The mini Original Guide to Colombo

Words: Emma Boyle

Pre-trip culture: Set in Colombo in 1999, Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka is a satirical comic novel that uses cricket to dissect Sri Lankan society amid a backdrop of political corruption and the tensions of civil war.

Like a local: “Take a street-art tour of the murals in Slave Island [Kompanna Veediya] – a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-religious district – ending with a mutton roll at Hotel Nippon.”
Radhika Hettiarachchi, curator and researcher

First time: Colombo City Walks offers three-hour guided rambles spanning Fort and Pettah’s market-laced streets dotted with cultural treasures such as Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque.

Next time: Familiar with enigmatic architect Geoffrey Bawa? Visit his former home, Number 11, an artistic fusion of four terraced houses that distil his life’s work.

New view: Dine at Virticle by Jetwing, a rooftop tapas bar-restaurant, for stellar night-time views of the neon-lit city.

Bird’s-eye view: The final approach into Colombo’s Bandaranaike Airport passes low over the silvery surface of the mangrove-fringed Negombo Lagoon.

The original: Legendary dish lamprais takes influences from Sri Lankan, Dutch and Indonesian cooking. It’s a combination of rice, a three-meat curry, meatballs (frikkadels), aubergine pickle, seeni sambol and spices. Try it at the Dutch Burgher Union’s VOC Café.

Access all areas: Stay in step-free hotels such as Shangri-La Colombo, which connects with One Galle Face, a seven-floor mall. Sights such as Gangaramaya Temple, the Galle Face Green and Viharamahadevi Park offer ramps or wheelchair accessible pathways.

British Airways flies direct to Colombo three times a week from Gatwick from 23 October 2026

British Airways flies direct to more than 200 destinations across nearly 80 countries