Galle Fort

Galle Fort occupies a rocky headland on Sri Lanka’s south-west coast. First fortified by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century and greatly expanded by the Dutch in the seventeenth, it is one of the best-preserved colonial fortified towns in Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Inside the walls, quiet streets of colonial houses, churches, a mosque, small museums, cafés and boutiques are easy to explore on foot. The ramparts make a lovely walk, past the clock tower and bastions to the white lighthouse overlooking the ocean.

Walk the ramparts in the late afternoon and stay for sunset, when local families come out to stroll and children fly kites. Galle is about two hours from Colombo by expressway, and an easy stop on the way to or from the beaches of Bentota or Mirissa.