiest sectors of the city doesn’t help. This building is the Old Town Hall, once the seat of the Colombo Municipality and was the main location for council meetings in Colombo.

   15 minAdmission included

10. Explore first hand the busy markets of the Pettah Bazaar

    Passes by

11. Built by the British, the Fort Railway station is the major hub in the Colombo city

    15 minAdmission included

12. The Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple is the main temple in the Colombo city with it's unique architecture influenced by many cultures

    20 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 45 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Colombo

• Its from-price is 51% below the median of the 2908 experiences we list in Colombo.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 97 of 2908.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Colombo

Colombo is Sri Lanka's largest city and commercial capital, where colonial landmarks, Buddhist temples, busy markets and a seafront promenade meet.

Galle Face Green, a long seafront lawn, fills with families, kite flyers and street-food stalls as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean. Nearby, the Fort district keeps colonial buildings such as the Old Dutch Hospital, restored as shops and restaurants, and the red-and-white striped Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque rises over the crowded market streets of Pettah.

Top-ranked sights in Colombo: Gangaramaya Temple, Galle Face Green, Independence Square.

See all 2908 experiences in Colombo