The quaint seaside town of Galle is only a hundred kilometres from the country’s capital, Colombo. It is accessible by road or rail. The rail track runs beside Galle Road and hugs the coast, with stunning views of the ocean along the way, it can be described as the scenic route to Galle. The recently completed Southern Expressway will take you to the beachside destination in a fraction of the time. The main attraction is the Galle Fort, which was first built by Portuguese colonists and then fortified by Dutch colonists who followed. Today it stands proudly as a UNESCO world heritage site. The thirty six hectare fort surrounds a maze of old cobbled streets, little cafes, exotic boutiques and even the odd heritage hotel. Sri Lanka, in recent time; has attracted foreign artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets, many of whom have gravitated towards Galle.
Each of the old buildings has a tale to tell; Tamarind Hill Galle, for example, is a manor house that was built over 250 years ago by a wealthy Sri Lankan aristocrat and subsequently became the official residence of a British Admiral of the well-known ‘P&O Line’. Among the many other noteworthy landmarks in Galle is the lighthouse, which marks the southernmost tip of the country. It is known to be the oldest light house in the country and one of the fourteen lighthouses that remain standing in Sri Lanka today. It can be seen towering seven metres above the road and is part of the Galle Fort itself. The Fort even made an appearance in Ptolamy’s world map drawn around 125-150 A.D.
The lighthouse was first constructed in 1848 but was damaged in a fire in 1936. The existing tower is a restoration that was completed in 1940. Today, the lights operate on a computerised schedule set by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and can be seen shining brightly at night.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
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