Negombo Trip Overview
Negombo is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province.
It is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and the administrative centre of Negombo Division. Negombo has about 142,136 population within its divisional secretariat division.
Negombo is known for its long sandy beaches and centuries old fishing industry.It has a large bilingual population of Roman Catholics, known as Negombo Tamils who have their own Tamil dialect but mostly identify themselves as Sinhala.
The best way to explore this beautiful little fishing village is by private transport as there are many places of interest spread out along the beach and the city.
You will be met at your hotel after breakfast and taken round on the city tour by our experienced chauffeur / guides, which will include snacks and bottled water en route.
The uniqueness of this tour is meeting it’s people who live in harmony in this small and multicultural city.
Additional Info
Duration: 4 to 5 hours
Starts: Negombo, Sri Lanka
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Negombo Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Negombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Negombo is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province.
It is one of the major commercial hubs in the country and the administrative centre of Negombo Division. Negombo has about 142,136 population within its divisional secretariat division.
Negombo is known for its long sandy beaches and centuries old fishing industry.It has a large bilingual population of Roman Catholics, known as Negombo Tamils who have their own Tamil dialect but mostly identify themselves as Sinhala.
The best way to explore this beautiful little fishing village is by private transport as there are many places of interest spread out along the beach and the city.
You will be met at your hotel after breakfast and taken round on the city tour by our experienced chauffeur / guides, which will include snacks and bottled water en route.
The uniqueness of this tour is meeting it’s people who live in harmony in this small and multicultural city.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Negombo Fish Market, Negombo Sri Lanka
The Negombo Fish Market is interesting because it takes place right on the beach, fresh from fishing boats. Crowds of fishermen are seen untangling their fishing nets, playing with their kids, and stretching out miles of fish to dry in the sun on Negombo’s shore.
A must see place when you are in Negombo.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: St. Mary’s Church, Main Street, Negombo 22100 Sri Lanka
A grand old Catholic church built in the 18th century.
St. Mary’s Church, Negombo is landmark edifice, a Roman Catholic church in the heart of Negombo. Its exterior surface is painted in pink colour. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Sri Lanka.
Negombo has been influenced greatly by the Christian faith from the time it was occupied by the Portuguese. It is often called “Little Rome” in view of the large number of churches in the city.
Construction of the church was started in 1874 and completed, after a long gap, in 1922. The art and architecture of this church and a few similar other churches in Sri Lanka demonstrate the cultural amalgamation of the European practice with Sri Lankan art and architecture during the early years of the 20th century.
The church was built in neoclassicism style with columns and plain walls. Its ceilings are painted with alabaster images of many saints. The walls at the upper level are fixed with sculptures of religious saints. The unique paintings on the life of Christ on the ceiling were done by the N.S. Godamanne, a local Buddhist painter. The beauty of the paintings on the nave is described as “thunderous”. A testator paid the cost of one of the altars, which was imported from Europe
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Negombo Lagoon, Negombo Sri Lanka
(This boat tour is optional)
Negombo Lagoon is a large estuarine lagoon in Negombo, south-west Sri Lanka.
The lagoon is fed by a number of small rivers and a canal. It is linked to the sea by a narrow channel to the north, near Negombo city. It is surrounded by a densely populated region containing rice paddies, coconut plantations and grassland. The land is used for fishing and agriculture. The lagoon has extensive mangrove swamps and attracts a wide variety of water birds including cormorants, herons, egrets, gulls, terns and other shorebirds. Negombo, Katunayake, Seeduwa are some nearby towns. Lagoon fishing is popular among the fishing community in Negombo. Lagoon crabs and lagoon prawns are in high taste and demand.
And if you are adventurous enough you can try out a boat ride in this magnificent lagoon which will take approx. 1 hour.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Angurukaramulla Temple, Temple road, Negombo 22100 Sri Lanka
The Angurukaramulla Temple is a good place to visit if you’re in Negombo. It’s best known for its epic statue of the Buddha, and its dragon-entrance – inside you find detailed murals that date back centuries. There is also a 300+ year old ruin of a historic library here, covered in moss.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Sri Singama Kali Amman Kovil, Sea St, Negombo 11500 Sri Lanka
Sri Singama Kali Amman Kovil is a major Hindu religious site. The stunning murals and sculptures of the temple make it a site well worth visiting!
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Dutch Canal, Custom House Road, Negombo 22100 Sri Lanka
The Hamilton Canal (also commonly known as the Dutch Canal) is a 14.5 km (9.0 mi) canal connecting Puttalam to Colombo, passing through Negombo in Sri Lanka. The canal was constructed by the British in 1802 and completed in 1804. It was designed to drain salt water out of the Muthurajawela wetlands. The canal was named after Gavin Hamilton, the Government Agent of Revenue and Commerce.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Dutch Fort, Esplanade Road, Negombo 22100 Sri Lanka
Negombo Fort was a small but important fort in Negombo, approx. 30 km (19 mi) north of Colombo, that was built by the Portuguese to defend Colombo.
In its time the fort at Negombo was probably the next in strategic importance after Colombo, Jaffna and Galle. The original Portuguese fort was a weak structure, which was captured by Dutch forces commanded by Philip Lucasz, in February 1640.The Portuguese made several attempts to retake it before they were successful in December 1640. They then strengthened the fortifications and managed to defend the fort until it was recaptured by the Dutch, commanded by Francois Caron, in January 1644.The original bastions were destroyed by the Dutch cannons during the siege of the fort. The Dutch subsequently rebuilt it in 1672 however not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks, the fifth was never constructed (possibly due to the cost). The fort was located on a narrow strip of land between a lagoon and an inlet of the sea. It was surrounded by a dry moat, and the gate was accessed via a drawbridge.
In February 1796 it was occupied by the British without opposition. In the late 1800s the British authorities decided to demolish the fort and build a prison in its place, constructed from the stones of the fort.Today all that remains is a section of the eastern rampart with mounds at its northern and Southern ends, where the previous bastions existed, and an recessed arched gateway. Above the gateway is a slab of granite, with the date 1678 inscribed, surmounted by a high decorative gable. The site is still used as a prison by the Department of Prisons.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Dutch Fort, Esplanade Road, Negombo 22100 Sri Lanka
Saint Stephen’s Church, Negombo, is an Anglican church in Negombo. It was consecrated on 31 July 1880 in the presence of dedicated devotees which included several Wesleyans. Service was also conducted in the Sinhalese language on the occasion when a Sinhalese woman was also baptised, under the sponsorship of two English women.
In the 18th century most of the settlements in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became a British territory annexed from the Dutch. But it was only in 1815, following the collapse of the Kandyan Kingdom, that the entire island came under British suzerainty. The Diocese of Colombo came into existence in 1845 and James Chapman was the first Bishop of Colombo. The Anglican community wanted to establish a church in Negombo in the nineteenth century and action was initiated by choosing a suitable site for the purpose in 1876. The area in which the site was chosen had previously been known as “The Dutch Fort”.The Bishop of Colombo, Reverend Reginald Stephen Copleston, provided a Crown grant under order dated 23 September 1876 to build the church. The trustees of the church from Negombo were Henry Bell, Charles Karlenberg and Harry Maule F. Finch. The site measured two roods and 17 perches (One rood is equal to 10,890 square feet (1,012 m2) and 40 perches are equal to a rood). The church was constructed by the end of 1877, although church services were held before its formal consecration. The formal consecration ceremony was held on 31 July 1879.
Duration: 15 minutes
