Colombo................................................................................................
The cosmopolitan city of Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka can rival any capital city in the world. The largest city in the island, it offers you everything from business opportunities, banking facilities, entertainment and shopping to sports. The city's attractions include the Fort area (the country\'s business centre), Galle Face Green (a seafront lawn ideal for an evening stroll), Cinnamon Gardens (with its swanky mansions and tree-lined streets), the Colombo National Museum, the zoological gardens at Dehiwela, trendy shopping malls and ancient colonial architecture which still survives.
Dehiwala Zoological Garden...............................................................
The Dehiwala National Zoo (open daily from 8.00 am - 6.00 pm) is home to a wide range of Sri Lankan and international wildlife and bird-life. There is also an excellent collection of bird-life, including some fabulous large and fluffy owls, lots of cockatoos and macaws (including an astonishing - and very rare - hyacinth macaw) and taucans.
The Kalutara Vihara............................................................................
To guard the spice trade the Portuguese built a fort on the site of the Buddhist temple at Kalutara. The Dutch took it over and later a British agent converted it into his residence during the colonial era. The modern temple, built in the 1960s, is located just south of the Kalutara Bridge and is the only dagoba (Buddhist shrine) in the world that is hollow
Richmond Castle..................................................................................
At Palatota, a little inland, is located Richmond Castle, a fine country house in a 42-acre fruit garden estate. Richmond Castle is a beautiful example of Indian and British colonial period architecture.
_______________________________________________________
Richmond Castle- Palatot