Galle Fort, Southern Province, Sri Lanka

4.5 (3.455 reviews) Sunday: 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM Spent 2-3 hours Ranking #3 in Southern Province Historic Sites

Gorgeous European colonial corner

Galle is located in the south of Sri Lanka. A journey to the past sees the remnants of a Dutch past at a World Heritage Site. Galle has been the emporium of foreign trade since the dawn of commerce. The Dutch Fort, which has been declared a World Heritage Site, surrounds the older part of the town and is situated on a headland of which three sides overlook the sea. The ramparts of the Fort are over 2.5 km in circumference and provide a pleasant and interesting walk. The historian Sir Emerson Tennant claimed that Galle was the ancient biblical city of Tarshish. This city is said to have traded with King Solomon, the Persians and the Egyptians. In 1505 a Portuguese fleet led by Lorenzo de Almeida heading for the Maldives drifted accidentally into Galle. On hearing a cock crowing (cock means ”Galo” in Portuguese), it is said that they gave the town its name. Another explanation for the name is from the Sinhala name for rock ‘Gala’, plenty of which are found in the harbour area.
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Address

Church Street, Galle 80000 Sri Lanka

Working hours

Monday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Current local date and time now

Sunday, May 05, 2024, 17:41

User Ratings

4.5 based on (3.455 reviews)

Excellent
52%
Good
38%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
1%
Terrible
0%

Reviews

  • 51LifeStand 5:00 PM Sep 25, 2020
    Walking tour by Galle Heritage Foundation
    I happened to call the GHF to ask if they have walking tours, and they asked me to email the request and allocated Shiranga who was an excellent English speaking guide. He started at the peer outside the old gate and walked for a little over 2hrs with us, showing us everything worthy of seeing inside the Fort. The Black Fort was being renovated therefore we couldn't go inside. We met him at 9.30am and concluded a little past 11.30am. The GHF does not charge for this tour and we tipped Shiranga for his excellent service.
  • 4Centralvic 5:00 PM Feb 25, 2023
    Worth the visit.
    The fort is an amazing place to walk around. It has signs here and there with information about the fort, which was built and added to by different countries. While it's not all there anymore, what is left is quite impressive. Look for the coral in the wall and ground of one part, and the view over the ocean is very pretty, so I'm sure it's a good sunset place. There are a lot of markets and restaurants around, so while we didn't, it would be easy to fill in most of a day around here.

See also

More Things to do in Southern Province