Galle: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Galle Fort was begun by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century and rebuilt by the Dutch East India Company from 1640 as a walled trading town on a headland in the Indian Ocean. The British took it in 1796. Its streets of Dutch houses, churches and warehouses are a living town and a world heritage site. Two hours; it is best late in the afternoon.

A short history of Galle

Galle was an important port on the sea route between Arabia and China even before the Europeans arrived, and Ibn Battuta visited it in the 14th century. The Portuguese came here in 1505 and built a first fortification. In 1640 the Dutch captured the city, and it was they who built the great fort with the walls, churches and streets that still stand. In 1796 it passed to the British, and Colombo took its place as the main port. In 1988 the fort was declared a World Heritage Site. In the tsunami of 26 December 2004 thousands of people were killed in the city, but the fort walls held.

The ten best sights in Galle

1
Galle Fort
The walled old town; walk the ramparts at sunset
2
Clock Tower
The tower at the main gate
3
Dutch Reformed Church
A floor paved with gravestones
4
Amangalla
The old Dutch headquarters, a hotel since 1863
5
All Saints’ Church
The Anglican church of 1871
6
Maritime Museum
In the Dutch warehouse of 1671
7
Historical Mansion Museum
A private collection in a Dutch house
8
Galle Lighthouse
The white lighthouse on the ramparts
9
Flag Rock
Divers leap from the wall for tips
10
Japanese Peace Pagoda
A white stupa on Rumassala hill

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Tours in Galle →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Galle:

Free walking tours in Galle

Inside the fort

Clock Tower · A clock tower of 1883 on the rampart by the main gate, built by the people of Galle in gratitude to a local doctor who had cared for them for years.
Dutch Reformed Church · Built in 1755 on the site of an earlier church. Its floor is paved with the gravestones of Dutch officials and their families, moved here from the old cemeteries, many carved with skulls and coats of arms.
Amangalla · Built in 1684 as the headquarters of the Dutch governor and his officers, it became the New Oriental Hotel in 1863 and is one of the oldest hotels in Asia. Its veranda is the place for tea.
Maritime Museum · In a long Dutch warehouse of 1671 against the sea wall. The 2004 tsunami flooded and wrecked the museum; it was rebuilt and reopened, with finds from the ships wrecked off Galle over the centuries.
Galle Lighthouse · The white lighthouse on the south-east corner of the ramparts, built in 1939 to replace an older one of the British period that burned. Nearby is the Meeran mosque, built in 1904 and often mistaken for a church.
Flag Rock · A bastion on a rock at the southern tip of the fort, where the Portuguese once signalled to ships to warn them off the reefs. Today local men dive from the wall into the sea for tips, and the town gathers for the sunset.

Rumassala and the beaches

East of Galle the coast curves round the jungle-covered hill of Rumassala to the bay of Unawatuna. Half a day by tuk-tuk; swim only where the locals do, and not in the monsoon months.

Japanese Peace Pagoda · A white stupa built by Japanese Buddhist monks in 2005 on Rumassala hill. In the Ramayana, the monkey god Hanuman carried a Himalayan mountain of healing herbs to Lanka and a piece fell here — which, the story goes, is why the hill is full of medicinal plants.
Jungle Beach · A small cove reached by a path down through the forest from the pagoda, with calm water and coral close to shore for snorkelling.
Unawatuna Beach · A curved, sheltered bay, protected by a reef, that is one of the safest places to swim on the south coast. It was badly hit by the tsunami of 2004 and rebuilt.
Turtle Hatchery · Hatcheries along this coast buy turtle eggs from fishermen and release the young into the sea. Conservationists warn that many keep the hatchlings too long; choose one that releases them at night, soon after hatching.
Koggala Lake · A lagoon of mangroves and small islands, where boats visit a cinnamon island to see the bark peeled and rolled by hand. Sri Lanka has long been the source of true cinnamon, the reason the Portuguese and Dutch came.
Handunugoda Tea Estate · A tea estate of the low country near the sea, known for its rare white tea, made only from young buds. Tours end with a tasting of a dozen teas.

The south coast

Along the south coast are the stilt fishermen, the whales of Mirissa and, to the north, the memory of the tsunami. A full day by car.

Stilt fishermen, Koggala · Along the beaches near Koggala, fishermen sit on poles planted in the surf, fishing with a line — a sight of the south coast. Today many pose for tourists for a fee; the real fishing happens at dawn and dusk.
Mirissa · From about December to April boats leave Mirissa harbour at dawn to look for blue whales, the largest animals that have ever lived, which pass close to this coast, along with sperm whales and dolphins.
Tsunami Photo Museum · On 26 December 2004 the tsunami struck this coast and killed some thirty-five thousand people in Sri Lanka. Near here it overturned a crowded train, the Queen of the Sea, killing about seventeen hundred passengers — the worst rail disaster in history. A small museum and memorials tell the story.
Galle Station · The coast railway runs so close to the sea that the spray reaches the windows. In Galle, the waves of 2004 swept over the new town and the bus station, but the old fort, behind its Dutch walls, was largely spared.
Galle Fort · Back in the fort for the evening walk along the ramparts, where families, couples and cricket-playing boys gather as the sun sets over the ocean.
Pedlar Street · Dinner in the fort’s lanes, among cafés in old Dutch houses and the gem shops of the Muslim merchant families who have traded here for centuries.

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Getting to Galle and getting around

Galle Station · The coast line from Colombo, along the sea

Cheap eats in Galle

The south coast eats from the sea: ambul thiyal, a dry sour fish curry made with goraka, a tart dried fruit, that keeps for days without a fridge; crab curry; and fish grilled on the beach. Short eats — fried rolls, patties and vadai sold from glass cases — are the cheap snack, with a king coconut to drink.

Pedlar Street · Cafés and curries in the fort
Unawatuna Beach · Fish grilled on the beach
Amangalla · Tea on the veranda
Handunugoda Tea Estate · Tea tasting

Museums in Galle

Galle’s museums tell of the sea, the Dutch and the tsunami.

Maritime Museum · The Dutch warehouse
Historical Mansion Museum · A collector’s house
Tsunami Photo Museum · The tsunami of 2004

Nature and day trips near Galle

Tropical beaches, a jungle hill, a mangrove lagoon and the whales of the deep water off the south coast.

Jungle Beach · Snorkelling in the cove
Koggala Lake · The lagoon by boat
Mirissa · Blue whales

Things to do in Galle with kids

With children: ramparts to walk, divers at Flag Rock, baby turtles and a calm bay to swim in.

Flag Rock · The cliff divers
Turtle Hatchery · Baby turtles
Unawatuna Beach · Calm water

Holy places in Galle

Inside one small fort stand Dutch and Anglican churches, a mosque and a Buddhist temple — the faiths of four centuries of trade.

Dutch Reformed Church · The gravestone floor
All Saints’ Church · The Anglican church
Japanese Peace Pagoda · The peace pagoda

Nightlife in Galle

Galle’s evenings are the sunset on the ramparts, dinner in the fort and the beach bars of Unawatuna.

Flag Rock · Sunset on the walls
Unawatuna Beach · Beach bars
Amangalla · A colonial bar

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Frequently asked questions about Galle

What is there to see in Galle?

The top sights in Galle are Galle Fort, Clock Tower and Dutch Reformed Church. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Galle?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Galle without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Galle?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Galle, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Inside the fort.

How do you get to Galle and get around?

The main ways are Galle Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Galle, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Galle that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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