Galle Travel Guide

A jewel, A Unesco World Heritage Site, this historic city is a delight to explore on foot, an endlessly exotic old trading port blessed with imposing Dutch-colonial buildings, ancient mosques and churches, grand mansions and museums. Wandering its rambling lanes you'll pass stylish cafes, quirky boutiques and impeccably restored hotels owned by local and foreign artists, writers, photographers and designers.

Most travellers are utterly seduced by Galle's ambience, and it's undoubtedly southern Sri Lanka's one unmissable sight.

Travel Information

Sri Lanka only has one large international airport in the country that services the main international airlines. Once you have landed in the country, you will need to travel by road to the country’s various destinations, as there are no domestic scheduled flights within Sri Lanka.

It is an approximately three-hour road trip to Galle from Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport

The best months to travel to Galle are between December to April, as there is little rain so it is relatively dry during these months. However, throughout the year, even during the monsoon months of May to September, there is much to see and do here.

Best Galle Sightseeing Tour Packages

An Insight into Galle tourism

Galle - Fortified beach city of the Portuguese

The port city of Galle is situated along the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Primarily known for the famous Galle Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city has played a significant role in the country’s lengthy colonial history.

Housing innumerable and diverse attractions within its precincts, the Galle Fort is undoubtedly the highlight of the city. The attractions include the Dutch Reformed Church, Old Dutch Hospital, Galle Clock Tower and Galle Lighthouse. The National Maritime Museum, also located at the fort, offers fascinating insights into the country’s maritime history; some of the objects on display are believed to be more than 800 years old! If you’re looking to explore the fort at a leisurely pace and understand its features, there are a plethora of fabulous hotels that you could stay at, most notably the 17th-century building-turned-luxury resort Amangalla.

Galle has a major attraction for wildlife enthusiasts—the Kanneliya Rainforest Reserve, which harbours numerous endemic flora and fauna. Tourists can marvel at and buy antiquities at the Historical Mansion Museum, owned and operated by a local family. The city also hosts an annual international literary festival known as the Galle Literary Festival.

Undoubtedly, no tour of Sri Lanka is complete without a trip to Galle—a city synonymous with the country’s utterly fascinating colonial-era history.