Colombo travel guide — Colombo tourism and travel information

Colombo travel guide

about Colombo

Colombo (derived from Sinhalese name Kola-amba-thota which means "mango harbour", altered by the Portuguese to honour Christopher Columbus), population 377,396 (Colombo metropolitan area: 2,234,289) (2001), is the largest city and commercial center of Sri Lanka. A vast majority of Sri Lankan corporations have their head offices located in Colombo. Some of the industries include chemicals, textiles, glass, cement, leather goods, furniture, and jewelry. An oil refinery is located near the city.

Colombo was probably known to Roman, Arab, and Chinese traders more than 2,000 years ago. Muslims settled there in the 8th century and controlled much of the trade between Sinhalese kingdoms and the outside world. The Portuguese arrived in the 16th century and built a fort to protect their spice trade. The Dutch captured the city in the 17th century. The British made the city the capital of their crown colony of Ceylon in 1802.

The University of Sri Lanka, several colleges, an observatory, a national museum, and numerous churches, mosques, and Buddhist and Hindu temples are in Colombo; on the outskirts are two Buddhist universities. The city has some of the best modern infrastructure in South Asia including the biggest port of the subcontinent.

On January 31, 1996 an explosives-filled truck of the LTTE rammed into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400. That turned out to be the last major assault on Colombo by the LTTE. Such events are unlikely to be repeated since the LTTE and the government signed a ceasefire in 2002

Near cities to Colombo

• Kandy travel guide 96 km
• Galle travel guide 110 km
• Nagercoil travel guide 300 km
• Jaffna travel guide 300 km
• Thiruvananthapuram travel guide 370 km
• Madurai travel guide 380 km
• Thanjavur travel guide 440 km
• Trichi travel guide 450 km
• Karur travel guide 490 km
• Ernakulam travel guide 520 km

Near webcams to Colombo

• Kingston - Portmore webcam 1 300 km
• Ko Samui - Chaveng Beach webcam 2 200 km
• Karachi webcam 2 400 km
• Singapore - Sentosa webcam 2 700 km
• Dubai webcam 3 300 km
• Dubai webcam 3 300 km
• Dubai webcam 3 300 km
• Abu Dhabi Corniche webcam 3 300 km
• Detroit webcam 3 900 km
• Ithaca - Cornell webcam 4 000 km

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Colombo travel services

cheap flights to Colombo

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Colombo travel books

Colombo travel guide books

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Colombo maps and atlases

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