Colombo A pretty metropolis sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it is a description that fits Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city, a beehive of commotion with more than a million inhabitants.
Frenetic traffic fills the main Galle Road that runs through the city from the district of Fort, parallel with the coast, connecting all the suburban enclaves down to the town of Galle in the south. Fort is the historic center of the city that has become the main business district, filled with shops, office blocks and government buildings. It is here that most of the gracious old buildings
from the Dutch, Portuguese and British colonial eras are to be seen. East of Fort is the exciting Pettah bazaar district, where the streets are crammed with shops and stalls selling all manner of goods from vegetables to gemstones. Further south the city's seafront is known as Galle Face Green, where locals enjoy games of cricket, fly kites or take evening strolls watching the sunset. Beyond this lies Colombo's smart neighborhood, Cinammon Gardens, boasting elegant mansions, tree-lined streets and the lovely Viharamaha Devi Park. The closest beach resort to the city is Mount Lavinia, about six miles (10km) from the city.
Main tourist attractions include museums, historic buildings and churches, and beautiful parks. What is especially enjoyable is the variety of cuisine that can be sampled at any one of the city's plentiful bars, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and kiosks.
Getting Around: Catching a bus in Colombo is an experience in itself and is perhaps recommended only for hardened travelers. Buses become incredibly crowded and are erratic, with no obvious schedule. A far safer way to negotiate the city is via taxi. Prices should be agreed on before hand as very few have meters, though they are usually cheap and easy to hail. Driving in the city is as much of an adventure as taking a bus and normal traffic rules do not seem to apply. It would be well worth rather hiring a car with a driver. Three-wheeled auto rickshaws are also available, and although usually somewhat cheaper than taxis, are not exactly a comfortable ride.
Matara Matara is the largest town on Sri Lanka's popular south coast, hosting the terminus of the railway line from Colombo. Today it is a quiet town, but in past centuries was a thriving port central to the spice and gem trade with the East and Holland. The original town was established on a narrow peninsula in the estuary of the Nilwala River, which was fortified by the Dutch. The original walls still stand, containing some rather dilapidated old buildings dating from the Dutch colonial era. Matara is scenically attractive, surrounded by paddy fields and tea estates on the fertile river floodplain. The area also boasts some sandy, safe beaches. These assets have ensured that the town is a popular tourist destination removed from the trouble spots in the north of the island, where civil unrest remains a threat.
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