Beauty in Negombo can be found on the beaches and around the lagoons, where colorful fishing boats lie on blue water against a backdrop of palm trees and blue sky. Close to the seafront near the lagoon are the ruins of the Old Dutch fort, which has a fine gateway inscribed with the date 1678. Also here is a green, called the Esplanade, where cricket matches are a big attraction. The Negombo Fort is a small but important fort in the town of Negombo, and visiting the Negombo Fort is one of the main things to do in Kalutara. This was built by the Portuguese to defend Colombo. The Mermaid Hotel and Club, Kalutara is one of the most sought after luxury Sri Lanka beach hotel. This hotel is charming, elegant and provides world-class services. Mermaid Hotel and Club is an icon for hospitality. This luxury hotel is mere seconds away from the turquoise Blue Ocean and less than 30 minutes away from the airport and Colombo.
The Negombo Fort was demolished in the late nineteenth century by the British, who used its stones to build a prison. The main remnant is an ambivalent mound and part of the eastern wall with the main gate that gives entrance to a tunnel that opens into what was once the courtyard. A clock tower behind it has been added at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. The Portuguese fort that stood where the current Negombo Fort is situated was mostly destroyed by cannon during the Dutch siege in 1644. The Dutch fort was built on its ruins, not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks. The fifth one was never built. Negombo is also home to the largest community of Catholics in Sri Lanka, a legacy of the Portuguese, who industriously spread Catholicism all along the west coast. In the Dutch time Negombo was important because the highest quality cinnamon grew in this area, but with the disappearance of the cinnamon trade it lost its importance.
Uditha Dharmawardhane is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Roland Lefevre. He specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+
