08 Nov2019

Visit Galle Fort Sri Lanka – 15 things you need to know

My month in Sri Lanka began with paying a visit to Galle town. After making our way from the aiport to Hikkaduwa where we were staying for a week, the first town we went to the following morning was Galle. To be honest the only thing I knew about Galle until then was that I needed to visit Galle Fort Sri Lanka. I didn’t really know what to expect from town with the exception of ”being the most European town in Sri Lanka”.

As the name suggests, Galle Fort is located in Galle town in Southwest coast of Sri Lanka. To get a better idea, let me give you some facts about Galle first.

Galle was the first main port in Sri Lanka. When the Portuguese came to the country in the 16th century, Galle was the major city in the country. It remained so until the end of the 18th century. Only later on Colombo town, located more than 110 km North of Galle, became popular and grew as a city.

Thanks to these 2 ports, Galle and Colombo, the Western and Southern coast of Sri Lanka are more developed than the East of the island. Colombo is now the main port and not only the largest town in Sri Lanka, but its capital as well.

Galle Fort Sri Lanka

15 things you need to know about Galle Fort Sri Lanka

The town of Galle is mostly famous for its Galle fortification.
The fortress, initially called ”Santa Cruz” was first built on a small rocky peninsula in the 1580’s by the Portuguese. They used only earth/mud which was surrounded by palm tree palisades.
The Fort was built to defend Galle port which was the busiest port in Sri Lanka at that time.
Originally the fort had only 3 bastions and it was used also as a prison camp.

Then it was finished by the Dutch in the second half of the 17th century. As it didn’t seem safe enough to them, they added 14 new bastions.
Not only mud, but granite stones and corals were used by the Dutch. If you look closer, in some places you can still spot parts of corals.
As the Dutch built the biggest part of the Galle Fort, sometimes it’s also called ”the Dutch Fort”.

Galle Fort clock tower

Since the British took control of the Fort in 1796, many changes were made inside the fort and a number of houses were constructed. The British then moved their base to Colombo so Galle Fort began to decay.
In 1988 it was declared a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name of Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications.
The Fort has 2 gates, the Old gate with Dutch and British inscriptions; and the Main gate.
There’s still some Dutch families owning properties inside the fort even in the present time.

Many street names inside the Fort are still in Dutch.
Unfortunately, the fort was damaged during the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. Thankfully, the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka together with the financial support of the Government of the Netherlands managed to restore the fort to its current polish look.
The Galle Fort is now the biggest remaining fort in Asia built byt European occupiers.
We can still find Catholic, Protestant and Anglican churches, a Buddhist temple and a mosque inside the fortifications. As we can see, the Galle Fort is a unique multicultural and multireligious site of significant historic importance.

walking on the wall surrounding Galle Fort

Thanks to a cricket game in town, I experienced a very crowded Galle. There were people sitting on the fort walls and watching the game from far.

However, I have to admit it was really lovely to walk on the actual wall around the Galle fort. Incredible Ocean views make it even more interesting. Don’t forget to stroll to the 18 m high white Galle lighthouse which is standing there since 1938. If it’s too hot, you can even walk down to the beach full of corals and refresh yourself.

with white Galle lighthouse behind me

dipping my toes in the Ocean

Galle town nowadays

In the past few years Galle has transformed quite a lot. Many new modern restaurants, coffee shops and souvenir shops have been opening in town. I even found vegan ice cream there, yay!

I’ve heard that building owners have to follow certain rules when renovating and they are not allowed to change the original houses too much from how they used to look. They need to keep the authentic Dutch architecture. In my opinion it’s a good thing as it helps Galle to stand out out of all Sri Lankan towns. You can book a stay for yourself in one of the beautiful villas in Galle to explore the unique town.

The mixture of colonial European architecture and current Asian culture together with the UNESCO fortification make Galle a town like no other in Sri Lanka. It’s so full of color and history!

Did you know that although Sri Lanka is mostly a Buddhist country, Galle is predominantly a Muslim town?

TIP 1: If you are interested in this beautiful island country, here you can find 10 things that surprised me in Sri Lanka.

TIP 2: And here’s what you need to know about Southern Sri Lanka. Give it a read.

with Sri Lanka by Hanka guys

I visited Galle with the guys above from SriLankaByHanka. Hanka is a Czech tour guide living in Sri Lanka with her local husband Milan (the one on the right of the photo). Together they organize trips for Czech and Slovak people (in Czech), and also tourists from other countries (in English).

Posted in architecture, Asia, Sri Lanka, tips Tags: Galle, Galle Fort, history, Sri Lanka

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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler

Alex is a crazy Slovak girl who made traveling the reason of her life. In March 2011 she quit her stewardess job and hasn't stopped ever since. Her motto is ''I live to travel, I travel to live.'' She writes about crazy travel, fun adventures and sexy photos.

Comments (4)

Pavan

January 2, 2020 at 06:21 | #

Good Post Alexandra! Congratulation for the nice and amazing Pictures.
- Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
  
  January 2, 2020 at 13:13 | #
  
  Thanks! Sri Lanka is an amazing country :)
Nouran

November 15, 2019 at 18:29 | #

Great post.. Congrats for all your travels and amazing pictures :)
- Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
  
  November 17, 2019 at 17:46 | #
  
  Thanks a lot Nouran, I appreciate your kind words :)